Balancing AI Innovation And Security With Equals Money COO/CPO James Simcox
Okta, Tuesday, February 10th, 2026
Innovation shouldn't have to come at the cost of security. But with AI on the scene, leaders will need to carefully balance the risk and reward to get the most out of the technology without sabotaging their defenses in the process.
'I love my teams using AI,' says James Simcox, COO & CPO at Equals Money, in a new interview for our Executive Exchange series. 'But it's almost like the AI tools are designed to make you want to overshare with them.' In just a few clicks, employees can connect Slack, email, or other sensitive data sources to AI platforms - including unapproved ones.
To encourage productivity without sacrificing security, Simcox prioritizes enablement that is protected by regular education and clear guidelines. All employees are aware of what's allowed and what isn't. It's also important to treat AI adoption with the same rigor as traditional software procurement, he says.