Purdue University has appointed Bob Geswein as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), effective immediately. Geswein has 30 years of IT experience and has been a leader within Purdue IT since 2007. Most recently, he served as Director of Service Excellence before assuming the role of Interim CISO in April 2024. Previous experience with Purdue IT includes Director, Infrastructure Services (2015-2019), Manager, Student Systems Administration & Web Services (2010-2015) and Student Systems Administrator.

“One of the key priorities for Purdue IT remains protecting the data and security of all networks and people at Purdue University,” said Christian Theumer, Interim Vice President of Information Technology and Interim CIO. “Bob brings a wide breadth of IT and leadership experience to this role, and we are thrilled to have him leading the team as we look to protect Purdue at another level.”

Reporting directly to the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO), Geswein will provide system-wide leadership and oversight of information technology security processes, policies and procedures, practices and services for Purdue University. He will consult with University leaders to identify and manage internal and external risks to the security, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of University assets and resources. Under his leadership, the Security organization will anticipate and actively protect against new threats; continually evaluate the effectiveness of current safeguards; design and implement new and improved safeguards, programs and solutions, monitor and test those implementations; develop security and privacy policies that embody and promote the best information security practices; and recommend measures for policy compliance, risk mitigation, and overall improved security posture.

Prior to joining Purdue in 2007, Geswein spent five years at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology as a Lead Database Programmer and Database Administrator and eight years at Columbia House Corporation as an Information Systems Developer/Manager.

Geswein earned a master’s degree in Cybersecurity Management from Purdue Global and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Indiana University. He is also certified as an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader.