Tim McKnight

Tim McKnight is the Senior Vice President, IT Risk Management & Security and Chief Information Security Officer of Merck.

Career path

McKnight began his career at the Federal Bureau of Investigation as lead investigator of National Infrastructure Protection Center matters, covering high-tech crime, corporate espionage, foreign counterintelligence and telecommunications fraud.
He went on to hold IT and security leadership roles at Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Cisco Systems.
He later served as executive vice president of Fidelity Investments' Information Security and Technology Risk function.
At General Electric he served as Chief Information Security Officer, executing the company's information security and IT risk strategy; other official profiles describe the position as Chief Information & Product Security Officer.
He then became Chief Information Security Officer for Thomson Reuters, responsible for all aspects of the company's global information security risk management program. McKnight subsequently joined SAP as Executive Vice President and Chief Security Officer, developing, implementing and managing the company's global security policies, standards and guidelines across worldwide IT, physical and personnel security, cybersecurity and data protection.
In January 2024, SYN Ventures named McKnight an Operating Partner focused on its dedicated cybersecurity seed fund.
"There has never been a better time to invest in cybersecurity, which makes joining the SYN Ventures team a fantastic opportunity," McKnight said at the time. Later in 2024, UnitedHealth Group appointed McKnight Chief Information Security Officer. In 2026, Merck named McKnight Senior Vice President, IT Risk Management & Security and Chief Information Security Officer.

Advisory and board roles

McKnight joined the Onapsis board of directors as an independent board director in April 2024. He also sits on the Board of Security Advisors for Google Cloud and for Amazon Web Services. He has been a founding member of SYN Ventures' CISO Board of Advisors since 2017, a connection the firm's managing partner has described as dating back more than 20 years of working together as fellow CISOs.