Global Head of Academy

About Us:

ISTARI is a global cybersecurity advisory and investment company founded by Temasek. We partner with boards, CEOs, and CISOs of the world’s most forward-thinking organisations to build cyber resilience as a strategic advantage - one that protects value, accelerates growth, and transforms business performance.

Our ecosystem combines advisory, investments, and academia - uniting leading experts, researchers, and practitioners to outpace the evolving cyber threat landscape.

At the heart of our mission lies the ISTARI Academy - our platform for leadership development, thought leadership, and frontier exploration. It convenes global leaders through executive education (Navigator with Cambridge Judge Business School), board enablement (Lighthouse), research and academic partnerships (Cambridge, Oxford, NUS, SMU), and summits (COMPASS, CHARTER) that shape the future of cyber resilience.

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a Global Head of Academy to lead and grow ISTARI’s intellectual and convening engine. This role sits at the intersection of research, education, and influence - shaping the ideas, insights, and experiences that define the global conversation on cyber resilience and digital leadership.

You will oversee and orchestrate four integrated pillars:

1. Live Experiences and Summits - designing world-class convenings such as COMPASS and CHARTER.
2. Research and Thought Leadership - advancing ISTARI’s primary research, proprietary frameworks, publications, and academic partnerships.
3. Community and Influence - strengthening ISTARI’s global community of clients, portfolio companies, and thought leaders.
4. Executive Education - curating and contributing to transformational learning experiences for board members and cyber leaders alike.

What You’ll Do (Key Responsibilities):

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the global strategy for ISTARI Academy as a key pillar of the company’s growth and reputation.
• Build a cohesive ecosystem connecting research, education, and convening into a single flywheel of influence and client impact.
• Partner with ISTARI’s leadership team to align Academy outputs with commercial and investment priorities.

Research & Thought Leadership

• Shape ISTARI’s intellectual agenda around cyber resilience, cyber stewardship, AI governance, and digital trust.
• Commission and publish high-impact research (e.g. indices, frameworks, whitepapers) with leading universities and institutions.
• Build and oversee an ISTARI Research Council of academic and industry advisors.

Executive Education

• Lead the co-design and co-delivery of transformative executive programmes (e.g. Navigator, Lighthouse).
• Manage partnerships with Cambridge Judge Business School and other academic and government agency partners.
• Develop a portfolio of modular learning experiences and digital content for board-level and enterprise audiences.

Live Experiences

• Oversee the curation and production of flagship events such as the COMPASS Summit and regional convenings such as CHARTER Forum.
• Develop distinctive agendas that combine foresight, cross-sector dialogue, and actionable insight.
• Elevate the experience design, speaker curation, and storytelling of ISTARI’s convenings.

Community Building

• Cultivate a trusted, global community of senior leaders, clients, and portfolio executives with a compelling membership proposition.
• Establish digital and physical channels to sustain engagement between programmes and events.

Team & Operational Excellence

• Lead a small, high-performing global team spanning research, learning, and events.
• Manage relationships with external partners, academic institutions, and government agencies.
• Oversee budget, planning, and measurement of impact (reach, influence, and commercial linkage).

What You'll Bring (Candidate Profile):

Experience

• Deep understanding of cyber, leadership and strategy.
• 10–15+ years of leadership experience in research/thought leadership/journalism, executive education, think-tanks, management consulting, or global convening organisations.
• Proven track record of building thought-leadership platforms or academic partnerships at scale (e.g. at a global firm, university, or foundation).
• Experience working with senior executives and boards in both corporate and academic settings.

Attributes

• Strategic Integrator: Connects ideas, people, and platforms into a coherent ecosystem.
• Builder: Excited to create, build and integrate - blending education, thought leadership, and community - resourceful, creative and pragmatic in approach.
• Intellectual Curator: Passionate about ideas and research that shape executive thinking.
• World-Class Convenor: Skilled at designing and producing extraordinary events and experiences.
• Trusted Partner: Credible in front of CEOs, CISOs, and academics alike.
• Global Mindset: Comfortable operating across geographies and cultures.

See our latest as an example of our events.

See our with Cambridge Judge Business School.

See examples of

If you are a builder and a leader ready to own and shape the future of a growing global academy, we encourage you to apply.