Shamla Naidoo is a member of the Audit Committee for Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and Anne Ray Foundation, both of which operate under the umbrella of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. (MACP).
Shamla brings a rare mix of global business experience, cyber and technology skills, and legal expertise to the boardroom. In both leadership and board roles, she has built a track record of creating business value while aggressively managing risk. Her experience teaching global privacy and technology law, uniquely qualify her to navigate complex regulatory, data and privacy rules.
She was formerly IBM’s Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), where she was responsible for securing all the company’s digital assets. Her mission included the protection of IBM’s critical information assets, millions of devices, the IBM Cloud, petabytes of data and one of the world’s large intellectual property portfolios. As a Managing Partner at IBM, she advised CEOs, board members, and executives on digital transformation, innovation, and strategic risk management. She recently led Cloud Strategy & Innovation at Netskope, a private cyber security company for 3 years.
Shamla has built a long and unusual profile of skills, experience, expertise, and specialties. She has worked in technical roles in the oil refineries and mines in South Africa (Anglo American/De Beers), and in energy and manufacturing (South African Petroleum Refineries (Shell&BP JV). She has worked in financial services (Northern Trust, ABN AMRO, Bridgewater), health insurance (Anthem, Wellpoint), and hospitality (Starwood, now Marriott) with experience in countries on six continents. In each role, she has helped companies better execute on their digital transformation journey and technology adoption. Decades of experience in technology, cybersecurity and risk management have given Shamla deep subject-matter expertise. Her legal training has equipped her to ask probing questions to uncover embedded risks in strategy. Her business acumen is built on her understanding of business priorities, trade-offs and P&L management. Lastly, her training as an economist has helped her to successfully navigate the dynamic balance between risk and growth.
She holds multiple degrees in Jurisprudence, Management Information Systems, and Commerce. Together, her education and experience give her valuable perspective and insight into business, law and digital transformation.