GO PHISH
friends with great food and a nice glass
of wine . . . or two! It’s challenging to
switch off though I try to discipline
myself to spend only an hour each day
over weekends to look at emails and
work-related activities, although it can
be tough to stick to. Stress can come in
multiple forms, but having a truly caring
management team that recognises
these challenges and is actively there
to support its employees is really
important. We have a phenomenal
caring culture here at AppRiver|ZIX.
If you could go back and
change one career decision,
what would it be?
I can think of a few, good and bad. I try
to learn by the decisions I’ve made.
What do you currently identify as
the major areas of investment in
the cybersecurity industry?
With the current world challenges
around the COVID-19 pandemic, and
the huge push to the cloud, we are
seeing large investments in securing
remote workforces. Due to the impact of
COVID-19, we have already seen how
vulnerable people are to attacks and
an increase in malicious malware and
other opportunistic scams, the threat
environment is evolving to match the
current situation and organisations are
investing more than ever to keep their
employees and organisation secure.
Are there any differences in the
way cybersecurity challenges
need to be tackled in the
different regions?
There is much common ground to start
building trust with partners in different
regions, yet there are differences and
hurdles for each. Data residency and
compliance, trust and expectations
Never give up,
surround yourself
with good people
and enjoy the
journey!
vary by region. A good example
would be the introduction of
GDRP. With that, questions
about data residency, access
and compliance have become
more important. The challenge
is to meet client needs and
expectations while maintaining
the cybersecurity requirements,
keeping users safe and
educated in a changing security
landscape. Beyond localisation
and a presence in a country,
understanding different cultures
and how they want to engage and
be supported is also important.
What changes to your job
role have you seen in the
last year and how do you
see these developing in the
next 12 months?
The biggest is the change in the last
three months with lockdown and
homeworking. Before this period, I spent
lots of time travelling, attending events
and actively engaging with our partners.
We have had to adjust, but this new
way of working has really pushed me
into spending time on video calls and
attending virtual events. The environment
that I foster with the team to bounce
ideas around and work collaboratively
had to be re-focused and different
business strategies have been created
to effectively and efficiently work through
this period. Is this the new norm?
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain
a C-level position in the
security industry?
There is lots of good advice but
choosing the right organisations
to work for that genuinely invest in
their employees is important. Not all
companies offer this. I’ve been fortunate
to have had some great coaches that
have believed in me and helped me
develop and succeed. Never give up,
surround yourself with good people and
enjoy the journey! u
72 Issue 29
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