Ep.

About this episode:
As AI adoption continues to grow, it’s important that effective risk management strategies and industry security standards evolve along with it. To discuss this, we are joined by Royal Hansen, the VP of Engineering for Privacy, Safety, and Security at Google, where he drives the overall information security strategy for the company’s technical infrastructure (and keeps billions of people safe online).
Royal cut his teeth as a software developer for Sapient before building a cyber-security practice in the financial services industry at @stake, American Express, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. In this episode, he explains why adhering to a bold and responsible framework is critical as AI capabilities are integrated into products worldwide and provides an overview of Google’s Secure AI Framework (SAIF), designed to help mitigate risks specific to AI systems. Royal unpacks each of the six core elements of SAIF, emphasizes the importance of collaboration, shares how he uses AI in his personal life, and much more.
Today’s conversation outlines a practical approach to addressing top-of-mind AI security concerns for consumers and security and risk professionals alike, so be sure to tune in!
Guest: Royal Hansen
Royal Hansen is Vice President of Security at Google, where he is responsible for driving the overall information security strategy for the company’s technical infrastructure, which serves billions of end-user consumers and enterprise customers.
Prior to joining Google, Royal was the Executive Vice President of Enterprise IT Risk and Information Security at American Express, responsible for solutions protecting the security and integrity of the company’s technology systems and the customer, business, and employee information they processed. Before American Express, Royal served as Managing Director, Technology Risk, and Global Head of Application Security, Data Risk, and Business Continuity Planning at Goldman Sachs. Royal was also previously at Morgan Stanley and Fidelity Investments, where he managed Enterprise IT Risk, Application Security, and Disaster Recovery.
Royal began his career as a software developer for Sapient before building a cyber-security practice in the financial services industry at @stake, which was acquired by Symantec. Royal holds a BA in Computer Science from Yale University. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in information sciences and Arabic language study, which he completed at the United Arab Emirates University.