Torq, the agentic security operations leader, has appointed former Virgin Atlantic CISO John White as Field CISO. White, who successfully transformed Virgin Atlantic's cyber defenses using the Torq AI SOC Platform, now joins Torq to guide global enterprises and CISOs in adopting agentic AI for modern SOC operations following the company's $140M Series D funding.
Torq announced the appointment of John White, previously Chief Information Security Officer at Virgin Atlantic, as Field CISO. This move follows White's successful deployment of the Torq AI SOC Platform during a comprehensive multi-year overhaul of Virgin Atlantic's cybersecurity across its airline, cargo, and vacation operations. The transformation delivered significant improvements in protection and operational efficiency, solidifying White's conviction in agentic AI's transformative potential for security teams.
White brings more than two decades of hands-on security leadership, having previously established and modernized security programs at major global organizations including ASOS, Liberty Global, AEG Europe, and KPMG. His cross-industry expertise spans retail, telecommunications, energy, and live entertainment, providing deep insight into the complex demands facing enterprise security leaders.
White expressed strong enthusiasm for his new role at this critical juncture for the industry: “I’m thrilled to join Torq as agentic SOC innovation meets market momentum at hyperscale. Having seen firsthand how the Torq AI SOC Platform accelerates triage, investigation, and response across complex IT environments, I’m excited to help lead Torq customers and prospects into this incredible new era. The Torq AI SOC Platform proves AI is no longer optional. Instead of creating conventional org charts, I encourage CISOs everywhere to put up an agentic workforce chart and ensure their SOC team is aligned with its capabilities and potential. It’s official: Agentic AI is now the core architecture of the modern SOC.”
In his capacity as Field CISO, White acts as a strategic peer consultant to Torq's community of CISOs and security stakeholders. He focuses on bridging the divide between advanced technical capabilities and executive-level strategy, enabling security teams to navigate market complexity and implement agentic AI approaches that deliver measurable outcomes.
Ofer Smadari, CEO and co-founder of Torq, highlighted the strategic importance of White's appointment: “Bringing John White on board reflects our commitment to a practitioner-led approach. John isn’t a theorist. Rather, he has the battle scars from running mission-critical security at a global airline. He understands the pressure CISOs face because he was in their seat just yesterday. He chose to join Torq to help the industry move faster, and his experience will be invaluable to every security leader looking to fix their SOC.”
White's transition from customer to leadership underscores the proven value of Torq's platform in real-world, high-stakes environments. His firsthand experience positions him uniquely to support Torq's growing base of multinational enterprises—including Marriott, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, and Uber—in accelerating their shift to agentic security operations.
Torq's AI SOC platform enables instant and precise detection and response to security events at enterprise scale, empowering organizations to move beyond legacy systems toward autonomous, efficient security workflows. White's addition strengthens Torq's ability to guide the industry through this pivotal evolution in cybersecurity.
About Torq
Torq is transforming cybersecurity with the Torq AI SOC platform. Torq empowers enterprises to instantly and precisely detect and respond to security events at scale. Torq’s customer base includes major multinational enterprise customers, including Abnormal Security, Armis, Check Point Security, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inditex (Zara, Bershka, and Pull & Bear), Informatica, Kyocera, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Telefónica, Valvoline, Virgin Atlantic, and Wiz.
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