Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Southern Company As Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for Southern Company, Tom Wilson is responsible for managing cybersecurity risk across all Southern Company affiliates. Wilson has more than 30 years of experience leading multiple technology functions for the utility industry with cybersecurity experience dating back to the late 1990’s. For more than 12 years he has worked with company executives and directors as well as industry leaders to develop critical initiatives to bolster cybersecurity and resiliency for Southern Company and the industry. A nationally recognized security leader, Wilson works with U.S. federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies to protect critical U.S. infrastructure. He was one of 25 U.S. chief information security officers selected for the inaugural FBI CISO Academy. Wilson has engaged with electric and critical infrastructure companies in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia to share intelligence and best practices and has presented at both national and international events. Southern Company’s cybersecurity risk management program received Department of Homeland Security (DHS) SAFETY Act Designation and Certification in 2018, the first and only company in any sector to achieve this accreditation for a cybersecurity program. At the regulatory and policy level, he regularly consults state public service commissions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy (DOE). Wilson’s work with Congressional members and staff, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the Bipartisan Policy Center and Edison Electric Institute has helped influence national security policy. In addition to serving on the executive customer advisory boards of leading cyber security companies, Wilson is a member of an executive advisory council responsible for technology developed by the DOE to monitor and protect the national labs and the energy sector. He is also a member of an executive committee overseeing a utility consortium venture capital fund to invest in energy and cybersecurity technology. Wilson chairs an industry collaboration initiative with a key partner, IronNet, and serves on the electric sector executive committee for the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Wilson is an executive advisor for the international Energy Infrastructure Security (EIS) Commission and the Energy Sector Security Consortium, Inc. (EnergySec). He has been involved in numerous strategic industry initiatives in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and national laboratories. Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from the University of Georgia and completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.
