Fortify your Future with Ken Carrasco

Welcome to Fortify your Future, a podcast for leaders tasked with the oversight of safety and security at your organization. Hosted by Ken Carrasco, a 20+ year Security Executive, Trusted Risk Advisor, and Industry Speaker. Tune in to strengthen your safety and security posture, learn from seasoned professionals, and keep up with technology accelerating business resilience. Each episode delivers actionable advice on risk management, crisis response, workplace safety, or performance/career management for security professionals. Subscribe now and fortify your organization's future!

Fortify your Future with Ken Carrasco is a business podcast hosted by Ken Carrasco, with 35 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Ken Carrasco hosts Fortify your Future with Ken Carrasco, a business show with 35 episodes published.

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  Episode #16

  From Expert to Strategic Leader with Hazel Annikin

  Sep 28, 202632 minS2

  Technical expertise can establish credibility—but it doesn’t automatically make someone an effective strategic leader. In this episode of Fortify Your Future , Ken Carrasco speaks with Hazel Annikin (FRSA) , founder of Pathfinder and an executive coach and mentor who helps technically accomplished professionals transition from operational expertise into senior leadership and develop the strategic voice to match their experience. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience in complex global organizations, Hazel explores what changes when leaders move from being the expert in the room to influencing people, decisions, and business outcomes. Ken and Hazel discuss: • Moving from functional expert to strategic business leader • Creating teams that tell leaders the truth—even when it's uncomfortable • Distinguishing what's genuinely urgent from what's simply loud • Protecting the cognitive bandwidth needed to lead through a real crisis • Why having a seat at the table doesn't guarantee influence • Translating risk into the language executives understand • Influencing without formal authority • Building trust and relationship capital before you need it • Understanding the unwritten rules of an organization • Systems thinking, change management, and adaptability • Developing the next generation of security and risk leaders • The role of mentorship in leadership development Hazel also introduces a particularly useful concept for security and risk professionals: attach your message to what already matters to executives— revenue, reputation, cost, customer experience, and growth —rather than relying solely on technical risk language. This conversation is for Security Directors, CSOs and aspiring CSOs, risk and resilience professionals, operational leaders, and anyone making the transition from technical expertise to strategic leadership. Follow Fortify Your Future with Ken Carrasco for conversations designed to help security leaders become business leaders . Connect with Hazel Annikin: Hazel Annikin on LinkedIn Link to join the community and receive the monthly newsletter with leadership insights https://pathfinder-rhsolutions.com/newsletter/ Link to the new group mentoring programs https://pathfinder-rhsolutions.com/programmes/ Let's talk Supply Chain Europe https://letstalksupplychain.com/europe Episode 1 (Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fnDeRB8JkRihuf7YLN0Sj?si=3D44912bf5c9c049=e2&nd=3D1&dlsi=3D858c8b8437ed4209 Can also be viewed on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IC6srg6SGc Let's talk supply Chain global/North America https://letstalksupplychain.com/ Let's talk Supply Chain Europe LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/lets-talk-supply-chain-europe/

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  Episode #15

  Security + Facilities: Better Together with Tom Wirth

  Sep 21, 202636 minS2

  What happens when Security and Facilities operate as separate functions instead of strategic partners? In this episode of Fortify Your Future , Ken Carrasco sits down with Tom Wirth , a facilities and operations leader with more than 40 years of experience, including 15 years at Meta. Through Coastal Operations Advisors, Tom now advises organizations and mentors the next generation of facilities leaders. His background also includes urban search and rescue and business resiliency. Tom and Ken discuss why strong relationships between Security, Facilities, and executive leadership are critical to reducing risk and strengthening organizational resilience. They explore: • Why Security and Facilities can't afford to work in silos • Balancing security requirements with employee experience • Using risk data to justify investments in security and infrastructure • Understanding the business cost of not investing in preparedness • Why Security should be involved in site selection and workplace design • Lessons from urban search and rescue for corporate preparedness • Coordinating Security and Facilities during major disruptions • The importance of early and frequent crisis communication • Developing technical managers into trusted business leaders • Building influence through relationships across the organization • Using AI to improve operations without expecting technology to solve every problem Tom's message is especially relevant for leaders navigating today's pressure to do more with less : understand the business, build strong cross-functional relationships, prioritize what matters, and ensure Security and Facilities are aligned with the organization's strategy. This conversation is for Security Directors, Facilities Leaders, CSOs and aspiring CSOs, workplace and corporate real estate professionals, resilience leaders, and executives responsible for people, places, operations, and risk. Follow Fortify Your Future with Ken Carrasco for executive-level conversations on security leadership, enterprise risk, crisis management, organizational resilience, and the business of security. Connect with Tom Wirth: Tom Wirth on LinkedIn

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  Episode #14

  Proving Security’s Business Value with Janae Cubeiro, CPP

  Sep 7, 202634 minS2

  In this episode of Fortify Your Future , Ken Carrasco speaks with Janae Cubeiro, CPP , a security leader with more than 20 years of experience in corporate security, operations, and security technology, as well as a decade of service with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team. How can security leaders demonstrate their value before an incident makes that value obvious? Janae shares practical perspectives on: • Communicating security’s value to business leaders • Moving the GSOC from event monitoring to decision support • Leadership and decision-making under pressure • Building teams that can perform without constant direction • Designing emergency exercises that reveal real weaknesses • Training for uncertainty rather than rehearsing predictable scenarios • Psychological safety, delegation, and sustainable leadership • Preparing an organization for its next difficult day The conversation is particularly relevant for Security Directors, CSOs and aspiring CSOs, GSOC leaders, corporate security professionals, emergency management leaders, and business continuity and resilience professionals . If you have executive oversight of security—or aspire to lead the function—this episode offers practical lessons for translating security expertise into business value, organizational readiness, and stronger leadership . Follow Fortify Your Future with Ken Carrasco for conversations about security leadership, corporate security, enterprise risk, crisis management, organizational resilience, and the business of security. Connect with Janae Cubeiro, CPP: Janae Cubeiro on LinkedIn

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  Episode #12

  Security Leaders Must Think Like Business Leaders with Alvar Orellana McBride

  Jun 15, 202640 minS2

  Ken Carrasco sits down with Alvar Orellana McBride, CPP, CEO of Griffin Risk and former security leader at Google, DHL, and DiDi, to discuss ESRM, Security 360, operational resilience, business continuity, executive influence, and the future of security leadership. A must-listen for security professionals seeking executive impact and aspiring CSOs. Connect with Alvar Orellana McBride: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvar-orellana-mcbride-cpp/ Website: https://www.griffinrm.com/

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  Episode #11

  Trust, Loyalty & Insider Risk with Christopher Burgess

  Jun 1, 20261h 5mS2

  <p>In this episode of Fortify Your Future, Ken Carrasco sits down with Christopher Burgess, former CIA officer, former Senior Security Advisor at Cisco, author, and insider risk expert, for a discussion on trust, loyalty, organizational culture, and the evolving nature of insider risk.</p><p>Christopher challenges conventional thinking around insider threat programs and explains why insider risk is often a leadership and organizational coherence issue rather than simply a security or technology problem.</p><p>Together they explore:</p><p>• The difference between trust and loyalty<br>• Insider risk and organizational culture<br>• Leadership blind spots<br>• Organizational coherenc...

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