Nick Shevelyov is the Founder and CEO of vCSO.ai and author of Cyber War…and Peace: Building Digital Trust Today with History as Our Guide. He spent 15 years as Chief Security Officer at Silicon Valley Bank (2007–2021), where he led enterprise security through hypergrowth, financial crises, and the digital transformation of the innovation economy’s most active bank.
Nick brings a distinctive lens to cybersecurity strategy—applying lessons from military history and behavioral economics to redefine how organizations detect, prioritize, and respond to risk. He is the architect of several security frameworks, including the “Red Swan” concept, addressing the systemic failure of assumed security controls. His frameworks have shaped how security leaders think about verification, resilience, and the limits of static defense.
Today, vCSO.ai advises enterprises on security leadership and assists cybersecurity product companies optimize their go-to-market positioning and channel strategies. Nick serves on the Board of Directors of AuthID (AUID) and the Bay Area CSO Council, and is a pivotal advisor to venture capital and private equity firms on security investments.