What is your role at IntelliDyne?
I am the Director of Cybersecurity for IntelliDyne’s largest program. I provide technical and managerial oversight of a team of cybersecurity engineers and subject matter experts. I am also responsible for growing the company’s cybersecurity business and maintain an outstanding service relationship with our existing clients.
What about your job makes you jump out of bed each morning?
Cybersecurity is never stagnant. Technology is constantly changing and our adversaries are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. Every day is a new challenge and a new opportunity. The work we do every day contributes to a much a larger national security goal to improve our country’s cybersecurity defenses.
What influenced or drove you to become an expert in your field?
Curiosity and a fascination with technology. I have always been motivated to understand how different technologies function. Cybersecurity was a natural outgrowth of the same curiosity that got me into tinkering with computer programs as a child. My military experience heavily influenced me toward the security aspects of information technology
What was your dream job growing up?
I never settled on a dream job. I’ve always been interested in more career paths than I could ever experience in a lifetime. As a young child, my family lived beside a coastal freight railway. I was obsessed with trains and wanted to be an engineer. By late adolescence, I had taught myself some programming languages and was certain I would be a software developer. In college, I wanted to major in almost every entry-level subject I took. So naturally, I chose to join the military doing none of those things.
How do you motivate and inspire your team?
I believe in leading by example. Leaders should not simply rest on their laurels. Team members want to see their leaders working hard. Everyone must feel like they’re part of the same team with the same goals. Everyone must pull their own weight and contribute to the successful completion of the mission. Leaders must believe in the mission and impart that enthusiasm to the team. Leaders are responsible for ensuring strategic alignment from the top of the company down to the lower level managers. Employees want to understand why we are doing what we are doing, what motivates those decisions, and how they fit into the bigger picture.
How do you support your team’s professional development?
My job is to remove all roadblocks and impediments to the team’s professional development. My team dedicates time every week to focus on studying for a certification, finishing a college course, or attending a virtual industry conference. In some cases, I may set professional development goals or illustrate a career path for a member of the team. Putting aside time for professional development is not simply a matter of goodwill. Cybersecurity professionals must stay on top of the latest developments in technology in order to stay relevant in a rapidly changing cybersecurity field.
What is your personal motto or mantra?
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.
Which one of our corporate values is the most meaningful to you?
There are few values which come close to the importance of integrity. Fundamentally, integrity is about trust. We trust that our team members will do the right thing even when no one else is looking. Companies are built on the efforts of people who trust one another to do the right thing. This means sharing a common bond — a foundational moral compass. Our clients may be able to understand if compromises are made here and there, but we must never compromise our integrity. Trust once broken may never be mended.
What is one unique or fun fact that others may not know about you?
I once played a dancing wolf in a theatre production.