Aguilar was named to the role this month, succeeding longtime cybersecurity professional Ralph Johnson, who had held the role for three and a half years. Aguilar, who had been deputy CISO, was named acting CISO when Johnson left the county and took the CISO role for NantMedia Holdings LLC (Los Angeles Times).
Aguilar’s background includes having served for more than seven years as CISO for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. He’s also held consulting roles with multiple companies in the private sector including Lucent Worldwide Services, Greenwich Technology Partners, International Network Services, British Telecom Services and CC-OPS Professional Services.
“In my current role as CISO for Los Angeles County, I’m responsible for defining and implementing the County Information Security Strategic Plan, coordinating information security and providing executive leadership to integrate countywide security related programs designed to protect county information technology systems and data across 34 disparate departments,” Aguilar says in his LinkedIn profile. “Representing the chief information officer with county departments, information technology advisory bodies, and other committees or agencies involving county policies, plans, methodologies, and programs related to information security.”
In addition, Aguilar has been an adjunct professor and advisory board member for Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. The Los Angeles resident is a graduate of DeVry University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in telecommunications management, and Pepperdine Graziadio, where he earned his Master’s of Business Administration.
Aguilar has numerous cybersecurity certificates and is an active volunteer in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Los Angeles County’s chief deputy chief information officer, Peter Loo, has been named acting CIO since former county CIO Bill Kehoe left the position for the Washington state CISO role.
