Why Calm Leadership Wins During Cyber Crises with Andrew Wilder of Vetcor

Hosts Aaron Lentz and Tim York talk to Andrew Wilder, Chief Security Officer of Vetcor. With three CISO roles under his belt — including at Nestlé — Andrew shares how he evolved from a command-and-control leader to a collaborative influencer of change. He discusses the importance of identity hygiene, working with the C-suite and why taking your own notes is a secret weapon for long-term leadership. From mentoring through CyberUp to partnering with startups, Andrew offers real stories and practical advice for modern cybersecurity leaders.Key Takeaways:(04:41) Dormant accounts and poor identity hygiene are common cybersecurity challenges.(08:46) Understand the level of change before accepting a leadership role.(11:52) Mature CISOs accept business risk decisions and move forward.(16:29) Staying calm in a cyber crisis helps lead a team with clarity.(21:54) Agentic AI offers efficiency but brings big change challenges.(27:27) Automate last — after you question, delete, simplify and accelerate.(32:13) Overpermissioned accounts are prime for data exfiltration.(38:02) Strong relationships beat cold outreach every time.(40:26) Cyber insurance now drives many security tool decisions.(43:13) Partnerships give CISOs tools, team growth and ecosystem security.(46:34) Trusting AI blindly is a dangerous mistake.Resources Mentioned:Aaron Lentzhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-lentz/Tim Yorkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-york-b80b23a/Andrew Wilderhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/apwilder/Vetcorhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/vetcor/CyberUphttps://wecyberup.org/InfraGard https://www.infragard.org/Thank you for listening to “Authenticate This!: The Cybersecurity Leadership Podcast.” Be sure to leave us a review and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. For more information, visit ic-consult.com.#Cybersecurity #IdentityManagement #InformationSecurity #IAM #IdentityAccessManagement