This episode features a conversation with Marene Allison ’80, CISO of J&J.
Prior to joining J&J, Marene was CISO and VP for Medco, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the United States, and Head of Global Security at Avaya, where she worked on securing the World Cup network in Korea and Japan in 2002. Marene graduated from West Point in 1980, part of the first class to include women, and later served in the Military Police. She has been on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services appointed by the Secretary of Defense and the Overseas Security Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State. On this episode, Marene shares what it meant to graduate as part of West Point’s first class to include women, the scope and magnitude of being the CISO for J&J during the production of the Covid-19 vaccine, and how she tackles challenges with an “I can do anything” mindset.
Marene graduated from West Point, in 1980, the first class to include women, and branched Military Police. She was on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services appointed by the Secretary of Defense and the Overseas Security Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State. She is a founding member of West Point Women, a Shared Interest Group at West Point, and currently serves on their Board of Directors.
On this episode, Marene shares what it meant to graduate in the 1st class to include women, the scope and magnitude of being the CISO for J&J as they produced the vaccine that protected against Covid-19, and how she’s able to tackle challenges with an “I can do anything” mindset.
Episode Timestamps
(03:10) Where Marene grew up and how she heard about West Point
(03:40) What it meant to be the first class of women at West Point
(07:10) Did Marene think she’d ever become CISO of J&J?
(08:40) How Marene thought about her early career
(10:30) How to prove people wrong
(11:30) Joining the FBI
(19:27) Joining Johnson & Johnson
(21:45) The scope and magnitude of being the CISO for J&J
(26:50) SOP—Standard Operating Procedure
(29:50) The trust needed to be CISO of J&J
(33:24) The Situation Report
(33:50) Securing the J&J Vaccine
(36:05) How the first shared interest group West Point Women came to be
(41:20) What impact Marene wants West Point Women to accomplish
(46:50) Giving Back
“We raised our hand and said, ‘I will defend against all enemies foreign and domestic,’ and I do that every morning. I don’t raise my hand, but I go out there for the mission. And J&J, being a fortune 50 company, is not only a target because it’s healthcare and because it’s created a vaccine, but it’s also part of the financial institution and is seen as a symbol of the United States. So [it’s paramount] to make sure that our data is safe and our systems are safe so that the people who create the vaccines, who create the drugs, who create the bandaids that are used around the world every single day— they’re free operate without being attacked or having to worry about their systems or data.”
—Marene Allison ’80
