In today’s digital-first world, where technology shapes every facet of business, cybersecurity has evolved from being a backroom function to a boardroom priority. Few leaders embody this evolution as holistically as Troy Rydman, Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer at Packsize. His journey from traditional IT to the forefront of cybersecurity leadership reflects a deep understanding of both technology’s potential and its vulnerabilities. Over the years, Troy has not only shaped robust cybersecurity frameworks but also helped redefine the balance between innovation, security, and business growth.
At the helm of Packsize’s information technology and cybersecurity operations, Troy’s leadership is driven by the belief that security and innovation are not opposing forces but complementary drivers of success. His approach integrates business enablement, people empowerment, and customer trust—values that stand as the cornerstones of his professional philosophy.
From IT Foundations to Cybersecurity Leadership
Troy’s career began in the world of traditional IT—a space that sparked his fascination with technology and its transformative potential. In his early professional years, he thrived on mastering new systems and technologies, embracing the rapid pace of innovation that defines the tech landscape. Yet, amid this excitement, he found himself drawn to a side of technology that often received little attention: legacy systems and technical debt.
These neglected infrastructures, often overlooked as outdated or cumbersome, posed unique challenges that intrigued Troy. He saw the opportunity not only to repair and optimize such systems but also to uncover the vulnerabilities hidden within them. It was this realization—the understanding that outdated systems could become gateways for cyber threats—that shifted his focus toward cybersecurity.
Once immersed in the field, Troy discovered a dynamic ecosystem where creativity and problem-solving intersected with resilience and strategic foresight. Cybersecurity, for him, became the art of balancing defense and innovation, of protecting organizations while enabling their growth. It demanded a new kind of thinking—one that combined technological mastery with human insight and organizational collaboration.
He describes cybersecurity as a space where intellectual curiosity meets impact—a discipline that challenges professionals to think critically, adapt rapidly, and build trust at every level of business. For Troy, this field has never been just about preventing attacks; it’s about building confidence, continuity, and capability across the enterprise.
The Three Pillars of a Modern Cybersecurity Strategy
At Packsize, Troy leads with a clear, structured cybersecurity strategy anchored on three foundational pillars: enabling the business, fostering customer trust, and empowering people.
The first pillar business enablement is central to his philosophy. Troy firmly believes that cybersecurity should never be a barrier to innovation. Instead, it should serve as an enabler that supports the company’s growth objectives. For him, security leadership means finding harmony between protection and progress. A well-designed cybersecurity framework ensures that as businesses innovate and scale, they do so safely and sustainably.
The second pillar focuses on trust, which Troy identifies as the currency of modern business. Whether the customer is internal or external, every organization’s success depends on maintaining confidence in its systems and services. Security, therefore, is not just about defending data; it’s about preserving relationships, credibility, and reliability.
The third pillar empowering people is what ties everything together. Troy emphasizes that no cybersecurity strategy can succeed without the engagement and commitment of its people. When employees feel valued, supported, and invested in their roles, they naturally become proactive stewards of security. He champions a culture where individuals understand their importance in the organization’s digital defense, knowing that each decision, however small, contributes to the company’s resilience.
In his words and actions, Troy has turned cybersecurity from a technical function into a shared responsibility, where every team member becomes an active participant in safeguarding the company’s vision and its customers.
AI and Automation: The Next Frontier in Cyber Defense
In an era defined by artificial intelligence and automation, Troy stands at the intersection of innovation and defense. He views AI as both a transformative tool and a complex challenge within cybersecurity.
The most immediate benefit he sees is AI’s ability to enhance operational efficiency through low-touch automation. By automating repetitive, routine tasks, AI minimizes human error and accelerates response times—key factors in today’s fast-paced security environment. It also democratizes security operations, allowing even junior staff or newcomers to contribute meaningfully in areas like threat detection and incident management.
But for Troy, AI’s impact goes well beyond efficiency. He envisions a future where artificial intelligence plays an integral role in risk assessments, control validation, and large-scale compliance management. The potential for AI to continuously monitor systems, predict vulnerabilities, and enforce compliance measures in real time offers unprecedented advantages. Yet, Troy approaches this with a measured balance of optimism and responsibility.
He recognizes that AI introduces new layers of complexity, particularly when it comes to regulatory and ethical dimensions. Emerging global frameworks are beginning to demand greater transparency in how AI models are trained and used, requiring clear explainability of their decision-making processes. Bias mitigation, data privacy, and accountability are becoming crucial focus areas for organizations leveraging AI.
As a leader, Troy ensures that Packsize not only benefits from AI’s strengths but also upholds ethical standards in its application. To him, responsible AI adoption is not optional—it’s a mandate that defines the integrity and credibility of a company’s technology posture. He sees his role as a guardian of that integrity, ensuring that innovation aligns with compliance and accountability at every level.
Building a Culture of Awareness: People as the First Line of Defense
For Troy, cybersecurity is as much about human behavior as it is about technology. The most sophisticated tools can only go so far if people aren’t actively engaged and aware. That’s why he prioritizes building a strong cybersecurity culture across all levels of the organization.
He believes that awareness training should go beyond policies and presentations—it must be personal, relatable, and practical. Cybersecurity principles become meaningful only when individuals see how they directly affect their own roles, responsibilities, and digital habits.
Troy champions training programs that simulate real-world scenarios, allowing employees to experience and respond to potential threats in controlled environments. Such interactive exercises not only test technical skills but also build instinctive awareness. When employees understand how phishing attempts, password mismanagement, or social engineering can personally impact them, they internalize the importance of cybersecurity as a shared duty rather than a compliance checkbox.
He has seen that when cybersecurity training is interactive, relevant, and thought-provoking, it transforms from a routine exercise into an empowering experience. Employees begin to see themselves not as passive participants but as active defenders of the company’s mission. That shift in mindset, he believes, is what truly fortifies an organization’s human firewall.
Maintaining Clarity in a High-Stakes Role
As both CIO and CISO, Troy operates in one of the most demanding leadership spaces in technology. The CISO role, in particular, carries immense responsibility balancing business operations, incident response, compliance, and executive expectations, often under immense pressure.
Troy acknowledges that the role can be stressful, especially during control failures or unexpected incidents. However, he approaches such challenges with strategic composure and trust in his team. Through experience, he has learned that micromanaging every detail or diving into the technical depths can sometimes create more disruption than clarity.
Instead, he focuses on building a capable management team that can handle operational specifics with confidence and precision. For him, leadership is about empowerment and trust—ensuring that the right people, processes, and decision-making frameworks are in place long before a crisis emerges.
When incidents do occur, Troy relies on this established structure to ensure a coordinated and confident response. He believes that the strength of a cybersecurity team lies in its ability to function cohesively under pressure, and that strength can only be built through consistent trust, clear communication, and well-defined escalation protocols.
By fostering autonomy and accountability within his team, Troy prevents burnout and maintains focus on strategic outcomes rather than reactionary firefighting. This balance of technical awareness and executive leadership allows him to stay clear-headed in critical moments and to lead with resilience and foresight.
Fostering Collaboration Across Functions
In today’s interconnected organizations, cybersecurity is not a standalone domain—it intersects with every department, from operations to leadership to customer service. As both CIO and CISO at Packsize, Troy is uniquely positioned to bridge the often-separate worlds of IT and security.
His dual role enables him to create alignment on priorities, ensuring that both functions move toward shared objectives. Yet, he recognizes that collaboration doesn’t happen automatically—it must be intentionally cultivated.
One of the most significant challenges he has observed in organizations is the lack of trust between teams, which can create friction and impede progress. To overcome this, Troy actively promotes relationship-building beyond work-related interactions.
He organizes joint strategy sessions, cross-functional workshops, and off-site activities to bring people together in informal settings. When individuals connect on a personal level, they develop mutual respect and understanding that carries over into their professional interactions.
These bonds have a direct and measurable impact on organizational performance. They lead to more effective communication, quicker problem-solving, and greater resilience in moments of stress. For Troy, relationships are not soft skills—they are foundational business assets. The ability to unite people around a shared purpose and align them with a common vision is, in his view, one of the most powerful levers of leadership.
The Future of Cybersecurity: Innovation and Simplification
Looking back on two decades of working in technology and security, Troy reflects on the tremendous evolution of enterprise systems. From traditional infrastructure to microservices, from server-based computing to the rise of serverless architecture and AI-driven automation, the landscape has undergone revolutionary change.
What excites him most about the future is the simplification of complexity. He foresees a new era where advanced technologies can be deployed through natural language interactions, where plain-text commands can initiate sophisticated configurations aligned with predefined security architectures.
Such systems would streamline deployments, minimize human error, and make complex security architectures accessible to more professionals—not just specialists. This democratization of technology, as Troy envisions it, will redefine roles within IT and cybersecurity, empowering generalists to become innovators and problem-solvers.
For Troy, the future of cybersecurity is not just about new tools but about new capabilities for people. The ability to simplify and automate complex systems will accelerate innovation while ensuring that security remains a built-in, not bolted-on, component of every technological advance.
The Unique Cybersecurity Risks in Modern Manufacturing
With Packsize operating at the intersection of manufacturing and technology, Troy understands that cyber risk profiles differ across industries. Unlike sectors such as finance or healthcare, manufacturing companies typically handle limited volumes of personally identifiable information. However, they face distinct challenges related to supply chain integrity and operational continuity.
Troy identifies supply chain disruption and reputational damage as the most significant risks in manufacturing. In this industry, reliability and uptime are paramount. A single disruption—whether from ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, or system failures—can ripple through the supply chain, affecting not only the company but also its customers and partners.
He notes that even if a data breach doesn’t expose sensitive information, the mere perception of vulnerability can erode customer trust, which is often harder to rebuild than any technical system. In manufacturing, trust is currency—it determines client loyalty and business continuity.
For Troy, cybersecurity in this context is about preserving operational resilience. It’s not only about protecting information but also about ensuring that production lines, logistics systems, and supply chain processes remain uninterrupted. By focusing on uptime and service reliability, he ensures that Packsize’s security posture supports the company’s reputation for consistency and excellence.
Driving Sustainability Through Smart Technology Leadership
Troy’s leadership extends beyond cybersecurity and into Packsize’s broader mission of sustainability and technological innovation. Drawing from his previous experience supporting global technology strategies for some of AWS’s largest customers, he brings deep insight into how large-scale organizations leverage emerging technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce waste.
At Packsize, he applies this expertise to optimize and streamline technology services, creating a more sustainable operational ecosystem. By refining systems to reduce compute requirements and energy consumption, Troy contributes directly to both environmental and financial sustainability.
This synergy between technology and sustainability demonstrates that strong cybersecurity and smart technology management can coexist with environmental stewardship. By lowering the company’s technology power footprint, Packsize not only strengthens its business and enhances customer experience but also minimizes its ecological impact.
Under Troy’s leadership, technology becomes a force for good serving not just the organization and its customers, but the planet as well. His approach exemplifies how innovation, responsibility, and sustainability can intersect to drive meaningful, lasting impact.
Empowering the Next Generation of Cybersecurity Leaders
When asked about advice for aspiring CISOs, Troy emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence, relationship-building, and business acumen. Technical proficiency, while vital, is only one part of the equation. The most effective cybersecurity leaders, he explains, are those who can win hearts and minds those who see their role not as gatekeepers, but as enablers of growth.
True leadership in cybersecurity means fostering trust across the organization, building relationships with stakeholders, and aligning security objectives with business outcomes. The most impactful CISOs, in Troy’s view, are those who integrate security seamlessly into operations, empowering teams rather than constraining them.
He also stresses the importance of community engagement. Building networks within the broader cybersecurity ecosystem allows leaders to exchange knowledge, anticipate emerging trends, and stay grounded in a rapidly shifting environment.
For Troy, success as a CISO is not measured by the absence of incidents but by the presence of a strong, resilient culture—one where security is seen as a shared value, not an obligation. He believes that when organizations cultivate this culture, they create a legacy of trust, adaptability, and innovation that transcends technology itself.
A Vision for the Future
As Packsize continues to pioneer sustainable packaging solutions driven by technology, Troy Rydman remains at the forefront of securing its digital and operational infrastructure. His leadership blends strategic foresight, human empathy, and technical mastery, creating a cybersecurity framework that not only protects but propels the business forward.
From redefining AI’s role in defense to empowering employees as security champions, from fostering collaboration across departments to aligning technology with sustainability, Troy’s journey reflects the essence of a modern leader resilient, adaptive, and purpose-driven.
In an age where digital threats evolve faster than ever, Troy stands as a testament to what effective leadership in cybersecurity truly means: not merely defending the organization from the unknown but enabling it to thrive confidently in the face of change.
