Torq has strengthened its leadership team by appointing former Virgin Atlantic CISO John White as Field CISO, marking a strategic move to accelerate enterprise adoption of Agentic AI in security operations. This announcement comes shortly after Torq secured $140 million in its Series D funding round, signaling strong market confidence in the company’s agentic security operations vision. With this transition, White moves from being a customer-side security leader to a key voice helping global CISOs modernize their cyber defense strategies using AI-driven automation and decision intelligence.
John White brings more than two decades of cybersecurity leadership experience across multiple industries. Throughout his career, he has built and transformed security programs for global enterprises including ASOS, Liberty Global, AEG Europe, and KPMG. His experience spans highly regulated and complex sectors such as retail, telecommunications, energy, and live entertainment. As a result, White brings a deep understanding of enterprise-scale security challenges and operational realities that many CISOs face today.
Cyber Technology Insights: Torq Raises $140 Million Series D to Accelerate AI SOC Growth and Federal Market Expansion
During his tenure at Virgin Atlantic, White played a critical role in transforming cybersecurity operations across the airline’s core business areas, including airline operations, cargo services, and vacation divisions. Rather than simply maintaining existing security frameworks, he led a multi-year transformation initiative designed to modernize cyber defense capabilities. As part of that transformation, White deployed the Torq AI SOC Platform to streamline and automate security workflows. Consequently, the airline achieved significant improvements in both operational efficiency and overall protection levels. This hands-on experience ultimately convinced White that the cybersecurity industry has reached a major inflection point driven by AI-powered security operations.
“I’m thrilled to join Torq as agentic SOC innovation meets market momentum at hyperscale,” said White. “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 new role, White will act as a strategic advisor and peer to security leaders within Torq’s growing enterprise customer ecosystem. Specifically, he will focus on direct CISO-to-CISO engagement, helping organizations cut through market noise and focus on practical implementation of Agentic AI strategies. Additionally, he will help bridge the gap between advanced technical capabilities and executive-level security strategy, ensuring organizations can operationalize AI-driven security outcomes effectively. Torq’s enterprise customer base already includes major global brands such as Marriott, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, and Uber, highlighting the scale of influence White is expected to have.
Cyber Technology Insights: Torq Launches AMP Alliance Program with Armis as Inaugural Partner to Advance AI-Driven Security Operations
Furthermore, Torq continues to position itself as a practitioner-led company focused on real-world security outcomes rather than theoretical frameworks. This approach is particularly important as security leaders increasingly demand measurable results from AI-driven security investments.
“Bringing John White on board reflects our commitment to a practitioner-led approach,” said Ofer Smadari, CEO and co-founder, Torq. “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.”
Overall, this appointment highlights a broader industry shift toward AI-native, outcome-driven security operations. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and security talent shortages continue, organizations are increasingly turning toward agentic AI to improve speed, accuracy, and scalability. Through White’s leadership and real-world experience, Torq aims to help enterprises accelerate their journey toward fully autonomous, intelligence-driven SOC environments.
Cyber Technology Insights: Torq and AI4ALL Announce Nationwide AI Internship Program to Drive the Next Generation
To participate in our interviews, please write to our CyberTech Media Room at info@intentamplify.com
