When cyber security expert Dominic Grunden left a 30-year career spanning Silicon Valley, Brazil, Europe, Asia and the Middle East to settle in Darwin, it wasn’t for a bigger title or a higher-profile role. It was for impact.
After protecting global financial institutions, governments, critical infrastructure, banks and more in around 105 countries (and working at NASA), Mr Grunden chose to bring his experience to the Northern Territory as Power and Water’s Chief Information Security Officer.
He has now been named a finalist in Australia’s prestigious Chief Information Security Officer of the Year 2026 awards, with the winner to be announced on 30 April 2026.
Mr Grunden’s path to cybersecurity has been anything but conventional.
Raised on a cotton farm in South Carolina in the United States, he was studying to be a paediatric heart surgeon on a football scholarship in Miami, Florida, when a career-ending gridiron injury changed his direction.
‘After multiple surgeries, the university pulled my scholarship because I couldn’t play. I was feeling lost when I came across a story in the local paper looking for volunteers to install an old IBM network at a local elementary school,’ he says.
‘It was the ‘90s and technology and security was quite new, so I called the number in the newspaper. I said I’d love to help, but I didn’t know how much I could help as I was still in a wheelchair.’
Within weeks Mr Grunden was hired to be a network engineer during the day and study a computer information systems degree at night. His rapid rise soon led to his first major project as a network engineer at NASA.
‘I was from a small farm and never thought I’d experience the previous passion like I had from playing gridiron, let alone work at NASA,’ he says. ‘At the time they were filming Armageddon starring Bruce Willis, which was an incredible experience.’
Mr Grunden’s work has earned international recognition, including an ambassador for ClubCISO, Top 100 CISOs and CSO30 awards across the UK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
At Power and Water, Mr Grunden is leading an organisation-wide uplift to meet the Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework Security Profile 2 by December 2027.
‘In critical infrastructure, failure is not an option,’ he said. ‘My goal is simple. Whether I’m here in six months, five years or 20, I want Power and Water to be safer and more secure.’
For Mr Grunden, the move to Darwin is also personal.
‘Darwin reminds me of where I grew up, similar climate, sense of community and people relying on each other,’ he said.
‘After years in large, high-profile organisations, I also wanted to work somewhere that genuinely touches people’s lives every day. Electricity and water give comfort, dignity and stability. That purpose resonates deeply with me.’
