Stanley Sims
Chief Security Officer, CGI
After over 36 years in the U.S. government, including the military, serving in a variety of senior-level intelligence and security roles, Stanley Sims was considering retirement. That is until George Schindler, president and CEO of CGI, approached him with a new mission — to help accelerate CGI’s ambitious growth strategy by transforming its enterprise security operations.
Sims accepted that mission. Over the last six years, his team worked to centralize and align CGI’s security program across operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
The team transitioned security operations from a federated model to a global and centralized one with common platforms and services. It also automated and virtualized this global approach, including connecting experts around the world to create 24/7 “follow the sun” delivery capabilities to monitor and combat cyber threats.
With this model in place, Sims said CGI’s security operations can easier be scaled while adhering to the highest levels of security standards across all the countries in which the company does business.
“Not only is Stan a sought-after coach and mentor by employees within CGI, he has become one of our most in-demand security experts by our clients given his depth of experience and service in the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, and now at CGI,” Schindler said. “On behalf of the executive team at CGI, we are proud to call him a colleague, friend and role model not only for what he does, but for the integrity and passion he brings to our company and clients.”
Why Watch
In 2022, Sims and his team focus on continuing to optimize CGI’s global security operations through increased digitization and automation. As technologies and cyber threats continue to evolve and become more complex, digital and automation tools enable CGI to keep pace.
Just as the organization advises its clients to make ongoing investments in mitigating security risks and driving operational efficiencies, CGI does the same as a company.
“Security should be baked in, not bolted on,” Sims said. “It should never be an afterthought. Rather, it needs to be embedded, from the start, into everything. With this mindset, you can endeavor to stay on top of security threats versus trying to play catch-up as they continuously evolve.”