Did you enjoy school?
Yes, school provided a great foundation for learning, and it was an enjoyable experience. I have always enjoyed learning new concepts and communicating that to broader audiences. My passion for learning has continued beyond the classroom too. I actively seek out opportunities to expand my understanding and skills, whether through independent study, engaging with various learning resources, or participating in practical experiences.
What qualifications do you have?
Through the course of my career, I have acquired strong leadership skills. I have used both formal authority as well as soft influence skills to bring change. The key is to communicate well, assume positive intent, have courage, and stay calm.
I have also built security expertise. Having invested over a decade in both public sector as well as private sector security settings, my understanding of security is deep. I love coaching others to enable them to see security and risk through a different lens. Earlier this year, I was delighted and humbled to receive the ISC2 Harold F. Tipton Lifetime Achievement Award for Contributions to the Advancement of Information Security. ISC2 is the world’s leading non-profit member organisation for cybersecurity professionals, and this award is the highest tribute in cybersecurity, so it was a great honour to receive it. We are living and working in an age of unprecedented innovation and digital connection, but the technology that makes this possible also creates more opportunities for threat actors to do harm. I have dedicated my career to helping conquer the challenges of this evolving landscape and it is incredibly gratifying to earn this recognition.
Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
My career path has been circuitous and exhilarating. The North Star that has guided me is to promote technology for the good of society. In my early career, I earned a doctorate degree in an analytic discipline. That education and training instilled in me a problem-solving ability that has served me throughout my career, in multiple settings. To achieve greatly means to encounter ‘the rocky road’ of obstacles, to persist, to learn, and to grow. My aim is always move toward a path of growth.
What specific challenges do you see women facing in the industry?
Women and people of colour are under-represented in security leadership roles. This issue can be mitigated by top leadership enabling them to work on high-visibility projects and respecting the different way of working and interacting that they often bring to a role.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
Never, never, NEVER give up. And – avoid damaging relationships, at all costs.
If you had to pick one mentor, that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?
Christine Fox. She also had an analyst background and rose to become the first female Deputy Secretary of Defense in the United States. She hired me, and I learned a tremendous amount simply by observing her.
From where do you draw inspiration?
I draw inspiration from my faith, from nature, from art, from influential books, and from people.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
Effectively transitioning between public and private sectors has been a challenge. Each role I have worked came with major strategic and operational challenges, with personalities to understand, with priorities to meet, and with accountability to deliver. Having worked in these really different settings has imparted a giant advantage in terms of the perspective and advice I am able to communicate to my team.
What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?
Listening carefully. Assuming positive intent. Giving grace when teams fail. Showing impeccable integrity. Courage.
From a work viewpoint what has the last 12 months been like?
The last 12 months have been exciting and deeply fulfilling for me. My work has focused on communicating security matters to other leaders, globally. I’ve also invested greatly in enabling our sales teams to better understand cybersecurity. And this work is becoming more and more crucial – in the last 6 months alone, there has been an increase in volume and sophistication of cyber-attacks. As novel attack pathways continue to develop, it’s more important than ever that we protect ourselves from threat actors that are increasingly weaponising emerging technologies.
What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?
Today, the advent and rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) presents a huge challenge: the extent that it can do good is equal to the extent that it can harm. Right now, AI systems are like children, in that they ‘learn’ what we teach them. Bad actors are teaching them bad things, and this challenge must be addressed immediately. Given AI’s dual nature as a force for both good and bad, the question going forward will be whether organisations’ AI protection can outpace hackers’ AI attacks.
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
An increase in women in tech security leadership roles will encourage more women into the industry. It really matters who is at the top of an organisation: it sets the tone for the entire organisation. When women look at the leadership ranks and see no one who looks like them, they are at risk of being encouraged to achieve at that level.
Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know.
Most of my physical possessions are used or second-hand. It feels good to be gentle to the environment. The mantra, ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’ is really important to me.
