Ran Xu is a Research Director and Product Leader for Gartner’s Research Board for Global CISOs/CSOs- Gartner's premier offering for Fortune 500 organizations. She owns the end‑to‑end content strategy and delivery for the Board’s three flagship meetings each year, setting the research agenda and curating executive discussions on securing AI deployments, emerging cyber risk, and organizational resilience. Ran also owns the Board's bi-annual major research initiatives, directing research themes, research execution and delivering research findings to C-suit members. In addition, she facilitates confidential peer networking, and leverages Gartner diagnostics and benchmarking to accelerate CISO performance. Ran regularly contributes and publishes in Gartner's marquee publications, including Gartner Top Predictions and Gartner Tapestry for Economics.
Ran’s research centers on the intersection of cybersecurity, AI deployment strategy and security, and economic/geopolitical risk. She helps security leaders anticipate disruptive shifts and align innovation with risk governance and business outcomes.
Prior to leading the Global CISO Research Board product, Ran directed research in Gartner’s Risk & Audit practice, where she led flagship outputs such as the Quarterly Emerging Risk Report and contributed to enterprise risk prioritization for C‑suite audiences. Earlier, she advised public- and private‑sector clients on market entry, risk governance, and macroeconomic scenarios across Asia.
Economist Intelligence Unit, Associate Director- Custom Research and Forecasting, 4 years
Energy Maritime Associate, Director- Macoeconomic and Energy Research, 5 years
IHS Global Insight (now S&P), Senior Consultant- Country risk and economic strategy (Asia), 3 years
US Department of State, Foreign Service Officer-Economic and Security, 4 years
M.A., International Development Economics & Public Administration, Harvard Kennedy School
B.A., East Asian Languages & Civilizations and English Literature, University of Chicago
Foreign Service Institute, Korean Language and Diplomacy Tradecraft, US Department of State