David Samuelson 50th Anniversary Q&A

David Samuelson was appointed chief executive officer of ISACA on 1 April of 2019, the year of ISACA’s50th anniversary. Samuelson recently visited with ISACA50.org to discuss the meaning of joining the organization during its milestone year and how ISACA can draw upon its decades of industry leadership to become even more impactful in the future. The following is a transcript of the Q&A interview:

You recently were named CEO of ISACA during the organization’s 50th year. What added dimension does that timing provide in terms of your outlook on this new role?
It’s a great time to join ISACA because it is at an inflection point in its history. The next 50 years are going to be very important for ISACA, and the first 50 years have made ISACA a strong, relevant, trustworthy and valuable organization to members all over the world. During the next 50 years, I hope we can double down on all of those things.

While recognizing that you have only been with ISACA for a short time, what has struck you most about the organization’s history and trajectory over these past 50 years?
I think more important than its history is the passion that I’ve witnessed. The membership is palpably passionate about ISACA. I hope that I can hear the stories that are behind that passion, that can help shape how we build toward the future.

You have an extensive background in education technology. What have been some of the most transformative advancements that you’ve observed in that area over the years?
The impacts in learning technologies are impacts in all technologies, such as machine learning and AI and cloud computing – the things that are prevalent for all of us now. The newest entrants in the technology world that I think are interesting and perhaps challenging for any organization is voice-first technology, like Alexa. We’re talking naturally, and things happen, either in our house or in our classroom or in our cars or with our phones. I think this represents some new challenges for old problems.

But specific to learning technologies, I think the opportunities to help an adult learner or any learner are related to understanding what they know and what they don’t know, understanding where they’re at in their learning journey, and being able to get immediate feedback as they’re learning. These are not really new ideas, but important ones to help us learn in today’s tech enabled world. I also think the mobile and digital device revolution has changed the way people consume almost anything in their daily lives, especially for adults. For associations like us that want to communicate important, relevant, trustworthy materials, these changes around us are important for us to embrace.

Along those lines, panels at ISACA’s CACS conferences this year are discussing disruptive technologies that have reshaped the ways that we live and work. What might be an example or two (personal or professional) of a disruptive technology that you have come to appreciate, from a quality of life standpoint?
I think voice-first is the first one that comes to mind. You can control a supercomputer “in the sky” with your voice, and so what does that mean? It certainly is useful to walk into your house and start a movie where you left off, or to walk into your office and start a presentation where you left off, but it also represents new challenges in terms of keeping us safe in cyberspace because, in order to have that technology, devices have to be listening to everything. So, what does that mean in terms of privacy, in terms of what people know about you – all those kinds of things? I think it’s interesting but also disruptive in the sense that you have a feature that also can be a danger. The other thing that has probably been most disruptive in all of our lives is just the power of computing that we carry with us all the time - we have access to anything, wherever we are. That’s certainly different than it was even a decade ago.

You’ve mentioned the value of marrying traditional products to innovative platforms and delivery methods. Why is making that connection so important?
Because technology isn’t the end in itself; it’s the means. The process for understanding comes through the tried and true methods of delivering good learning materials and learning resources. So, while the medium may change, the underlying methodology shouldn’t be discounted.

Our chapters have been a critical part of ISACA’s growth over the years. How important is it to you for ISACA to engage deeply at the local level and provide resources that are customized to various regions?
It’s incredibly important because even though the world’s getting smaller, the way we engage in the world around us is very local. Sometimes that’s about language and proximity, but it’s always about connecting to a person where they’re at. In our case, it could be very regional — related to the language we’re speaking, or related to understanding the different dynamics of a locality. In simple terms, I think there is huge opportunity to leverage global infrastructure and global capabilities. But if you don’t pay attention to the last mile, you’re not necessarily reaching people. You can’t reach people in a blanket way. You have to be able to connect with people where they’re coming from. ISACA has been good at that, we have chapters all over the world. The value this association has developed over the first 50 years has been embraced locally all over the world.

What are the key characteristics an organization like ISACA will need to embrace to become even more valuable to its professional community in the future?
I think we should pay attention to what made us successful in the first 50 years. We can’t lose sight of the relationship-building, the community, and the volunteer work and engagement that we do, whether it’s through a conference or through a learning activity or through supporting what our members are doing in their own regions. It’s really about connecting our members together in ways that are beneficial to them. Those benefits are not only learning and certification benefits, but they’re networking and professional connection benefits. I think that’s our essence – finding others like us, learning from one another, and empowering growth.

As you consider the world that your grandson and others of his generation will inherit, what intrigues you most about how ISACA’s professional community can impact society for the better?
I don’t think I realized this before I joined ISACA, but the work that our community does to really empower the positive potential of technology and to make sure that it’s integrated with fidelity and safety is one of the inspiring things about being part of ISACA. Every new technology goes through a period of working through appropriate application in the world, because we want technology to do good, but there are some who would use technology for ill, and our organization is the organization that enables that secure implementation to happen. As new technologies that haven’t even been invented yet come into play, ensuring that the positive potential is actually realized, and the technologies are not used as evil, is a pretty important mission.