Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. · 18 hours ago
Executive Director, Global Cyber Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)
Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
15+ years expAlexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is focused on accelerating life-changing medicines to patients through trusted technology. The Executive Director for Global Cyber GRC will lead the enterprise approach to information security, ensuring resilience and regulatory confidence while connecting cyber risk to strategic decisions.
BiotechnologyHealth CareMedicalTherapeutics
Responsibilities
Lead the organization-wide information security and technology risk framework spanning all locations and business se Prioritize the most meaningful risks and drive treatment plans to closure
Lead all aspects of the worldwide cyber regulatory approach and ensure it meets laws, regulations, and standards. This includes confidentiality, information security, crucial infrastructure, and requirements outstanding to the life sciences sector across jurisdictions
Third-Party Risk Governance: Coordinate the management of cyber risk controls for vendors, academic collaborators, and technology service providers, safeguarding the extended ecosystem vital to global operations
Cyber Resilience Oversight: Provide governance for incident preparedness, crisis response coordination, and recovery preparation; ensure cohesive, end-to-end resilience outcomes with security operations, technology, legal, privacy and business continuity teams
Control Assurance and Ongoing Improvement: Ensure the build and efficiency of cybersecurity and information technology safeguards through continuous validation, evaluation, and detailed improvement
Build, lead, and advance international cyber risk oversight groups and senior risk advisory panels. Drive cross-functional decisions that align with the organization's risk tolerance and strategic goals
Communicate detailed engineering and compliance risk into clear choices for top leadership as well as the Board. Deliver concise, high-impact reports on posture, trends, and material exposures
Act as a reliable consultant to the heads of information security, information technology, risk and compliance functions, and legal partners. Represent the company in interactions with regulatory agencies, professional associations, and peer organizations
Distributed Team Leadership: Build, lead and develop a high-performing, distributed cyber GRC team with clear mission, measurable outcomes and strong succession
Business Enablement: Incorporate cyber risk within broader enterprise risk management to reduce friction, increase confidence and enable faster, safer delivery of scientific and commercial outcomes
Qualification
Required
Demonstrated experience establishing and leading an enterprise framework for managing cybersecurity and technological risk across multiple regions and business units
Proven ability to integrate cyber risk into enterprise risk management processes, aligned with corporate risk appetite and strategic objectives
Track record coordinating third-party cyber risk management across suppliers, research partners and technology vendors
Ownership of a global cyber regulatory strategy with compliance accountability across jurisdictions, including privacy, data protection, critical infrastructure and life sciences–specific requirements
Experience acting as the primary executive interface for cyber-related regulatory examinations, audits and inquiries
Evidence of harmonizing compliance controls across regions while maintaining local regulatory adherence
Governance oversight of cyber resilience programs, including incident readiness, crisis management and recovery planning
Expertise ensuring control design and effectiveness for cyber and IT controls, including ongoing assurance, testing and continuous improvement
Experience designing, leading and maturing global cyber risk governance forums and executive risk committees
Ability to translate complex technical and regulatory risks into clear, actionable insights for senior executives and the Board, with concise, high-impact reporting
Validated leadership building, leading and developing a globally distributed team of cyber GRC professionals
Experience serving as a trusted advisor to CISO, CIO, enterprise risk leadership, compliance, legal and senior business executives
Credibility representing an organization externally with regulators, industry bodies and peer companies
Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., MBA, MS, JD)
15+ years of progressive experience in cyber security, IT risk, governance, risk, and/or compliance roles
Preferred
Experience in highly regulated, science-driven industries such as biopharma, healthcare or critical infrastructure
Strong familiarity with global regulatory frameworks and standards (e.g., GDPR and other privacy laws, NIS2, HIPAA, FDA/EMA expectations, ISO/IEC 27001/27701, SOC 2)
Board-level communication and storytelling that link risk to enterprise value and patient impact
Leadership of large-scale control transformation or control harmonization initiatives across regions
Depth in third-party and supply chain cyber risk, including cloud/SaaS, data platforms and research collaborations
Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CIPP/E, CIPM or equivalent executive-level credentials
Experience aligning cyber resilience with enterprise business continuity and technology recovery programs
Benefits
Short-term incentive bonus opportunity
Equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles)
Retirement contribution (hourly roles)
Commission payment eligibility (sales roles)
Qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
Paid vacation and holidays
Paid leaves
Health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage
Company
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease is focused on pioneering new possibilities for the rare disease community.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (49)
2024 (57)
2023 (51)
2022 (29)
2021 (27)
2020 (17)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$5.8M2020-12-12Acquired
1999-02-12Post Ipo Equity· $5.8M
1996-02-29IPO
Leadership Team
Frederic Chereau
SVP, Strategy and Business Development
Imran Shakur
Director, IRT and Technology Lead
Recent News
BioWorld Financial Watch
2026-01-17
bloomberglaw.com
2025-12-20
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