Kavya Pearlman
Founder and CEO
XRSI - X Reality Safety Intelligence
The visionary behind the Metaverse Safety Week, Kavya Pearlman, well known as the “Cyber Guardian,” Kavya Pearlman is an award-winning cybersecurity professional and the founder & CEO of the X Reality Safety Intelligence (XRSI), a Standard Developing Organization with the mission to help build safety and inclusion in emerging tech ecosystems. Kavya is the pioneer of the novel XRSI Privacy and Safety Framework for the Immersive Technologies Domain, Metaverse Safety Week Annual Awareness Campaign, and various baseline security, privacy, and ethics standards for Emerging Technologies. She has won several awards for her work and has been named one of the Top twenty Cybersecurity influencers for three consecutive years, 2018-2019-2020, and again for the year 2022 by IFSEC Global.
Kavya has previously advised Facebook on third-party security risks during the 2016 US presidential elections and worked as the head of security for the oldest virtual world, “Second Life” by Linden Lab. Kavya is the leading voice in cybersecurity, privacy, and Ethics for Emerging technologies including AR, VR, and XR, exploring cross-sections of 5G, AI, and BCI – leading Standards development and promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Immersive Technologies. Kavya serves as the key member of the Global Coalition for Digital Safety at the World Economic Forum (WEF), former co-chair of the Privacy, Cybersecurity & Identity Working Group at the Metaverse Standards Forum, former co-chair of the International Telecommunication Union(ITU)’s Metaverse Focus Group’s Working group on Data Protection and PII, and a subject matter expert at several Security and safety-focused multidisciplinary groups including INTERPOL’s Metaverse Experts Group (i-MEG), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Business and Human Rights Working Group and the Metaverse Initiative at WEF. Kavya currently advises over 60 global governments and several big tech corporations on cybersecurity and global policymaking to safeguard humans in emerging tech ecosystems.
Kavya is a category Queen who has pioneered the XR Safety Domain and won many awards for her work and contribution to the security community including:
- Top 40 Thought Leaders in Security and Life Safety 2024 by Life Safety Alliance
- International Women Entrepreneur 2024 by Great Companies
- Security Leader of the Year 2023 by Women in IT Award
- Top 50 Business & Marketing Visionaries 2023 by Adello
- Top 50 Cybersecurity Leaders 2022 & Top 50 Privacy Pioneers 2023 by Ingatica
- The Trailblazer in XR 2021 by XR Women Global
- Cybersecurity Woman of the Year 2020 by Cybersecurity Excellence Award Series
- Cybersecurity Professional of the Year 2020 by Cybersecurity Excellence Award Series
- Most Influential Cyber Security Leader 2020 by Acquisition International
- 40 under 40 Top Business Executives 2019 by San Francisco Business Times
- Rising Star of the Year 2019 by Women in IT Award Series
- CISO Women Security Leader Award from the Middle East CISO Council
- Minority CISO of the Year 2018 by Cyversity previously known as ICMCP
- Top twenty Cybersecurity influencers for three consecutive years, 2018-2019-2020, and again for 2022 by IFSEC Global.
Kavya holds a master’s degree in Computer, Information, and Network Security from DePaul University, Chicago, and many prestigious Information Security certifications including CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) from ISACA and PCIP for Payment Card Industry Security Standard Council. Kavya is truly passionate about her work and inspires many around the world including women and underrepresented communities in security and emerging technologies.
