About the Speaker

With a dynamic personality and over 25 years of IT management and security expertise, Todd Dekkinga steps into the spotlight as the new host of Risk Grustlers. As the CISO at Scrut Automation and Zluri and advisor to startups like Box and Zoom, Todd is the perfect guide to help you navigate the complexities of risk and compliance.

Todd and our CEO and Co-Founder, Aayush Ghosh Choudhury, share an undeniable passion for security and startups, which shines through in this lively episode. They share actionable advice and deep insights, including trade secrets you wouldn’t hear elsewhere. You don’t wanna miss this!

Introduction

In this episode, we explore Todd’s unorthodox path to compliance, GRC, and risk management – a testament to the diverse paths that can lead to a career in risk management.

 He highlights the pivotal moments that shaped his expertise, including the dot-com crash of 2001 and his work in highly controlled environments like biotech.

Todd discusses the common mistakes startups make during the SOC 2 compliance process and offers practical advice on maintaining compliance post-certification. 

He also elaborates on the role of automation in GRC, particularly in optimizing compliance efforts for companies of different sizes.

Todd's insights will provide valuable perspectives on navigating the complexities of compliance and risk management. Tune in to uncover the true upshot of continuous and non-continuous compliance.

Highlights:

• Todd’s journey into compliance and risk management
• Navigating compliance in startups vs. large companies
• The role of automation in GRC
• Practical tips for continuous compliance 

Quotes

• "The dot-com crash of 2001 was a turning point for me, leading me to focus on IT efforts in regulated industries like biotech. Working in highly controlled environments laid the foundation for my understanding of compliance and risk."

• "One common mistake among startups is neglecting to maintain compliance post-certification. Many overlook the continuous monitoring required, leading to frantic efforts to catch up during surveillance audits."

• "Automation plays a crucial role in simplifying compliance tasks, particularly for smaller companies with limited resources. Automated tools like Scrut streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and ensure consistency in meeting regulatory requirements."

About Scrut Automation

Scrut Automation is a risk observability and compliance automation platform built to simplify information security monitoring for cloud-native companies. We help early-stage and growth-stage companies across the globe, establish enterprise-grade information security processes through an easy-to-use GRC platform.

To watch more of our episodes and learn more about us, visit us at

About Scrut Automation:
Scrut Automation empowers scaling companies to move Beyond Compliance, focusing on managing digital risk while reducing the friction of audit preparation, evidence collection, and risk monitoring.

Purpose-built for high-growth startups and mid-market businesses, Scrut simplifies the most tedious parts of compliance and risk management, keeping you audit-ready and risk-aware at all times. With seamless integration into your processes, Scrut delivers real-time insights and continuous monitoring, enabling proactive risk management to support sustainable growth. Focus on scaling your business confidently as Scrut automates compliance and strengthens your digital resilience—no more manual work or compliance chaos.

To watch more of our episodes and learn more about us, visit us at :
https://www.scrut.io/podcasts