doc@prestonrich.com · 972.837.7463
Dr. Preston
B. Rich
CISSP · Ph.D. · MBA · National CISO · Professor · Author · Keynote Speaker
For over 30 years, Dr. Preston Rich has operated at an intersection most people don’t even know exists — where elite cybersecurity meets organizational leadership. As a CISO, scholar, military veteran, university professor, and published author, he is pioneering the discipline of CyberLeadership — the understanding that the greatest threat to your organization’s security isn’t technology. It’s leadership.
leadership experience
achieved for clients
across 4 universities
PCI-DSS Best in Industry
directed, 96% success
One mission, thirty years running.
Dr. Preston Rich’s journey didn’t begin in a server room. It began in the United States Air Force, where he served over a decade — including two combat tours during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm — learning that mission success depends not on technology, but on the people entrusted to lead it.
After his honorable service as a Staff Sergeant, Dr. Rich translated military discipline into corporate excellence — rising through IT portfolio management at PepsiCo, directing $11M+ in global infrastructure projects with a 96% success rate, and ultimately earning the title of National CISO.
Along the way, he never stopped learning. He earned a Ph.D. in Organization and Management With Distinction from Capella University — becoming the first scholar to quantitatively measure the relationship between ethical leadership behavior and organizational performance. That research became the foundation of his book, Leading: From the Inside Out.
“Most security programs fail not because of bad technology — but because of bad leadership.”
— Dr. Preston B. Rich, CISSP · Ph.D.Today, Dr. Rich teaches at four universities, consults as a vCISO for organizations navigating complex risk environments, delivers keynote addresses to audiences nationwide, and publishes The Rich Report — the only monthly briefing dedicated to the emerging discipline of CyberLeadership.
Fractional CISO leadership for organizations that need executive-level security strategy without the full-time overhead. Risk assessments, compliance, and program building.
Learn more →The flagship discipline Dr. Rich is pioneering — building security-first organizational cultures by addressing the leadership behaviors that make or break security programs.
Learn more →Corporate leadership and management development workshops for organizations that need to build stronger leaders, better teams, and more resilient organizational cultures.
Learn more →Keynote addresses and conference presentations on CyberLeadership, organizational security culture, ethical leadership, and the future of cybersecurity strategy.
Learn more →behind every engagement.
From the
Inside Out ISBN: 978-1547230105
The book that started
the CyberLeadership conversation.
Leading: From the Inside Out is Dr. Rich’s landmark work on leadership philosophy — drawing from his doctoral research as the first scholar to quantitatively measure the relationship between ethical leadership behavior and organizational performance.
The principles in this book form the foundation of Dr. Rich’s CyberLeadership framework — the belief that security-first cultures aren’t built with firewalls, but with leaders who lead from the inside out.
the mission.