When Martin de Vries heard in early March that the CISO community in the Netherlands had nominated him as one of three candidates for the title of CISO of the Year 2025, he immediately felt honored. He doesn’t know exactly who nominated him, but it undoubtedly included members of the university network of CISOs. “We meet every month.”

De Vries noticed that his nomination also made his colleagues within LIS and TU/e proud. “The nomination stems from the way we collectively handled the cyberattack in January and is an appreciation of TU/e’s growth in terms of cybersecurity in recent years. It’s a shame I didn’t win last night, but I’m completely okay with it.” Zalando’s CISO, Florence Mottay, was named Dutch CISO of the Year 2025. Vladimir Cibic of KPN was also nominated.

The award ceremony during CISODAY in Nieuwegein was the culmination of a long process in which De Vries learned a great deal. “There were discussions with the jury in which each CISO had to answer questions and give advice on fictional situations. We underwent a leadership assessment and attended each other’s pitches. It was like a mirror was held up to us, which is always useful.”

More than 300 cybersecurity leaders gathered at CISODAY. The slogan ‘Together, we stand’ speaks for itself. CISO Community Netherlands is a network that brings together CISOs from business and government to share new insights.

The main photo shows Martin de Vries standing behind Vladimir Cibic and Florence Mottay.