Buffkin / Baker Retained by Oklahoma State University to Lead CISO Search
November 18, 2025 – Partner-led executive search firm Buffkin / Baker has been retained by Oklahoma State University to lead in its search for a chief information security officer (CISO). Martin M. Baker and Chelsie Whitelock are leading the assignment. The CISO provides strategic leadership for the university’s comprehensive information security and cybersecurity programs. This position is responsible for protecting the institution’s digital assets, research data, student information, and technology infrastructure while enabling academic excellence and research innovation. The CISO reports directly to the chief information officer and serves as a key collaborator to the senior leadership team.
Required for this role is a bachelor’s degree in computer science, management information systems, computer engineering, or related area. Candidates should have deep knowledge of information security frameworks. Experience with security technologies including SIEM, endpoint protection, network security tools, and cloud security platforms is also preferred as well as knowledge of research security requirements and federal compliance mandates. In addition, candidates must have experience with security program maturity assessments and continuous improvement initiatives.
Oklahoma State University is a comprehensive research and land-grant university with statewide, national, and international responsibilities. Founded in 1890 as the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, Oklahoma State has grown to become a premier modern land-grant university serving more than 35,000 students across a five-campus system. OSU offers more than 350 undergraduate and graduate degrees and options, as well as professional degree programs in medicine and veterinary medicine. OSU has 13,942 total employees, including 2,167 faculty.
In 2022, Buffkin / Baker helped to recruit Jeanette Mendez as Oklahoma State University’s provost. The provost serves as the chief academic officer of the university and reports directly to the president of the OSU system.
Buffkin / Baker is a specialty boutique search firm composed of industry leaders in their respective fields and each has over a decade of retained search experience. Their focus as search professionals is to recruit leaders in digital marketing/advertising, technology, healthcare, media/entertainment, finance, higher education, and non-profit. The firm serves public, private, venture, and private equity-backed companies. Its office locations include Nashville, TN; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Winston Salem, NC, with affiliate offices in London.
Related: Buffkin / Baker Recruits General Counsel for the University of Missouri
Buffkin / Baker is a member of Panorama Search, an international federation of retained firms with 18 firms and over 30 offices globally. Buffkin / Baker formed in 2017 with the merger of the Buffkin Group and Baker and Associates LLC.
Experienced Search Consultants
Craig Buffkin, the firm’s founder, serves as the managing partner, and as head of the private equity and transformation practices, where he is actively involved with client engagements and business development. He has completed search work at the board, executive and senior level both nationally and internationally for a wide range of private, public, venture-backed, and private equity-back companies.
Recruiting Top-Notch Higher Education Leadership
In this brand new episode of ‘Talent Talks,’ Hunt Scanlon Media host Rob Adams is joined by Martin Baker, managing partner and Ken Carrick, partner from Buffkin Baker. Mr. Baker and Mr. Carrick take a deep dive into the current state of executive recruiting for the higher education sector. Listen Now!
Based in Winston Salem, NC, Mr. Baker has been in executive search for more than 22 years. In addition to his role as managing partner, he is also head of the firm’s higher education practice. He previously worked in the Atlanta office of Korn Ferry, where he developed search strategy and executed searches for numerous senior-level appointments. He began his career as a research associate with Saxton Bampfylde, an executive search and management assessment firm in London. He has conducted searches for the positions of CEO, CFO, CIO, provost, dean, director, and professor, having worked on over 350 searches throughout his career.
Ms. Whitelock, principal, is a key member of the firm’s higher education practice. She joined the firm from Vanderbilt University where she had a number of roles, including overseeing the Chancellor’s Faculty Fellows Program, managing the administrative staff of the Faculty Senate Office, and leading the recruitment of staff within academic affairs. Prior to Vanderbilt, Ms. Whitelock was faculty recruitment manager in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Related: Buffkin / Baker Taps Chief Information and Technology Officer for CarePayment
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
