Steve Tout
Steve Tout is the founder and CEO of Identient, a strategic advisor to cybersecurity leaders, and the author of The CISO on the Razor’s Edge: Leading Cybersecurity When the System Is Designed to Break.
As an operator and strategist, Steve has spearheaded identity, governance, and security programs at Oracle, PwC, VMware, and across the public sector — including the State of Washington’s CIAM modernization effort. His work sits at the intersection of enterprise leadership, digital transformation, and high-stakes resilience.
Steve is the creator of SPI 360, the first Strategic Performance Intelligence system for cybersecurity leadership, designed to measure alignment, governance, and decision control in real time. He hosts The Strategy Layer Live and The Candid CISO podcasts, and runs the SPI 360 Executive Circle, a private peer group for cybersecurity leaders navigating modern governance and boardroom pressure.
His book has been praised for reframing the CISO role not as a technical failure, but as a systemic leadership flaw — and offering a model to fix it. He is a guest lecturer, keynote speaker, and trusted thought partner for security executives, investors, and policymakers.
Steve holds a B.S. in Information Technology and an MBA from Santa Clara University with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. He is an ultramarathoner, systems thinker, and builder of tools that turn leadership friction into strategic power.
Steve took to long-distance running in early 2023—not for medals, but for mastery. Since then, he’s run multiple marathons, crushed several 50Ks, and completed his first 50-mile ultra in 2024. He builds companies with the same engine: relentless, focused, and impossible to shake.
