Sallie Mae CSO Jerry Archer Receives Cloud Security Alliance’s 2021 Philippe Courtot Leadership Award

Archer honored for tireless commitment to innovation, peer collaboration, and leading-edge information technology

BELLEVUE, WA – SECtember – Sept. 16, 2021 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, has named Jerry Archer, Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer for Sallie Mae, as the recipient of the Cloud Security Alliance Philippe Courtot Leadership Award for 2021. CSA’s Leadership Award is given annually to individuals in recognition of their contributions in advancing cloud security and cybersecurity worldwide and was renamed in honor of former Qualys CEO Philippe Courtot.

"Jerry Archer has left an indelible mark on our industry by being an active champion of innovation, peer collaboration, and thoughtful adoption of state-of-the-art information technology. Jerry was an original founding board member of Cloud Security Alliance and has greatly influenced our strategy to raise the baseline of cloud security worldwide. Jerry is one of the most generous professionals in our industry and has provided innumerable briefings to organizations looking for the voice of experience. Cybersecurity succeeds when its experts share, and Jerry has always given back to the community with no thought for himself," said Jim Reavis, co-founder and CEO, Cloud Security Alliance.

As Sallie Mae's chief security officer, Archer is responsible for business continuity, crisis management, and security risk management, including cyber and information security. He joined Sallie Mae in 2009 and has decades of experience at leading companies and government agencies, including Intuit, Visa, and Fidelity.

His work in the U.S. Intelligence Community earned him the National Performance Review Hammer Award, a Distinguished Service Award from the Central Intelligence Agency, and a Meritorious Unit Citation from the National Security Agency. He was also named the 2011 North American Information Security Executive of the Year. Archer is also a Fellow at the Ponemon Institute, the premier consumer privacy research institute; a member of the Advisory Board, George Mason University International Cyber Center; on the Security Innovation Network Showcase steering committee; and a member of numerous industry and corporate advisory boards.

“I’ve been fortunate in my career to work with so many outstanding leaders and professionals on the front lines in advancing cybersecurity, and I am especially honored and humbled to receive this award, named for a true visionary and standout leader in the industry. To receive an award that pays tribute to Philippe Courtot and his tremendous legacy is beyond gratifying,” said Archer.

The CSA Industry Leadership Award was renamed in honor of Philippe Courtot, the former Chairman and CEO of Qualys and a founding member of CSA. Courtot, who passed away earlier this year, was known for his industry vision and dedication to helping companies improve their IT security and compliance postures. His passion and understanding of emerging cyber threats redefined how companies think about security.

"We believe it is a fitting tribute to a larger than life cybersecurity leader like Philippe Courtot to rename the CSA's annual industry leadership award in his honor. Philippe was always multiple steps ahead of the pack when it came to identifying important emerging trends and had a tremendous capacity to drive change for the better of the online world and humanity itself,” explained Reavis.

About Cloud Security Alliance
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, training, certification, events, and products. CSA's activities, knowledge, and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud — from providers and customers to governments, entrepreneurs, and the assurance industry — and provide a forum through which different parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.