Episode 286 - Finding a Common Language in Security: Risk, AI, and Leading Through Uncertainty with Jonathan Perillo

In this episode of The Fearless Mindset Podcast, host Mark Ledlow is joined by Jonathan Perillo, a former Marine, to talk about changes in the security industry and staying adaptable amid geopolitical disruption. Perillo discusses being named ASIS International’s Next Gen of the Year, recognized in the Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, publishing in SJA, helping launch the Life Safety Alliance Legends program, and serving as a judge for the US OSPAs. They explore how security is expanding into polycrisis conditions, the need for a unified language across security, IT, and legal to enable convergence, and the shift from protection to enterprise risk management. They discuss AI-driven misinformation, growing geopolitical risk in corporate risk registers, banking’s anxiety over crypto and AI, and the idea that adapting to AI requires becoming more human. Perillo shares his motivation to keep people safe and argues strong security leaders address vulnerabilities and imposter syndrome.

Learn about all this and more in this episode of The Fearless Mindset Podcast.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The security industry is shifting from protection to risk management, requiring professionals to speak the language of legal, IT, C-suite, and finance stakeholders
• Common language is the #1 bottleneck slowing down convergence across security, cyber, and business functions
• Geopolitical risk (Middle East, Ukraine, etc.) is now being added to corporate risk registers, on par with cyber risk
• Adaptability over normalcy — organizations should stop chasing "business as usual" and build resilience to ongoing disruption
• AI makes human relationships more valuable, not less — face-to-face trust-building cannot be automated
• The best security leaders are insecure — they identify gaps, address vulnerabilities, and constantly seek to improve
• Military veterans thrive in security because of the "if not me, then who?" ethos
• Imposter syndrome is nearly universal among thought leaders — the breakthrough is the question: "If not me, then who?"

QUOTES

• "The best security leaders are insecure, because those are the ones who strive to better themselves and fill in the gaps of what they don't know."
• "AI will let you be more human. Business relationships aren't made off bits and bytes — they're made off meeting in person."
• "It's not about getting back to the first chapter where everything was green pastures. It's about finishing the book and adapting as you go."
• "If not me, then who?" — the Marine Corps ethos applied to stepping up as a security leader
• "Security through insecurity — insecure people know how to address their vulnerabilities, and that's what makes a good security leader."
• "I can either learn it, or I can hire somebody that knows it."
• "You're the only person that could come up with that idea, because you're you."

Get to know more about Jonathan Perillo through the link/s below.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-perillo/

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