Ali Waezzadah

Ali Waezzadah is Chief Information Security Officer of iCOUNTER, appointed in June 2026.

Career path

Waezzadah built security programs at Frontier Communications, Kroll, CBS, and Paramount over the course of his career. Before joining iCOUNTER, he served as CISO at Frontier Communications, where he helped lead the company's transformation and its eventual acquisition by Verizon. iCOUNTER announced his appointment as Chief Information Security Officer in June 2026. In addition to his operating roles, he serves as an advisor to emerging cybersecurity technology companies, helping them develop tools and services aimed at protecting organizations against modern threats.

Remit at iCOUNTER

As CISO, Waezzadah oversees iCOUNTER's security strategy and governance programs while helping shape the company's continued growth and innovation. He also works with customers, partners, and industry stakeholders to advance practices for threat-informed defense and proactive risk management. iCOUNTER describes itself as the leader in Enterprise Ecosystem Risk Intelligence and Counter Threat Operations, built around its Counter Threat Operating System platform, which combines third-party risk intelligence, continuous monitoring, third-party detection and response, and counter threat operations.

Views on the CISO role

In an August 2026 CSO Online article on how the CISO role will change by 2029, Waezzadah pointed to a shifting mix of forces — evolving IT infrastructure, geopolitics, the economy, new technologies, adversary techniques, regulation, and business strategy — as drivers of the position's next evolution. He argued that the background and experience expected of security workers is changing alongside those pressures. "Those are the things that will force the CISO to adapt," he said. He predicted that by 2029 CISOs will have more areas demanding their attention and will need to become more nimble and flexible as what they must protect changes rapidly.