Why Listen: How to face it till you make it.
Karl is the king of analogies and funny anecdotes, and he has plenty to describe how he has navigated his career as a generalist. As an Independent Security Consultant and Virtual CISO, Karl describes how, in the end, the generalist is the maze master, but they need to be willing to pay the price and “look” the part of the specialist, i.e., be the wolf in sheep’s clothing. I hope you have as much fun as I did following “tiger’s bounce”.
Conversation Highlights
- Generalism vs. Specialization: Karl identifies as a generalist despite his specialized role as a CISO, emphasizing adaptability and the ability to operate effectively in both right-brained and left-brained environments. This adaptability allows him to navigate complex, specialized fields by leveraging a broad skill set.
- Career Path and Leadership: Karl discusses the importance of being recognized for one’s unique abilities and the challenge of proving oneself in specialized fields. He highlights the significance of accumulating a track record of success to establish credibility and the role of mentorship in navigating one’s career.
- Identifying Talent: Karl and the speaker discuss the ability of generalists to identify potential and talent in others, emphasizing the importance of looking beyond traditional metrics and understanding the nuances of individual capabilities.
- Navigating Career as a Generalist: The discussion touches on the challenges generalists face in finding their place within traditional structures and the importance of seeking out environments or sponsors that appreciate and leverage their unique skill sets.

Karl Galbraith is the Founder and CISO of Galbraith & Associates Inc., As an Independent Security Consultant/ Virtual CISO, Karl provides Cyber and AI Trusted Advisory service spanning envisioning, transform, protect, respond and trust stages of the cyber security lifecycle roadmap.
Karl leverages over 25 years of Security and IT expertise and experience successfully selling, building, delivering, performing audits on commercial and in-house software product solutions in Public sector, Fortune 500 and start up environments. His corporate InfoSec executive and co-founder, technical leadership roles at Ottawa startups including Electronic Courthouse, Accentus (acquired by High Road Capital Partners, Nuance), and Interset (formerly Filetrek and GridIron Software) specialized in Enterprise technology focussed on Secure Track and Trace, Security Analytics, SOC Dashboard and Endpoint Agent solutions.
He spent 5 years with Canadian Bank Note Corp. where as acting CISO, he oversaw Corporate Information Security Systems technology and product management and development of Secure Track and Trace solutions.
LinkedIn: Karl Galbraith
Website: Galbraith and Associates Inc.