Kush Sharma
Founder & Principal Sharma & Company, former CISO, City of Toronto
As the City of Toronto's first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Kush Sharma is accountable for setting the City’s information security strategy, governance, risk, compliance and cyber functions, reporting functionally to the City Manager. Kush works collaboratively with the City’s Senior Leadership Team and the City Clerk's Office to mitigate cyber risk. He also works in partnership with the City’s Agencies & Corporations and advises City Council on matters of information security. Kush leads the Office of the CISO, the City's newest division, which was established to oversee Cyber Diplomacy & Governance, Threat Management, Digital Trust, Business Application Resilience, Urban Technology Protection, and Digital Forensics & Investigations.
Kush has 20 years of public and private sector experience, and is well respected within the industry. He has a strong reputation as a trusted advisor, known for innovation, partnerships, and service delivery. Kush also has broader leadership experience in various industry sectors, technology, change management, and business transformation.
During his prior tenure as a Management Consultant, Kush had a global 50+ client portfolio advising leaders at some of the world’s largest organizations and government entities in developing and maturing their governance, risk and compliance postures. Kush has also supported numerous large and complex transformation programs, mergers and acquisitions, and external sourcing projects.
Kush has a Bachelor of Commerce in IT Management and is a certified CISSP/CISM/CISA/CRISC professional. He is also a Governing Body member for Evanta (Gartner) Toronto & Global, on the SiberX CISO Advisory Board, and a frequent speaker, lecturer, trainer and author.