MassMutual hires new CISO from Voya Financial

Life insurer MassMutual has hired Jesus “Laz” Montano as head of enterprise information risk management and CISO.

Montano reports to Mark Roellig, MassMutual’s chief technology and administration officer. He is tasked with directing a holistic risk management approach across the company, including managing operational and cyber security risks, ensuring all regulatory and compliance requirements are met, and safeguarding of MassMutual’s data and information.

“Laz brings to MassMutual both demonstrated expertise and a deep business insight, built on nearly 30 years of technology and cyber security experience, and we look forward to his contributions as part of our unwavering commitment to best-in-class EIRM practices,” said Roellig. “Importantly, Laz is also a tremendous advocate of fostering diversity and inclusion, a basic tenet of our organization.”

Montano last worked at Voya Financial as CISO. He also has worked at OpenSky, MetLife, Travelers and Lucent Technologies.

MassMutual recently announced that it is looking to add 2,000 jobs in Massachusetts by 2021, including some IT functions. The company will construct a new building on the Boston waterfront, and up until then, will add about three-quarters of those jobs at its home office in Springfield, Mass. Some locations outside Massachussetts will be consolidated into the new building in Boston, which CEO Roger Crandall says gives the company access to "a booming financial and digital economy and provides us with an enhanced opportunity to recruit innovators from the area’s deep and diverse talent pool.”

The company has been aggressively pursuing digital and data as a differentiator for the business, heightening the need for robust security. Its LifeScore Labs has created a scoring mechanism that it is making available to other insurance companies, including, most recently, Swiss Re.

Mortgage insurer MGIC also added a CISO recently. Sean Valcamp came to the carrier from Avnet, an electronic components manufacturer.