Robert Floyd

Robert Floyd is an enterprise security architect and technology executive who builds durable security operating models for complex, regulated, and growth-oriented organizations.

His path to security leadership is unconventional — and that's the point. Before becoming a CISO, Robert founded and scaled Interactive Data Systems, an enterprise software and systems integration firm, growing it to $10M+ in annual revenue over 25 years. He wrote production code, designed enterprise architectures, managed P&Ls, and delivered mission-critical platforms processing tens of millions of transactions with sustained 99.999% uptime. He's led cross-functional teams of 50+, advised hospital executives on technology strategy, and built cybersecurity programs from inception in environments where failure has real consequences.

Today, as Chief Information Security Officer for Horry County Government in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Robert leads enterprise security across a federated environment spanning 40+ departments, 10 independently audited criminal justice agencies, and 10,000+ endpoints. He built the county's cybersecurity program from zero to sustained compliance across six simultaneous frameworks — including NIST SP 800-53, CJIS, PCI, HIPAA, and FTI — while reducing mean time to detect and remediate threats by over 75% and cutting phishing susceptibility from 28% to 2%.

What distinguishes Robert from most security leaders is architectural fluency across the full enterprise stack. He doesn't just assess risk — he understands how systems are built, because he's built them. He can evaluate a vendor's architecture because he's designed architectures. He can challenge an engineering team's security posture because he's shipped production software under the same constraints they face. This dual perspective — builder and defender — enables him to move beyond compliance checklists and construct security programs that are operationally sound, financially rational, and resilient under pressure.

Robert is known for aligning cybersecurity to business realities: rationalizing fragmented tool ecosystems, modernizing identity and detection architectures, translating cyber risk into financial impact, and building governance structures that withstand growth, acquisition, and audit scrutiny. He focuses on architectural discipline and measurable risk reduction — not security theater.

A systems thinker by nature, he approaches organizations as interconnected operating environments — business processes, data flows, identity models, infrastructure layers, and governance controls working in concert. This perspective enables him to design repeatable, scalable security foundations rather than point solutions.

Robert holds a Master of Science in Management of Information Technology from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and a Master of Arts in Executive Leadership from Liberty University. He maintains active certifications including CISSP, CCISO, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and Certified Network Defense Architect (CNDA), and has completed graduate programs in Executive Data Science (Johns Hopkins), Big Data and Machine Learning (UC San Diego), and Strategic Management (Copenhagen Business School).

He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served as a Staff Sergeant with deployments to Europe and the Middle East — including Beirut in 1983. All promotions were meritorious. The principles that define his leadership today — discipline, adaptability, service, and relentless follow-through — were forged there.

Based in coastal South Carolina, Robert stays sharp through CrossFit, surfing, and continuous learning. He is a published author on government cybersecurity program maturity and has taught cybersecurity and software development at the college level.