About Oritse J. Uku

CISO | Resilience Architect | Former Military Intelligence Officer

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Executive Bio

I design the cybersecurity, identity, and resilience architectures that allow complex institutions to govern risk at scale. I developed the Resilience Operating Model (ROM) — a framework for building operational resilience as a measurable, board-visible capability rather than a compliance exercise.

I began my career in the U.S. Army as a Military Intelligence Officer, joining just before 9/11. Over eight years, I served across continents, operational environments, and disciplines, including a deployment to Afghanistan supporting coalition forces in austere conditions. Those experiences shaped my understanding of how systems behave under stress: human, technical, and organizational.

After the military, I entered global financial services at Citigroup, first in institutional sales and later in cybersecurity, where I led threat management and incident response across one of the most complex environments in the industry. Between those chapters, I co-founded a technology startup. Today I serve as a board-appointed CISO at a regulated financial services firm, accountable for enterprise security, resilience, and regulatory engagement — leading organizational transformation across cross-functional teams to modernize governance and strengthen operational performance.

I am the author of Taking the Boy Scouts to War, a bestselling memoir on leadership, service, and the realities of modern conflict.

Professional Philosophy

Resilience is not a control domain; it’s a strategic capability.
Organizations succeed not because they avoid disruption, but because they are designed to adapt, recover, and continue performing when conditions change.

Personal Notes

Outside of work: advisor to AI cybersecurity startups and venture portfolio companies, retired amateur rugby player (three continents), student of history and systems thinking.