Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue. It is a leadership, operations, and communication challenge that touches every part of the business.

In this episode, Aaron Kopel sits down with Chetrice Romero, Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at Ice Miller LLP, to unpack what organizations still get wrong about cyber readiness. Chetrice shares her unconventional path from public relations and crisis communications into cybersecurity leadership, including her work shaping Indiana’s statewide cyber strategy and advising organizations through high-stress incidents. She explains why the biggest cyber risks today are often people problems, why geopolitics now matter to business leaders far beyond government, and why incident response planning has to extend well beyond the IT department.

Chetrice also breaks down what effective tabletop exercises actually look like and why leaders need to understand their role before a real incident hits. This conversation is a practical look at how momentum in cybersecurity comes from preparation, shared responsibility, and the ability to respond calmly when the pressure is highest.

Key takeaways:

• Cybersecurity is a people and business problem, not just a technical one
• Tabletop exercises reveal leadership gaps before a real incident does
• Vendor risk, geopolitics, and poor preparation can quickly become operational crises

Episode highlights

(00:00) Intro

(01:04) From PR into cyber leadership

(02:51) Building Indiana’s cyber strategy

(14:06) Geopolitics and destructive attacks

(17:38) What tabletop planning should cover

(24:21) When vendor breaches hit operations

(25:46) PR, panic, and crisis pressure

(28:16) What cyber insurance really covers

(29:48) How to run useful tabletops

(35:53) Rapid fire questions and reflections

Chetrice Romero on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romeroclm

Aaron Kopel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronkopel

Explore Ice Miller LLP: https://www.icemiller.com/

Explore Project Brilliant: https://projectbrilliant.com

The Science of Scaling by Benjamin Hardy: https://a.co/d/76xHeGD

Buy Unlocking Momentum: https://a.co/d/hKPFqoS