Niel Harper is a technology and cybersecurity executive and currently serves as the Global Chief Security Officer at JetBrains. He has previously held Chief Information Security Officer roles at Doodle, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Niel has senior leadership and advisory experience with Aspen Institute, Bemol, Canonical, CIBC, Deloitte Consulting, European Commission, and the Internet Society, among others. He has more than 20 years of deep interdisciplinary experience across the domains of enterprise risk management, cybersecurity, privacy, Internet governance & policy, and digital transformation.
He is the recipient of the Security Magazine Top Cybersecurity Leaders Award (2025), ISC2 Global Achievement Award (2024), International Security Journal (ISJ) Caribbean Security and Resilience Award (2021) and the ISACA Technology for Humanity Award (2021). Recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader (2014) and by the Internet Society as a Next Generation Leader (2011). He previously served on the United Nations Information Security Special Interest Group (UNISSIG) and participated in the World Economic Forum’s Cyber Risk & Corporate Governance Working Group and Digital Trust Initiative. Niel currently serves on the Independent Management Advisory Committee (IMAC) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and as an Independent Director and Vice-Chair, Board of Director at ISACA.
Niel holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Strathclyde specialising in privacy, cyber crime, and national security; Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Leicester; Postgraduate Diploma (PgD) in Telecoms Regulation & Policy from the University West Indies; Diploma in Business Information Systems from Algonquin College; and has completed executive programs at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Oxford, Stanford University, Nanyang Technological University, Florida International University, and Boston University.
