Cybersecurity is a mess. Ask any IT director trying to manage 50 different SaaS logins while dodging a constant barrage of phishing emails, and they'll tell you the same thing. It's noisy. It's expensive. And honestly, it’s exhausting.
In the middle of this chaos sits Forrest Smith Ingram Micro's Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
He isn't just another executive in a suit talking about "synergy" and "moving the needle." At a company like Ingram Micro—a literal titan that moves roughly 90% of the world's tech—his job is basically making sure the global supply chain doesn't grind to a halt because of a single bad click.
The Massive Weight on His Shoulders
To understand why people track what Forrest Smith is doing, you have to look at the sheer scale of the playground. Ingram Micro isn't just a distributor. They're a $48 billion beast (as of 2023) with over 160,000 customers.
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When you’re the CISO there, you aren't just protecting a corporate office in Irvine. You’re protecting a digital nervous system that connects 1,500 vendors to almost every corner of the planet.
- The Reach: 200 countries.
- The People: 24,000 associates.
- The Mission: Keeping the Xvantage platform safe while it uses AI to personalize B2B tech buying.
Smith didn't just fall into this role. Before landing at Ingram, he was the VP and CISO at Nissan Motor Company. Think about that for a second. Moving from protecting global automotive manufacturing to protecting the world’s largest tech distributor. That’s a jump from one high-stakes fire to another even bigger one.
What Forrest Smith Ingram Micro Actually Focuses On
Forget the "hacker in a hoodie" tropes. Smith's philosophy seems to lean heavily into the human side of the equation. In a 2023 interview on the B2B Tech Talk series, he was pretty blunt about the fact that technology isn't the only answer.
Humans are the variable.
He’s been a massive advocate for cyber awareness training that doesn't feel like a chore. He knows that if your 40,000 employees don't care about security, the most expensive firewall in the world is basically a paperweight.
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Security in the Xvantage Era
Ingram Micro has been undergoing this massive digital transformation. They're moving away from being a "box mover" and toward being a platform company. Their Xvantage digital experience platform is the crown jewel of this shift.
Smith has to bake security into this platform without making it a nightmare to use. It’s a delicate balance. If it’s too locked down, nobody uses it. If it’s too open, the data of 200,000 customers is at risk. He’s managed to navigate this by focusing on data protection and privacy as a foundational layer, not an afterthought.
Leadership Style: More Than Just Code
There's something to be said for the way he approaches the "channel." In 2025, Smith was honored by CRN as one of the Inclusive Channel Leaders.
This isn't just PR fluff.
In the tech world, "the channel" is the network of partners, resellers, and vendors. Smith has pushed for a culture where security is a shared responsibility across this entire ecosystem. He’s known for building teams from scratch and focusing on "founder-level creativity" mixed with "enterprise execution."
Basically, he wants his team to think like a startup but act with the muscle of a Fortune 100 company.
The Modern CISO Headache
What keeps a guy like this up at night? It’s probably not the stuff you’d expect.
- Supply Chain Attacks: If a vendor gets hit, it can ripple through to Ingram Micro's partners.
- AI Integration: As Ingram Micro leans into AI for its Xvantage platform, Smith has to ensure that the AI itself isn't a vulnerability.
- Data Privacy Laws: Operating in 52 countries means dealing with a dizzying array of regulations, from GDPR in Europe to various state laws in the US.
He’s got over 15 years of experience in this specific trench. You don't survive that long in cybersecurity if you aren't adaptable.
The Reality of the Role
Honestly, being the Forrest Smith Ingram Micro CISO is a thankless job in many ways. When everything goes right, nobody notices. The servers stay up. The data stays private. The shipments go out.
It’s only when things go wrong that everyone looks at the CISO.
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Smith’s track record at Nissan and now at Ingram Micro suggests he’s someone who prefers the "proactive" side of that coin. He’s been vocal about the importance of collaboration—not just within his own team, but across the entire industry. He’s involved with groups like the NTSC (National Technology Security Coalition), helping shape the conversation about how tech companies should protect themselves.
Actionable Insights for Your Own Business
You might not be running a $50 billion distribution giant, but the way Smith handles security offers a few "copy-paste" lessons for the rest of us.
- Prioritize the "Human Firewall": Stop assuming your team knows not to click the link. Smith invests heavily in awareness because it’s the highest ROI security move you can make.
- Platform-First Security: If you’re building an app or a service, don't "add security later." It has to be part of the architecture, just like it is with Xvantage.
- Don't Ignore the Supply Chain: Look at your vendors. Their security is, by extension, your security.
- Embrace Inclusivity: Smith’s recognition as an inclusive leader isn't accidental. Diverse teams see blind spots that a homogenous team will miss every single time.
Forrest Smith’s role at Ingram Micro is a case study in managing massive scale without losing sight of the individual user. Whether he’s talking about AI-driven threats or the simplicity of a strong password, his influence is felt by nearly 90% of the world’s population every time they buy a piece of tech that passed through an Ingram warehouse.
Keep an eye on his move toward "future-ready" security. As we get deeper into 2026, the intersection of AI and global supply chain security is going to be the only thing that matters. And Smith is right at the center of it.