Practical Zero Trust, Apprenticeships, and Learning to Learn in the Age of AI | Larry Woods

Every breach has a story — and every leader has a strategy. In this episode of The Professional CISO Show, host David Malicoat sits down with Larry Woods, a seasoned cybersecurity executive based in St. Louis, for a deep, practical conversation on what actually works in modern cybersecurity leadership. Recorded during the U.S. Tour stop in St. Louis, this episode goes far beyond buzzwords. Larry breaks down practical Zero Trust, explains why apprenticeships outperform internships, and delivers one of the most thoughtful discussions yet on learning to learn in the age of AI. This is an episode for CISOs, security leaders, and aspiring executives who want real-world insight — not theory. 🔑 Key Topics Covered What “Practical Zero Trust” really means (and why perfection is the enemy) Removing users from the network to reduce breach blast radius Cloud-first and SaaS-first strategies through a security lens Why apprenticeships build better cybersecurity talent than internships Scaling security teams through influence, not authority The first board presentation — and why it changes everything Learning to learn in the age of AI (and why it’s now a leadership skill) Why the CISO role demands marketing, legal, sales, and board-level fluency ⏱️ Chapters / Timestamps 00:00 – Welcome to The Professional CISO Show 01:00 – Larry Woods’ origin story 05:00 – Infrastructure is 80% security 10:00 – Practical Zero Trust explained 17:00 – Cloud, SaaS, and risk distribution 22:00 – Why apprenticeships beat internships 30:00 – Learning to learn in the age of AI 40:00 – Board dynamics and executive growth 47:00 – The evolving expectations of the CISO 49:00 – 10 Questions with Larry Woods 🎧 Listen & Subscribe 🎥 Watch more episodes:    / @theprofessionalciso   🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2C7JojN... 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🌐 Website: https://www.thpc.co 🔗 LinkedIn:   / the-professional-ciso-show   📣 Call to Action If this episode resonates with you: 👍 Like the video 🔔 Subscribe on YouTube 🎧 Follow on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 🔁 Share with a fellow CISO or security leader 🏷️ Hashtags #TheProfessionalCISO #CISOLeadership #ZeroTrust #CybersecurityLeadership #AIandSecurity #CISOJourney #CyberTalent #LearningToLearn #BoardroomSecurity #CyberStrategy