Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.
In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.
What does your job role entail?
So many different things – mostly talking too much 🙂 No two days are the same – one day I could be speaking at a conference, the next I’m in meetings helping define thought leadership topics, or coaching speakers, and helping our marketing team hone thoughtful honest messaging. I’m also part of the go-to-market leadership team so I work closely with so many people across the business, our customers, and our partners.
I also help out with organising a few BSides conferences in the UK, and I’m and advisor to the board for an AWESOME initiative called The Hacking Games, so work doesn’t stop when I close my Exabeam laptop.
How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?
I don’t expect anyone else will give this answer… I was a travel agent. Through a somewhat ‘sliding doors’ style chain of events, I ended up as the business travel consultant for a company then known as Network Associates, which became McAfee. They hired me to be their receptionist, on the premise that I would be able to find my path there. That was almost 25 years ago so clearly it was a great move!
What helped, without question, was my Mum realising in the early 80s that there might be something in these computer things, so she bought me one when I was four years old, and another when I was six, so I’ve been a self confessed nerd from a very young age. Chatting to the Network Associates team I got the bug for cybersecurity (there were the early days of mass mailers) and I now honestly can’t imagine working in any other industry.
What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?
I used to say this was during the early days of working in support and form time to time I’d get a customer being weird about the fact they were talking to ‘a girl’ – I managed to win them over but it was a little frustrating. Nowadays as I’m navigating the joys of middle age, peri-menopause has kicked in, and this has been unquestionably more challenging on a personal level. I’ve got a great support network though, and I’ve learned a lot in the few years this has been part of life, so it’s manageable. What’s also helping me is just talking about it more – with colleagues, friends, and in interviews like this. There are a around billion people on the planet right now who are either in stages of the menopause, or have gone through it, so it really shouldn’t be a taboo subject.
What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?
It’s super clear how important the many flavours of diversity are to having a creative thriving industry – and it’s not just about which bathroom people use! At Exabeam I’m a member of some of our employee resource groups – Exagals, Pride, and Ex&ND, plus I’m on the overall Community Council that oversees the ERGs.
I’ve also started a women leaders group called ‘Embrace the Change’ which brings together current and future leaders to learn together and share stories. We’ve had two menopause speakers come to events, as well as speakers and panels on a host of other topics, and we welcome everyone – allies are vital to any cause.
My part time projects are very focussed on diversity too. Both the BSides where I’m involved on the call for papers, speaker line ups, and education programs we are hellbent on ensuring diversity is represented to ensure we inspire all sorts of people to join and flourish in the industry. It drives me mad when people say they can only find middle age white guys to speak at events – and I know some incredible middle aged white guys who are great speakers, but there are plenty of other awesome options when you’re building out a conference program.
And at The Hacking Games – which is all about bringing young people into the ethical side of hacking, we’re building out some awesome media and gaming project, plus I’m partnering with some incredibly talented young hackers to help build the industry of the future – watch this space for some announcements on this very soon! It’s a really exciting project.
What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?
Do it, do it, do it! There is a plethora of paths and roles available – it’s not just about coding! I haven’t written a line of code since 2006, and I wasn’t particularly great at it then! Creativity, passion, plus a desire to help the world be a better place, are vital to driving and advancing this incredible technological world in which we live.
Come to some community events, chat to people who are already in the industry and find out what the options are – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
