Upendra Mardikar

Visionary
DISC Type : Ds

Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA

Fremont, California, United States

Overview

Upendra Mardikar is the EVP and Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA, with over 25 years of experience leading security transformations at firms like American Express, Visa, and PayPal. He is a prolific inventor with over 99 patents in cybersecurity and digital identity. Colleagues describe him as a brilliant, practical, and intellectually agile leader.

Outside of work, Upendra is an author, advisor, and mentor who co-created the "Purple Book of Software Security" and its online community. An interview reveals he is influenced by spiritual leaders and focuses on personal growth, creating "good karma," and treating colleagues with humility to be a better human being.

He was instrumental in developing the security for technologies like Apple Pay and Google Pay and co-authored the first version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Personality Overview

Objective Evaluator

Big Vision Person

Goal-Oriented

They might take some time to make their mind up but once they do, they don't change it easily.  They are very professional in their approach and can weigh multiple perspectives together. Reading between the lines and seeing beyond your words comes naturally to them.

Topics They Care About

Cybersecurity Leadership
As a multi-time CISO and author, he views security as a "community sport" and focuses on communicating cyber risk as a core business problem to boards and executives.
Digital Identity
His career at PayPal, Visa, and American Express involved leading initiatives for next-generation identity, authentication, and authorization systems, backed by numerous patents in the field.
AI in Security
He publicly discusses emerging dynamics in cybersecurity, identifying the advent of AI as a key factor that may make ransomware the supreme threat.

Media Appearances

Upendra Mardikar - TIAA Speakers - Cyber Security & Cloud Expo North America. Featured in Cyber Security & Cloud Expo North America

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Upendra Mardikar | TIAA Speaker - TechEx Events. Featured in TechEx Events

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Jan-17-24 TIAA Webinar – REN-ISAC. Featured in REN-ISAC (Research Education Networking Information Sharing & Analysis Center)

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Work History

8-2022
Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA
2-2020 - 8-2022
Chief Information Security Officer at Snap Finance
9-2014 - 2-2020
Vice President Information Security Strategy, Arch, Identity, Engineering and Application Security at American Express
6-2013 - 9-2014
Senior Business Leader: Security Architecture and Engineering at Visa
3-2010 - 5-2013
Director/Distinguished Security Architect, Security Architecture, Engineering and Key Management at PayPal

Education

9-1996 - 8-1999
MBA from Santa Clara University
2003 - 2003
CISSP from ISC2

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 25 Location : Fremont, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA
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Insights For Selling To Upendra

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • During followups, use phone or text if needed, they should be fine
  • Ask them at the end if they see a strong value prop in your product; expect an honest answer
  • Come across as a trustworthy professional and be respectful, they usually know their game

DONT's

  • Don't get into pricing discussions early on, steer conversation towards proven results
  • Don't shy away from asking hard questions, but be extra polite
  • Avoid putting conscious effort into relationship-building

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Upendra is

  • Strong proof of impact and their conviction will matter the most, but they wouldn't want to act unilaterally either
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Upendra

  • They will say no if they are not convinced but you will have to prompt them.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Upendra move?

  • They will want to understand things well but can move fast once they have a clear picture.
  • Can Upendra take some risk or not?

  • They have good risk tolerance but are likely to think it through once or twice.

You And Upendra

Personality Compatibility


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