BNSF Railway CISO Alex Levy Named Inaugural TIME

Commvault, a reference in unified resilience at enterprise scale, announced that Alex Levy, CISO, BNSF Railway, has been named the inaugural TIME + Commvault CISO of the Year.Commvault, along with a panel of industry experts, selected Levy among more than 200 nominees for the branded award because he exemplifies the next gen of CISO leadership: business minded, AI-ready, cross-functional, and relentlessly focused on resilience. Grounded in resilience operations (ResOps), his approach brings together cybersecurity, technology risk, business continuity, and recovery at enterprise AI speed. By continuously testing readiness and building shared accountability across teams, Levy is helping define the CISO’s role from cybersecurity practitioner to enterprise resilience leader.

“It is an honor to be named TIME + Commvault CISO of the Year,” said Levy. “BNSF plays a vital role in powering the US economy and strengthening the supply chains that communities and businesses depend on every day. As a critical infrastructure provider, protecting our systems and data is essential to both economic resilience and national security. This recognition reflects the outstanding work of our team, whose expertise and commitment help keep our railroad, our customers, and the nation’s supply chains moving safely, securely, and reliably.”

Levy leads a team of innovative cybersecurity, AI, and software engineers through bnsf | tech, a division of BNSF, working to make the Class I railroad the preeminent freight and mobility company in North America.

“Today’s CISOs are balancing the rapid adoption of AI with a surge in sophisticated, AI-driven automated threats, underscoring the need to operationalize resilience and recovery,” said Bill O’Connell, CSO, Commvault. “This recognition is a testament to Alex’s vision for an active, unified approach that enables BNSF to protect and recover at machine speed.”

“We are proud to partner with Commvault on the CISO of the Year program, which highlights the growing importance of security leadership in the enterprise. We congratulate Alex and all of the finalists and nominees,” said Mark Howard, COO, TIME.

The CISO’s role is expanding as AI, cyber threats, and increasingly complex technology environments create new risks for enterprises. TIME and Commvault launched the branded CISO of the Year award in March 2026 to recognize the growing impact of these leaders and the urgency of their mission.

In July, the top 20 CISO of the Year finalists, met in Miami for the inaugural CISO of the Year Summit, hosted by Commvault. Throughout the summit, finalists highlighted that AI has fundamentally changed how organizations think about resilience and security in the enterprise. CISOs should expect disruption, understand which operations must come back online first to keep the business operating, recover cleanly, and make confident decisions under pressure. While AI is reshaping both the threat landscape and the tools to respond, the path forward still begins with disciplined fundamentals, clear priorities, and tested recovery.

Nominees were evaluated by Commvault based on the following criteria:

• Business Outcomes over Technical Defense: Ensuring security is a core enterprise capability, prioritizing the continuity of services that customers depend on most
• Teams over Siloes: Bridgebuilders who inspire security and IT teams to act as one, recognizing that true resilience demands a unified front
• Proof over Promises: Building confidence through action – constantly pressure-testing their organization so when an attack or disruption hits, they are prepared
• Readiness over Perfection: Designing for disruption, focusing on the ability to recover fast, rather than chasing flawless systems
• Confidence over Fear: Turning resilience into a strategic advantage, giving their organization the freedom to innovate and embrace new technologies like AI without increasing fragility