Daryl Pereira talks about resilience, strategic leadership, and practical recovery lessons that shaped his approach to defending against the next wave of cyber challenges.

With years of global experience advising organisations through major incidents, Daryl brings a unique perspective to the realities of modern CISO leadership.

His work spans crisis response, governance, and cultural transformation, equipping him with insights into how leaders can prepare for the unexpected.

Ahead of his session at Security Edge on 8 October at the Grand Hyatt, Melbourne, Daryl spoke with ADAPT’s Content Lead, Justina Uy, about the pressures of modern CISO leadership, the value of resilience in times of crisis, and the skills that will define the next generation of cyber leaders.

 

Navigating fragmented regulations across Asia Pacific

For Daryl, regulation may not be the most glamorous part of the job, but it is unavoidable.

He highlighted the complexity of disparate laws across mature and emerging economies, and how cloud adoption and AI governance are converging.

“Regulations are simply a baseline. You start there, but you do not stop there. I recommend strongly a risk-focused mindset for these conversations.”

 

Addressing multi-cloud risk and resilience

Cloud adoption continues to accelerate across the region, yet Daryl stressed that spreading workloads across providers comes with both benefits and complexity.

The perimeter itself has shifted.

“The cloud has become the new perimeter, and therefore now also subject to cyber attack, from credential theft to backups being corrupted.”

 

Embedding governance into AI adoption

Daryl views AI and security as inseparable.

He argued that responsible adoption requires strong governance, secure data environments, and testing against diverse user bases.

“Responsible AI looks at the ethical concerns of AI outputs. We must anticipate harms and ensure outcomes do not cause unintended damage.”

 

Preparing the next generation of CISOs

Mentorship is central to Daryl’s leadership philosophy.

He emphasised that CISOs must move beyond the “super nerd” stereotype and become business peers who enable strategy.

“The biggest skill is the ability to transcend between technical security, compliance, and business strategy and speak in the language of the board.”

 

Leading with purpose during crises

When organisations face cyberattacks, Daryl focuses on clarity, communication, and inspiring teams to connect with their higher purpose.

“Timelines don’t mean anything in a cyber crisis. You need clarity, communication, and a North Star so people know their efforts are making a difference.”

Key takeaways:

  • Regulations are a baseline, but CISOs must apply a risk-focused mindset.
  • Multi-cloud adoption mitigates concentration risk but creates new attack surfaces.
  • Responsible AI requires end-to-end governance and ethical foresight.
  • CISOs must be fluent in business strategy to gain board influence.
  • Leadership in crises depends on clarity, communication, and higher purpose.

 

Hear more from Daryl and other leading CISOs at Security Edge on 8 October in Melbourne where he will impart practical lessons on recovery and strengthening resilience after major incidents.

150 enterprise and government security leaders will gather to discuss data-driven insights and exchange strategies focused on enhancing security posture, mitigating risks, and excelling in their complex roles.

Contributors
Daryl Pereira APJ Head Office of the CISO at Google Cloud
Steering Google Cloud’s ‘Office of the CISO’ in the Asia Pacific, Daryl works with CISOs, CIOs, CROs, regulators and government officials to... More

Steering Google Cloud’s ‘Office of the CISO’ in the Asia Pacific, Daryl works with CISOs, CIOs, CROs, regulators and government officials to elevate cybersecurity maturity at both a national and global level. The ‘Office of the CISO’ is art of Google’s internal security team & COO function, and is comprised of former CISOs/CIOs tasked with advocating for better cybersecurity, AI risk and digital trust outcomes.

Daryl has 30 years of technology experience including an initial 8 years in the Australian Public sector in Canberra, followed by 9 years in Banking in Sydney and Singapore, and 11 years as a senior Partner at KPMG Management Consulting. While at KPMG Singapore, Daryl founded and led the Cyber Consulting practice, growing the team to over 120 cyber consultants and leading 5 Partners (owner-operators).

At Deutsche Bank, Daryl’s last role was as global head of Program Management Office for the Global Banking IT division, overseeing governance for a €500M portfolio and 150 project managers based in Singapore, Frankfurt, London and New York.

Daryl began his career working in the Australian Federal Government in Canberra as an outsourced technology contractor at the Australian Customs Service, followed by positions with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Home Affairs/Immigration and Department of Veterans Affairs.

Nurturing the next generation of Cybersecurity and Governance leaders is Daryl’s passion, leading him to volunteer at ISACA Singapore where he was the President of the Board of Directors, the American Chamber of Commerce, and the Institute of Internal Auditors where he is currently a Board member.

Daryl is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Singapore Management University – Singapore Institute of Directors, where he leads the Cybersecurity module for “SID’s Directorship Programme”. This program certifies Company Directors as Boardroom-ready for their organisations. He is also a Guest Lecturer at the University of Canberra (Australia) on the topic of Cyber Strategy.

Daryl was awarded a B.Commerce (double major in Accounting & Information Systems) and M.InfoTech from the University of Canberra, and a MBA from Manchester Business School. He is also a certified CPA (Australia), CISA, CISM, CRISC.

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Justina Uy Content Marketing Manager
Justina Uy is a data-driven content marketer that thrives on democratising elite know-how to empower Australia’s underdogs. Skilled at translating complex ideas... More

Justina Uy is a data-driven content marketer that thrives on democratising elite know-how to empower Australia’s underdogs.

Skilled at translating complex ideas into a compelling story across formats and channels, she shifts seamlessly between writing long-form articles, creating viral social media posts, and producing thumb-stopping videos.

Since 2015, Justina executes her vision through a sophisticated understanding of the rapidly evolving digital and business landscape to serve entertaining and educational insights to the executive community.

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security compliance leadership