Author: Nicole

The nominations for the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber awards are out! It’s always wonderful to read about the incredible women in our industry, who are making fantastic contributions and paving the way for others.

In no particular order, here is PART I of the 2022 shortlist along with snippets of what their nominators had to say about them! (To see Part II, see HERE)

Dr. Kiri Addison, senior product manager, Mimecast

Kiri has vast experience in the cybersecurity space, and has helped develop everything from creating systems to detect and prevent cyber-attacks and fraud to currently developing innovative products that utilize AI and ML to keep companies safe from cyberattacks.

“Kiri really is an unsung hero… Her fierce intelligence, combined with her openness and kindness make her a great mentor, colleague and friend. I also really like the fact that she is open about her struggles, this makes her relatable and brave. She is now using the skills she learnt to share her knowledge to mentor other women in the tech sector.”

Sophia Adhami, director of cyber security engagement, Sage

Sophia delivers incredible outreach and engagement to underrepresented groups. She is continually looking to improve gender and race diversity in the industry and doesn’t let anyone stand in her way when it comes to delivering knock out engagement that empowers women and unrepresented groups. 

“This lady lets nothing stop her. She joined a global security during the pandemic with two young children at home. Her passion, commitment to doing the right thing and delivery are incredible. Everyone needs a colleague like Sophia.”

Anah Ahee, assistant manager, cybersecurity, KPMG

Anah’s personal investment in time, passion and know-how has been inspiring to all those she has encountered.  Despite the challenges of Covid, KPMG delivered over 50 cyber awareness sessions to approximately 4,000 young adults, with consistently positive feedback.  Key to this was Anah’s meticulous planning and execution, and impactful delivery of education. At such an early stage of her career, Anah demonstrates excellent leadership in delivering the corporate cyber community’s messages around awareness, safety and inclusivity.

“The objectives of Anah’s pursuits shape the agenda she follows to drive a KPMG-backed cyber message through a lens of diversity into our communities with great success.  In an increasingly pernicious digital environment, early education of children is critical.  Moreover, it embeds the message into communities we might not otherwise reach.”

Beverley Alderson, senior cyber broker, Aon

Beverley is a senior cyber broker at Aon where she has been for over 20 years. Throughout her career she has mentored and sponsored many women who have gone on to have successful careers in the cyber market after Bev’s custodianship and is a pioneer of early adoption of cyber insurance and cyber security principles. 

“Beverley’s ability to distil difficult issues down to basic principles and to resolve them without aggression is inspiring; she does this with strong communication skills, transparency and trust.”

Sarah Armstrong-Smith, chief security advisor, Microsoft

Sarah is an inspiring lady who reach high level security positions with the government and Microsoft without any formal cyber qualifications and tells her story frequently to increase cyber security awareness as a career path. 

“With Sarah’s determination, perseverance and good speaking abilities, she is an inspiration to all who get to hear her story.”

Sakina Asadova, offensive security expert, Canon

Sakina is newer to industry; she’s a junior penetration tester at Canon. Whilst still breaking into the industry, Sakina is dedicated to providing quality work and providing great insights on all projects she is a part of.         

“Having started in another country, Sakina has navigated the university system and started a career in another country. She not only changed from her native language, to learn both Dutch and English, she often works in situations that call on a variety of languages to ensure the messages get across”

Andrea Babbs, director of sales UK & Ireland, VIPRE Security

Andrea Babbs has worked in the IT Industry for over 20 years. During that time she has worked for IT Security Vendors and Resellers dealing with email, endpoint and web security. Andrea is currently Country Manager and Head of Sales for VIPRE Security Limited, where she manages the UK and Irish business. Andrea’s length of experience in the industry means she has seen the threat landscape change from simple viruses and spam to the sophisticated, zero-day, polymorphic threats of today. However, she recognises that in attacks of all types, humans are the last line of defence, meaning they need awareness and effective tools to help them prevent little mistakes with big consequences

“Andrea understands that her team needs to be able to trust her to do the right thing by them and the business needs to understand that not everything can happen right now, so a little bit of patience and trust go a long way to making the impossible possible in the best timescales for everyone.”

Rae Baker, OSINT Analyst at Operation: Safe Escape

Rae has taken the industry by storm – starting out just three years ago. She has moved from graphic design, into OSINT investigations, specialising in Maritime. Rae volunteers her time to support organisations such as Operation Safe Escape. A not-for-profit supporting survivors of domestic abuse and violence. She also is currently writing a book on OSINT, volunteers to support survivors and persons targeted, and works heavily within the OSINT community to spread knowledge. Rae has a YouTube channel where she provides introductions to OSINT, specifically maritime, for people to learn from. She speaks at conferences, and is always happy to give back to the community. Whilst it’s been only three years, she has quickly become one of the authorities on OSINT.

“Nominating Rae because of her continuous efforts to provide support to the OSINT community, support vulnerable persons, and educate. She works hard to ensure information is readily available to everyone who needs it.”

Kristina Balaam, senior security intelligence engineer, Lookout

Kristina is a key figure in Lookout’s threat research division particularly as a Senior Security Intelligence Engineer at Lookout where she reverse engineers mobile malware. She regularly uncovers mobile-related threats that help protects millions.

“Kristina is always doing her best to inspire the next generation of women in cyber and regularly participates in the Day of Security.”

Katie Beecroft, associate director, Fidelity International

Katie and her team have worked tirelessly to build awareness of cyber security threats to the firm. Thanks to her efforts, employees appreciate that they are part of the solution. More than that, Katie has looked beyond the bricks and mortar, coordinating webinars and training to educate individuals as to the risks of cyber threats in their personal lives. These programs have been very well received by employees and have resulted in a positive impact on the company’s cyber health.

“Katie knows how to engage people. She goes beyond facts and figures to ensure her audience comes away feeling they are part of the solution and fully invested in protecting themselves, their families and by extension our firm.”

Andra Catincescu, associate director, Fidelity International

An associate director at Fidelity International, Andra is subject matter expert and a passionate supporter of diversity and inclusion within the cybersecurity field. Knowledgeable when it comes to the assessment of risks and threats, Andra is a confident leader and speaker who can effectively explain even the most complex of situations. 

“[Andra has an] ability to keep calm and level headed, [even] in a range of situations.”

Hope Chauland, GTM Manager, Microsoft

By investing her time in researching the trends of the United Kingdom’s security and identity markets, Hope is actively involved in the process of product launching and marketing. Going above and beyond her position as a GTM Manager at Microsoft, Hope is also the co-leader of UK Women in Security at Microsoft, where she strives to promote topics valuable to women working in security. Whether through presenting, creating content, or the designing of new programs, Hope always ascertains that her products are always top of mind within the company. 

“Hope’s role is incredibly demanding and she seems to work non-stop! Yet, she always has time to lend a hand to a project or provide input. She is a very positive role model and is the personification of success!  Hope’s commitment to the work she does as well as to diversity in cyber makes her a phenomenal asset to the cyber community and a true inspiration!” 

Camellia Chan, CEO & Founder, FLEXXON

Bridging together her love for technology and business, Camellia has built FLEXXON from the ground up, forming an international team spanning from Asia, North America and the EMEA regions. Yet despite the team’s size, Camellia cares deeply about each and every one of her employees, making it her mission to make FLEXXON a safe space that allows for them to thrive—taking their career trajectories, senses of well-being, and personal growth into account. As a result of her leadership, FLEXXON was awarded both a prize and funding at the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore’s 2018 Cybersecurity Industry Call for Innovation, later developing the world’s first AI-embedded data security solution, the X-PHY Cyber Secure SSD. 

“Camellia represents a spirit of never giving up, striving for your goals even when the path ahead is challenging and being able to balance championing the human spirit through it all.”

Nathalie Cole, Cyber Security Consultant, NCC Group

Having transitioned from working as a veterinary surgeon to her role as a Cyber Security Consultant for NCC Group, Nathalie is now also serving as the chapter administrator for the Ladies of Cheltenham Hacking Society—in which she advocates for the promotion of diversity for women, people from ethnic minorities, and the neurodivergent community. In an effort to further disseminate diversity and inclusion throughout the cybersecurity industry, Nathalie is an avid supporter of CyNam and the Cheltenham Science Festival. 

“Being a career changer, Nathalie demonstrates a non-traditional route into cybersecurity. She is also HUGELY passionate about championing diversity, which is an attribute that is truly inspirational.”

Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist, KnowBe4

With only five employees and no physical office, Anna was able to found Popcorn Training, one of the first global companies to educate individuals about online safety with story-based and engaging video and gaming content as an educational medium. Since then, Popcorn Training has been acquired by KnowBe4, and has won multiple international awards. Working at KnowBe4 herself as an SVP Content Strategist, Anna is also an evangelist for cybersecurity, Anna has a way of painting cyber awareness in a light that makes it exciting and engaging, even to the average, non-technical individual. In her free time, Anna is very involved with her local community, advocating for equal rights in South African townships, and personally assisting senior citizens with yoga. Regardless of the subject at hand, Anna has mentored a number of women to push ahead and excel.  

“Anna persevered to build a company from the ground up. She has also offered her time and expertise to help others, particularly young women, join the industry. For example, she was involved in the Gov-X initiative, which is an innovation challenge aimed towards inspiring the youth to assist the government in solving African national security challenges.”

Alice Conibere, Junior Security Researcher, Secure Impact

An expert when it comes to networking and outreach, Alice has a way of sharing her knowledge in an engaging manner—ranging from how she helped people succeed in a UK Government cybersecurity training programme to the talks she arranged as Communications Officer on behalf of her university’s cybersecurity society. Her colleagues at Secure Impact think very highly of her, as she always contributes the best work possible. Not yet even 22 years old, Alice is a recent graduate in cybersecurity at the Bournemouth University Computing and Security Society, where she held informative sessions to encourage her fellow students to venture into the field of cybersecurity. 

“Her diligent work, community efforts, and open attitude places her as a monumental figure within the cyber security community. Her frequent community engagement, presence at numerous events, and constant willingness to provide advice makes her an inspirational figure within the cybersecurity community, proving that there is room for all in this stereotypically male-dominated field.”

Adenike Cosgrove, VP Marketing, EMEA, Proofpoint

A driving force for increasing cybersecurity awareness in terms of how, why, and when an organization and its people are being targeted, Adenike has been elected as the Vice Chair of the DMARC.org ‘authindicators’ working group—which was entrusted with the duty of developing a way to consistently show end user recipients that their messages have been authenticated. In addition, Adenike has collaborated with a major private healthcare organization in the UK, educating healthcare providers on the interplay of cybersecurity and threat actors with the healthcare industry—and how to best protect and defend their staff, suppliers, and patients. By taking on a novel and innovative method of risk assessment and cyberattack observation, Adenike’s work has successfully allowed numerous companies to see where their people-centric security is lacking, and where to take appropriate action, before a potential attack strikes. 

“[Adenike] is an advocate for addressing the diversity challenge in cybersecurity and regularly discusses the topic in industry events, in blogs and in columns. She puts forward the view that by continuing to look in the same place for cybersecurity professionals, we will continue to put the same set of eyes on a rapidly evolving set of problems. Diversity challenges traditional assumptions and thought processes, bringing a fresh perspective to problems and new challenges, and Adenike is passionate about inspiring a new and diverse generation of cybersecurity professionals.”

Camilla Currin, Senior Partner Manager, Trend Micro

A senior partner manager at Trend Micro, Camilla is an inspiration to everyone—rising to any challenge whilst bringing forwards an empathetic and emotionally-intelligent attitude. A mentor and experienced industry veteran, Camilla equally devotes her time to her colleagues regardless of their position—extending from C-level executives to junior team members. 

“She’s genuinely passionate about people and their backgrounds. She continuously mentors younger team members inside the company as well as in her social circle, across the industry and in partner organizations. She looks for the best in people—always.”

Adelina Deaconu, XDR Team Lead, Heimdal Security

With Adelina overseeing the XDR team for Heimdal Security, the group was able to become a fully fledged cybersecurity tactical squad—not to mention that, with Adelina’s guidance, the XDR team facilitated the product usage process for its customers. Furthermore, Adelina strove to ensure that Heimdal’s clients were always one step ahead of the latest threat actors—surveying infiltration efforts and responding to threats in order to keep the clients’ infrastructure safe. 

“What… [is] most inspirational about Adelina as a woman in cybersecurity is the fact that she made this technical lead role her own with great skills, impeccable problem-solving, and hands-on management. Seeing a woman as a leader in her field, especially on the technical side, is something that… [is inspirational] every day.”

Katie Diacon, Director, TMT Cyber Security

A leader who puts a huge amount of trust into people and also strives to keep learning and improving, Katie has taken the KPMG resilience team to new lengths. She has facilitated several difficult Women in Cyber panel discussions and been exceptional at it, taken our Resilience team to new levels and growth, and motivated several young women (like myself) but also men. She’s also brought several new clients and empowered everyone in her team to want to play a part in the growth of the team.

“[Katie] champions women in cyberspace through sponsorship, mentorship and by providing great working opportunities. [Additionally, she] provides usable advice and guidance, leads by example, and promotes good work life balance in the workplace.”

Dasha Diaz, Founder & CEO, itrainsec

Having worked in the communications department of one of the top cybersecurity vendors, Dasha has gone on to organize top class IT security conferences—and has also founded her own company, “itrainsec”, which provides custom b2b cybersecurity trainings and organizes events worldwide involving top cybersecurity vendors. 

“Dasha has a real passion towards what she does and really understands the importance of cybersecurity. Dasha is a real professional, strong and communicative… [and she] sets the goal and meets the goal whatever it takes.”

Lauren Eickhorst, Co-Founder and COO, Aristotle Metadata

As a leader in knowledge transfer, Lauren has put forward work in the development, operationalisation and growth of Aristotle Metadata that has had an outstanding impact on the data cybersecurity landscape. Her contributions to cybersecurity include the development of data skills training videos viewed by over 300,000 global viewers, development of training to upskill data security knowledge within complex organizations, and user experience design to revolutionize the uptake of data security solutions within larger enterprise groups. Not only that, but she is also a regional President for the Data Management Association, having broadened the audience to include a younger and more diverse practitioner demographic—in turn increasing the development of the data and cybersecurity community.

“Lauren has shown herself to continuously dedicate herself to self-improvement and growth. She is current Chief Operating Officer for an increasingly international startup, President of a regional data committee, and completing her Master of Business Administration to improve her skills. Lauren is an exceptional and outstanding representative of global cybersecurity and [is] an inspiration for women seeking to join the profession.”

Carole Embling, information security manager – compliance, Metro Bank

Carole started her career in IT security at the Royal Mail Group. Having begun as a Post Office Counter Clerk, she started on the path into Information Security by being trained as a junior business consultant back in 1990. She quickly learned the ropes of Information Security as part of a special training initiative and then became part of an integral team providing security consultancy at the Royal Mail Group. She later became an Information Security Manager at RMG and after being part of multiple organisations in the capacity of Information Security Advisor/Manager, she took on her current role as the Information Security Manager – Compliance at Metro Bank.  

“Carole has fought adversity since the 1990s to champion women in cybersecurity.”

Kate Emery-James, sales director, major accounts UK&I, Trend Micro

Kate has held various executive positions in cyber and has worked hard to put D&I at the top of the agenda in each of the organisations she worked in. She’s passionate about creating a truly inclusive work environment, in which everyone feels welcome. At Trend Micro, Kate is working hard to ensure the company has a diverse pipeline of talent joining the various teams. 

“Kate [has] juggle[d] many unexpected situations, from balancing a career and small children to working with difficult customer situations – career challenges have come with lots of different guises along the way for Kate. She tends to look at situations and frame them as ‘plot twists’ which are there to ‘learn and move on’. This has and continues to inspire many around her.”

Ana Ferreira, information security & health researcher, CINTESIS

Ana Ferreira has been a cybersecurity specialist and researcher for more than 20 years now, before even cybersecurity was named as such or the realization that the inclusiveness and diversity of this field would, one day, be so relevant to its advancement. Ana was one of the pioneers in cybersecurity in Europe and she has built herself into one of the role models that can inspire all generations of women to do so too, at both a national and European level, and even worldwide, where she has recently been recognized for her work and as a barrier breaker in the area.

“Ana supports any girl that contacts her through social media, she is always encouraging us to take risks… Last but not least, she has been awarded for many scientific papers while having won the “Barrier Breaker” category of the Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Awards 2022.”

Didar Gelici, senior technology manager, risk & compliance, JustEat

Didar is an experienced information security and risk manager, enthusiastic about transitioning into AppSec and DevSecOps. She is skilled in risk and control assessments, third party due diligence and team management. Didar has BA degree focused in Management and Organization from Marmara Üniversitesi.

“Didar takes an active role in multiple communities mostly helping women in tech. She is caring and a good leader with a big smile on her face always.”

Phoebe Goddard, assistant manager, cyber security, KPMG

Phoebe has worked extensively on cyber benchmarking in her role at KMPG, having recently been promoted to assistant manager for cyber security at KPMG. She has a hard-working attitude with a solutions-oriented mindset which allows her to always get the job done.

“Phoebe has a spark that is rare, I can see her reaching higher heights, she’s one to watch out for.”

Stefani Goerlich, sex, relationships & mental health therapist, Bound Together Counselling

Stefani co-hosts a podcast called Securing Sexuality, where she and her husband demystify security concerns for the non-technical and targeted communities. Stefani reaches out to security persons to ensure the advice she gives clients, i.e. applications of interest or sites, is secure. She is a voice in the confusing world of therapy and ensures legitimate help is given to persons who need it, and companies that aim to mistreat or trick people are not allowed to continue. Stefani speaks at both therapy and security conferences.

“Stefani continues to not only achieve but expand her knowledge. She is taking security training, investing time to learn more to help others. She also had a medical emergency a few years ago, which she barely survived, and yet didn’t let that slow her down.”

Tamzin Greenfield, cyber security apprentice, University of Gloucestershire + Cyber Security Associates

Tamzin has been honoured to speak at multiple events regarding diversity and entry pathways, hosted by groups such as Women in Cyber Security, CyNam, the UK Cyber Security Council, and the NCSC. She has also mentored students and sees the distinctly bold cohort that lead the future of STEM.

“Tamzin is a hugely inspirational young woman who is exceptionally dedicated to the cyber community.”

Nicola Hartland, senior VP, Falanx Cyber

Nicola leads the Innovation and Growth team within Falanx Cyber, part of Falanx Group who are listed on London’s AIM stock exchange. Falanx Cyber puts enterprise-class cyber security services within reach of every organisation. She identifies areas of cyber risk threatening the integrity of businesses and helps  provide complete end-to-end managed cyber security services to alleviate those risks.

“Nicola has a unique capability to align solutions to cyber challenges.”

Charlotte Hooper, helpline manager, the Cyber Helpline

Charlotte has been instrumental in the Cyber Helpline from non-profit to registered charity and leads to build a team of responders to help the people of the UK. These responders come from all walks of life and want to help people; Charlotte makes sure The Cyber Helpline gets the right people and then trains and nurtures them so that they can make a real difference in people’s lives.

“Charlotte’s  drive and energy to always find a way and to get round blockers to make a difference is inspirational.”

Samantha Humphries, head of EMEA marketing & security strategy, Exabeam

Samantha Humphries is the Head of Security Strategy EMEA at Exabeam, a global cybersecurity leader that adds intelligence to every IT and security stack. She is responsible for ensuring Exabeam’s global markets receive relevant solutions messaging, collateral, and information.Samantha has over 21 years of experience in cyber security, and during this time has held a plethora of roles. She has defined strategy for multiple security products and technologies, helped hundreds of organisations of all shapes, sizes, and geographies recover and learn from cyberattacks, and trained many people on security concepts and solutions. In her current role she has responsibility for EMEA, Data Lake, compliance, and all things related to cloud.

“Samantha’s dedication to diversity and inclusion has made her a leading figure in the cybersecurity industry. Since her early days moving from receptionist to Global Threat Response Manager at McAfee, Samantha has become one of the industry’s most impassioned advocates.” 

Nadia Kadhim, CEO & co-founder, Naq Cyber

Nadia has driven Naq to be a five million euro business serving customers all over the world. Nadia also has a passion for helping disadvantaged communities, demonstrated by her company Naq being 50% female and BAME.

“Even through adversity and, frankly, when the chips were stacked against her, Nadia has demonstrated that through perseverance, she can overcome numerous obstacles to create a dynamic, fast-growing, multi-million euro business, meaning that she is a role model to young women everywhere.”

Hadis Karimipour, associate professor-chair in secure and reliable networked engineering systems, University of Calgary

Dr. Hadis Karimipour is the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Secure and Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems, a position awarded to exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged as leaders by their peers. Named one of the Top 20 Women in Cyber Security in 2021 by IT World Canada, Dr. Karimipour is breaking new ground in using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the security analysis of Critical Infrastructure (CI)—the essential systems that sustain our lives and our economy, including power grids and transportation systems. In April 2022, she received the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta Early Accomplishment Award.

“Hadis always provided a healthy, unbiased, and comfortable environment with equal opportunities for all trainees in my team. She ensured that the lab setup and equipment met the needs of diverse people with different genders, races, ages, and mental or physical disabilities. She has extended her training to include skills such as social responsibility, leadership, critical thinking, and humanity alongside science and technology.”  

Seònaid Lafferty, cyber ecosystem project manager, University of Manchester

Seònaid’s foresight is converting the process of supporting SMEs through transformations that will help them grow securely on-line into a sustainable community of interest for the future. Seònaid has progressed now to managing the equally innovative North West Partnership for Security and Trust, and the University’s part in the Manchester city centre Digital Security Hub (The DiSH) which will be a home for local meetups of the communities in the regional cyber ecosystem and the start-ups and scale-ups so important to steering us all safely through the cyber threat landscape.

“Sustainability, morals and ethics, and a positive attitude just flow from Seònaid even when those about her might trample over them for glory and an easy life. Follow Seònaid and you will be sure of treading a worthwhile path through the many complementary disciplines of cybersecurity.”

The post Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards 2022 appeared first on IT Security Guru.

The nominations for the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber awards are out! It’s always wonderful to read about the incredible women in our industry, who are making fantastic contributions and paving the way for others.

In no particular order, here is PART II of the 2022 shortlist along with snippets of what their nominators had to say about them! (To see Part I, see HERE)

Carol Lee, program & SheLeads Tech director, ISACA Hong Kong chapter

Carol has a strong passion on cyber risk management and is a frequent public speaker to share her career journey and framework on how to drive a risk-centric culture change in an organization to the security community. In addition, her commitment to community contribution has also been demonstrated as a SheLeadsTech Director of ISACA China Hong Kong Chapter. She nurtures a group of SheLeadsTech committees and continuously promotes gender/thought diversity, job transformation from IT roles to security and female leadership development to address the severe security talent gap issue. She also joined as the ISC2 volunteer speaker to provide awareness education talks to the younger generation in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools.

“Carol’s story is a good role model for all global female security professionals, but for female leaders who try hard to balance family and work well. She actively shares her journey via the SheLeadsTech platform and speaking opportunities, which advise young females not to suffer from imposter syndrome and proactively attain the professional qualification to demonstrate their competency.”

Kim Maurer, Owner, CyberEye

Kim is a highly competent cyber security risk manager, and enthusiastic business leader with experience managing large teams, complex projects, contracts, task orders and personnel, with outstanding results. She is a cyber security policy and compliance thought leader with 17 years specialized experience in the development of IT security programs and IS risk management strategies and experienced cyber security consultant with a demonstrated success implementing security programs and compliance with PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST RMF, and State and Local Elections Standards.

“Kim’s never ending support, positive guidance and endless energy makes her a dream to work with/for. She instructs without coddling, giving a push when needed and is first to celebrate and give credit for her staff’s accomplishments.”

Chloé Messdaghi, chief impact officer, Cybrary

For over ten years, Chloé has advised and developed impactful solutions that have driven growth and innovation while transforming businesses to become resilient. Her work has helped businesses unlock opportunities to enhance trust, mitigate risk, and become purpose-driven. In return, she has earned many distinctions, including being listed as a Power Player in Cybersecurity by Business Insider and SC Magazine. 

Chloé serves as the Chief Impact Officer for Cybrary. Additionally, she continues to roll up her sleeves for many projects, such as the co-founder of We Open Tech and the Open Tech Pledge project to help increase opportunities and representation of marginalized persons in cybersecurity and tech. In addition, she provides an advice column for Ask Chloé on Security Boulevard, and hosts ITSP Magazine’s The Changemaking Podcast.

“Chloé has been crucial in the implementation of the overall projects and the projection of their growth. She is detailed in her strategies and a team player in the distribution of responsibilities… She has evolved and developed into an exceptional executive leader, being both inclusive and active. Chloé is hard working and supportive, as well as multi-talented and disciplined, and she does it all with great heart!”

Bianca Miclea, cyber threat intelligence manager, Fidelity International

Bianca has set up an internal women in cyber group, created a cyber threat intelligence function, volunteers in her spare time and finds time to coach and mentor industrial placement students. Created a cyber threat intelligence team and a “women in cyber” group within Fidelity International. This has involved idea sharing, CISO conversations, diversity and inclusion discussions etc. I feel this has supported a number of people who otherwise may have felt their voices were not heard.

“Bianca gives constant thought to others and focuses on improving their lives. She is compassionate, empathetic and driven.”

Illyana Mullins, head of operations and innovation, Hub 8

Illyana brings a passion for cyber security and a penchant for project management to help grow the Cheltenham cyber ecosystem, by creating strategic relationships and hosting unique cyber events. From putting on CTF aimed at people who have never done it, to inspiring women not to give up when the odds seem against them and also bringing back Cheltenham BSides and making it a continued success, she works hard to lower the barriers of entry to cybersecurity around the south west.

“Illyana is inspiring due to the fact that she can look at the infosec community and see what needs to be changed and has a drive and passion that I have not seen in anyone else.”

Sushila Nair, VP, NTT Data Services

Sushila has more than twenty-five years of experience as a thought leader, practitioner and presenter in information security. She has a strong background in audit and compliance. Notable leadership roles in business strategy development, sales enablement and product development including CISO, and other executive leadership positions with ongoing successes through a proven approach of mentoring, industry knowledge, and real-world experience.

“Sushila is perhaps one of the few women leaders in the cybersecurity space with this much experience and knowledge.” 

Wendy Nather, head of advisory CISOs, Cisco

Wendy is the head of advisory CISOs at Duo Security,  public speaker, and continuously works to spread awareness. Not only to users, but senior leadership, and importantly explain from a mature perspective how to effectively address security in our organisations. Wendy changes the discussion from security perfection, which is unachievable, to security resilience. Raising the bar, and ensuring that we have the right discussions, and focus on the right things. Wendy provides her knowledge to the community through targeted awareness campaigns, public speaking, thought articles and quotes on vital topics.

“Wendy is a mentor, and sponsor to ensure all persons get a voice in the discussion. I think her perspective allows us, as an industry, to set a fair tone. She talks about the security poverty line, and empowering organisations to make the right decisions for them.”

Sarah Norford-Jones, founder and CEO, YEO Messaging

Sarah’s business and app, YEO Messaging, is a secure, private messaging platform that uses continuous facial recognition to authenticate users. She is passionate about making the online world a safer place, with a particular passion for children’s privacy. 

“Sarah is a very hard worker and never gives up. She is a role model for many already and I would like for this award to give her the platform to inspire more.”

Anne-Marie O’Donnell, cyber security consultant, BH Consulting

Anne-Marie completed her Masters in Applied Cyber Security and is passionate about computer security, working in the industry for the past 3 years. She is a keen participant in capture the flag hacking events and a regular attendee at security conferences nationally and internationally. Anne-Marie has an extensive administrative background but is now pursuing a career as a Cyber Security Consultant.

“Anne-Marie is still new to the industry, but wherever she is able she supports others by sharing her experience, connecting contacts, and ensuring people feel safe to learn and grow.”

Fausat Ogunsanya, solutions architect and team lead, NetCraftsmen

Fausat has over 20 years experience designing, implementing and supporting large scale multi-protocol network, security, and Internet Web traffic technologies for multiple organizations. She has the technical skills to undercover obscure issues or propose appropriate new designs. She also has managerial skills, and is a team lead within her current company, and with any customer she works with. 

“Fausat is a self-starter that took the initiative to delve deeply into network security technologies. Her three best attributes are her technical proficiency in security, her work ethic, and her friendly personality.”

Paula Page, director of cyber, CCL Solutions Group 

Paula started her journey in cyber 20 years ago as an office administrator, Paula worked night and day to prove herself being consistently told that without a computer science degree and as a woman, she would never make it in the industry. Paula continued to turn in good work and eventually made her way to the “bid management” team where she learnt about writing tenders and scopes for pen test. It was no surprise that she soon had the best results in the team and this led to a move to a larger company with more involvement in scopes and technical sales call gave her more and more knowledge and experience. Eventually an opportunity to start a new cyber business presented itself, she took a chance and backed herself. CLL cyber was built from the ground up but her roots have not been forgotten, she has mentored staff from Gap year at uni to CTL status insuring the cost of accreditation is never passed to the staff member, she runs workshops in schools to highlight pathways into cyber for girls from year 8 to year 13. She offers IT support to Ukrainian families who have been displaced by the war in their homeland and she works with charities that support young people who are being criminally exploited helping them see career pathways that can help them steer away from crime.

“Paula has worked her way to Director of cyber the hard way, She has dealt with knock backs, being overlooked, at times being actively targeted because “this was no job for a women” and despite this she has persevered for over 2 decades with a quiet professionalism, getting the job done and showing people she is to be judged by results.” 

Gema Perez-Cortes, information security awareness lead, Canon Europe

Gema is absolutely brilliant at demystifying security. She focuses her every day on education, and how to ensure everyone is provided effective, tailored, learning – to raise the bar of security across the organisation. Gema works hard to ensure the message she sends is understood – which is impressive because she’s working across EMEA, so all her training has to be read/digested by a variety of cultures and languages. 

“Having started in Spain, Gema has moved her career to another country, changing to working in English full time – which is impressive in itself. She continues to learn and grow, and is able to take the issue and build an effective story to help others learn. She’s also always willing to have a chat, and bounce ideas off of.” 

Becky Pinkard, head of global cyber defence, Vodafone

Becky Pinkard is a renowned practitioner and commentator on the information security sector who has been working in information technology and security since 1996. A security transformation expert, Becky is experienced with business case preparation and execution through to funding and implementation. She has strong vendor management and relationship-building capabilities. Her background and experience to date has provided her with broad information security expertise, coupled with in-depth, technical capabilities around cyber security and data monitoring, vulnerability and risk assessment, web application security and policy development.

“Becky has leveraged her career and position to ensure persons of all backgrounds get a voice in the discussion.”

Caroline Rivett, partner, KPMG

Caroline works closely with KPMG’s clients in Life Sciences and Healthcare helping them to manage their cybersecurity and privacy risks to protect sensitive information and processes and run their businesses effectively. She is now a Cyber Partner leading the security and privacy team in Life Sciences. Prior to working with KPMG, Caroline co-founded and sold a health informatics company which analysed individuals’​ medical records on behalf of UK life insurers.

“Caroline is an excellent leader – I have learnt so much from watching Caroline bring multiple teams together when faced with challenging situations to produce a solution. She always leads by example and is excellent to work for.”

Sarah Rolls, HR & governance, CyberCrowd

CyberCrowd offers everything from Assessment Services through to Pen Testing, CISOaaS, Certification Readiness, DPO services and our 24/7 x 365 Managed Security Operations Centre. Working with large enterprises, down to smaller boutique firms, CyberCrowd offers security services specifically designed to suit every level of organisation and sector.

“Sarah is a great mentor, she builds great teams and has strong cultural values.”

Zoe Rose, regional information security lead, Canon EMEA

Zoë Rose is a highly regarded hands-on cyber security specialist, who helps her clients better identify and manage their vulnerabilities, and embed effective cyber resilience across their organisation. Whilst retaining deep technical expertise, Zoë has extensive experience in designing and executing cyber security awareness programmes to help people become more aware of cyber threats and uplifting critical cyber security processes and ways of working. She also has experience in maximising the value and effectiveness of technical cyber security controls across a variety of programmes and industries.

“Zoë always has a smile on her face, she overcomes challenges every day with a smile on her face and she always makes time to help and recognize other co-workers and cyber security professionals. She is definitely INSPIRING.”

Suparna Roy, leader – cyber security & risk operations, TATA Advanced Systems Limited

Suparna has 15+ years of overall experience in Information Security with strong knowledge in Information Security Management System (ISMS) specific to ISO 27001 & ISO 9001. She also has experience in leading and supporting all aspects of the ISMS audit life cycle, working with stakeholders to produce ISMS status reports regularly and also to document corrective actions, track remediation and report progress. She conducts regular risk assessments and internal audits for current organisation.

“Suparna has been a mentor and role model for several cybersecurity professionals she has worked with, many of whom are well-established in the domain of cybersecurity and are achieving new heights. She has mostly remained an unsung hero outside her professional world, but her passion to support the community and her self-motivation continues to drive her towards carrying out her social responsibility as an individual and spreading her wisdom to make the digital world a safer place.”

Sonia Sanger, resilience & crisis manager, KPMG

Sonia heads the Women in Security initiative at KPMG UK. She strives to make a difference for all genders and races within cyber by championing all genders and races within cyber to achieve higher heights, take up space and shout about it. Sonia has a strong work ethic to keep on going in the face of adversity.    

“She doesn’t take no for an answer, she doesn’t give up, she will flex where required, but she will always achieve, if not exceed the required results.”

Professor Lisa Short, Global Technology Influencer & Founder, Areté Business Performance

Professor Lisa Short is recognised as one of the top thought leaders and influencers in the world to follow for her work in digital tech, blockchain, crypto assets and EdTech. Lisa is a preeminent innovator, systemic change digital technology analyst, strategist & design ecosystem thinker with vast international experience founding & managing multiple companies and significant cutting-edge digital technology, value chain improvement projects, across different industry segments, and global markets including UK, APAC, Africa, Singapore, Europe & UAE. 

“Lisa’s passion for making the cybersecurity community a better place to work in and be part of is an inspiration.”

Lena Smart, CISO, mongoDB

Lena is passionate about diversity in the technology community, and specifically the cybersecurity space. She believes that people come to cybersecurity from many paths and spends a lot of time investing in those who have interest and potential. At MongoDB, she has launched the Security Champions Program, identifying a member from every team internally (Legal, HR, Finance, Comms etc.) to make sure security is always top of mind. These individuals help extend and scale a security-first mindset across the company and help educate their colleagues on best-practices. Lena has also identified people who are part of this programme to bring into her team full time – 5 women in the year and a half it has been running.

“Lena doesn’t take the position she is currently in for granted in any way. She knows she has worked hard for it, but also would never deny it to any other woman working towards this position. She is willing to share and mentor, something that is often noted as missing in women who have ‘made it’. Additionally, she is always looking for feedback and guidance on things she feels are not her areas of expertise, which harkens back to her guiding principle – Learn, keep learning and teach others.”

Mel Stiffell, CISO, BP

Mel is a CISO in BP’s business information security, working tirelessly to protect the organisation from cyber attacks. She is an Inspirational leader with excellent interpersonal skills who uniquely combines business, commercial and deep technical skills as a critical thinker who finds innovative solutions.

“Very inspiring cyber security leader – technically strong, culture expert and incredible with people.”

Lynn Studd, director of BT’s Global Secure solutions

As Director of BT’s Global Secure Solutions unit, Lynn leads a team of over 800 specialists across the globe, working with the government community to protect their communications. Her team provides security solutions to critical public sector customers, with the responsibility for ensuring the resilience of their networks. She also works in partnership with those customers to securely adopt new digital transformation technologies, driving innovation and productivity gains. Alongside these responsibilities, Lynn takes a hugely active role in the development and diversity of people within BT’s Security team, supporting colleagues in numerous ways to help colleagues progress their careers.

“Lynn balances her professional responsibilities with a warm and friendly personality – making time to speak to her colleagues, understand their lives, and help them succeed.” 

Jasmine Taylor, cybersecurity manager, KPMG UK

Jasmine independently leads high-quality red-teaming, penetration testing and other forms of advisory work to her clients. She also co-managed the Black Working Group in KPMG Cyber which produces research on diversity and inclusion challenges within the team and has performed pro-bono security assessments for charities and non-profits on top of her day job. Jasmine regularly visits universities to discuss careers in cyber with interested students as well as manages the department’s IT’s Her Future scheme which pairs senior mentors with women in Cyber to build their professional skills and confidence. 

“Whilst the rest of us are just about managing 1 piece of work, Jasmine is able to balance multiple client engagements, pro-bono work, extra curriculars and mentoring responsibilities all at once!”

Lisa Ventura, founder, Cybersecurity Unity

Lisa Ventura is an award-winning cyber security consultant and the Founder of Cyber Security Unity, a global community and content platform which has been set up to help unite the industry and combat the growing cyber threat. Over the course of her career which spans over 24 years in infosec and cyber security she has worked with numerous cyber security organisations including the UK Cyber Security Council, CyBourn, Pinsent Masons, Titania Ltd, Proficio Inc, Boost Technology Group and more.

“Lisa has encountered significant challenges as a woman in the cyber security industry, yet she has overcome these challenges to create the highly successful entity Cyber Security Unity. She has overcome the most horrendous experiences of bullying and abuse from within the cyber security industry and now talks openly about her experiences to help others. I am in awe of her and her resilient nature.”

Patricia de Villa, head of identity, Union Digital Bank

Pats demonstrates exemplary leadership and she made significant contributions to her industry of Identity as part of Security. She has not only earned the respect of her superiors to rise as a business leader and role model, but she has also earned the admiration of her peers. She empowers and supports other women in her workplace. She emphasizes building honest relationships, values input, has the mindset of an entrepreneur, and leads by example.

“She is changing the landscape in which women serve.  She is an up and rising star in the security space and creating an Identity standard that many will follow in the future.  I expect her to become one of the first Chief Identity Officers in the industry in the future.”

Kathy Wattman, PR and marketing executive, KnowBe4

Kathy steps in from a PR and marketing point of view but has always pushed for innovative and unconventional methods to get the cybersecurity message out. She has nurtured a team of dozens of security awareness advocates who are on hand to provide valuable advice to both businesses and the wider public.

“With great leadership skills, passion and generosity, Kathy is an incredibly accomplished woman but will be the last one to shout about it.” 

Anna Webb, head of security operations, Kocho

Anna is developing solutions that help Kocho’s customers to successfully plan and execute digital transformation programmes while at the same time tackle all the cybersecurity challenges that they will face along the way. For example, Anna has led the formation of the Security Operations Centre (SOC) at Kocho, based around the three key areas of people, process and technology. Not only has Anna built the team which is providing managed security services to Kocho’s many clients, she has established robust processes to deliver a collaborative, consistent and high quality service to all clients.

“During her career in cyber… Anna has showed great tenacity and grit. She has stuck it out even when often she was the only woman on the team and has been forced to overcome internal favouritism and ‘old boy network’ type culture in order to pursue her passion helping clients to overcome their cyber security challenges.”

Jo Westgate, cyber security manager, KPMG

Having undertaken a variety of different roles, spanning across both consultancy and industry, Jo has a background and a wealth of experience in Business & Operational Resilience, Identity Access Management (IAM) and Operational Support. Her key areas of expertise are Business & Operational Resilience including the design & development of tabletop exercises, Identity Access Management (IAM) and Data management and analysis.

“The kindest colleague within Cyber. She promotes women supporting women by living and breathing those values. A true ally. We need more women like Jo in Cyber.”

Sydonie Williams, focus group leader – cyber risks, Beazley

Sydonie is one of the leaders of Beazley’s employee resource group dedicated to women in the company. She is an active internal and external mentor, and with whatever free time she has, gets involved in many industry initiatives focused on helping to raise the profile of women in the industry and ensure that cyber and insurance is seen as a career of choice. 

“Sydonie works incredibly hard to inspire women in the insurance industry… She is absolutely fantastic and a real asset to our company.”  

Camilla Winlo, head of data privacy, Gemserv

Camilla holds a senior management role in Gemserv’s Cyber and Digital team (and is the most senior woman in the Cyber and Digital practice). She a proven thought leader in the data privacy space, having been frequently published in media and spoken at many events. She’s an example for all women in technology, and has made waves in the industry despite only being specifically data-privacy focused since 2019.

“Not only is she industry recognised, but she mentors and coaches others on her team, helping to develop them into leaders. Since joining Gemserv last year, Camilla has coached two of her five direct reports through the promotion processes to become principal consultants.”

Anne Woodley, enterprise security executive, Microsoft

In the past year, Anne has demonstrated her commitment and passion for diversity in cybersecurity.  She continues to lead the Conversations with Women in CyberSecurity series of events from a Microsoft perspective, which has reached an audience of hundreds of women currently working in, or looking to enter, the security workforce.  Anne founded the UK Microsoft Women in Security Group, focusing on attracting talent to Microsoft Security and also ensuring there is a visible community within Microsoft actively supporting diversity. 

“Anne brings an energy that always inspires but also puts people at ease.  She involves herself with topics she cares about at work but also in the industry…and continuously delivers for the business.  They say if you want something done, you should give it to a busy person…Anne is that person.  She is an inspiration!”

Karen Worstell, senior cyber security strategist, VMware

Karen is an industry recognized leader who has driven security initiatives as CISO for Microsoft, AT&T and Bank of America, in addition to her current role as senior cybersecurity strategist at VMware. As an author and industry luminary, Karen frequently contributes to various publications and speaks at global industry events on topics including security, innovation, creativity and strategies for improving representation and equity for women in the tech industry. 

“Karen is incredibly open and vulnerable about her experience with extreme stress working in the cybersecurity industry in the hopes to warn others. She also showcases her resilience by understanding when she needed to take a break, but then returning to cybersecurity stronger than ever.”

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