I wasn't. Now I am.

On paper, nothing predestined me for a career in cloud security. I graduated from business school with a dual degree in European business, spent several years working in banking, and the best part of a decade as a stay-at-home mother to my three kids before returning to work in a succession of business development roles in technology companies.

I might have stayed on that track, had it not been for a decision to return to school to do an Executive MBA in 2014.? That marked something of a watershed for me because it was the first time that I gave some really deep thought to the kind of work I wanted to do, the kind of people I wanted to work with, and the kind of company I wanted to work for.

I realized that I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, to work with people who are motivated by more than money. I wanted to work for a company that understands that it has a responsibility to society that goes beyond quarterly results and shareholder returns.

My first step towards my current role as Cloud Risk & Controls Leader at IBM Cloud for Financial Services came about when I was still a software seller in a different company, looking to make a pivot in my career because I had reached a point where simply being told to hit an annual sales target wasn’t enough to sustain my motivation and engagement.

I yearned for purpose, for a higher meaning. I wanted more than a job. I wanted to make a difference.

Pivoting towards purpose

Sometimes life throws us a bone by bringing people into our lives at the very moment we need them the most. A fortuitous encounter with a long-standing cybersecurity practitioner, who runs an initiative called CyberWayFinder that exists to increase diversity in the cybersecurity workforce, flourished into a friendship and mentorship. Soon after, I began looking seriously at the viability of cybersecurity as a future career option.

In 2018, I started working towards my first industry-recognized certification in Cloud Security from (ISC)2. I attended a boot camp where a shame-inducing question from a fellow student — “What on earth are you doing here, you haven’t even got a degree in IT?” — made me recoil and forced me to confront my impostor syndrome head-on. I got to grips with a body of knowledge that was largely alien to me and made my peace with the fact that, while I had a lot to learn, I didn’t need to know everything.

I studied nights and weekends. I struggled, I doubted. But I didn’t give up, and when the day of the exam came, I nailed the assessment. In getting my Cloud Security Professional certification, I proved to myself and all the people who doubted me that I was both serious about moving into Cloud Security and capable of it.

Despite being a divorced mother of three. Despite having no degree in IT or engineering. Despite having ‘no technical security experience’.

Or, actually, maybe because of all of that.

Hiring for potential

Today, I work in Cloud Security at IBM because in 2019 two exceptional managers created a space for me as a cybersecurity consultant. They hired me based on my leadership potential, my intrinsic capabilities, my transferable skills, and the values that define me. Instead of focusing on everything that I’m not, these two managers identified my attitude, my determination, my adaptability, and my ability to learn as key success factors for succeeding in cybersecurity. They saw what I wanted to be, they believed in what I could be, and brought me in to IBM to give me a career and life-changing opportunity for which I will be forever grateful.

On paper, I was the consummate ‘risky hire’: I didn’t have the ‘right’ qualifications, I hadn’t followed the typical career trajectory and when I started out, I had little technical security experience. All of these were factors that had caused other companies to either reject my job applications summarily or make me feel small and ashamed in job interviews for not being the archetype cybersecurity professional they believed they needed.

For sure, there is still little about me that matches the traditional archetype of a cyber or cloud practitioner – and yet, I have never been more successful or happier in my career.

Bringing my whole self to work

I’m finally working in a company that nurtures potential, celebrates learning, protects difference, and upholds integrity. I’m finally working in an environment where I can be authentically me and do my best work ever.

Twelve years ago, I was a stay-at-home mother. Today, I’m a mother AND so much more thanks to the growth opportunities that IBM has offered me and the doors that have opened for me because I’m an IBMer.

What I love about my role is that I get to be multi-dimensional. I’m a proud parent AND a barrier-breaking woman in tech who brings a diverse viewpoint to the table and gets teams to collaborate more and better. I’m a loyal friend AND a resilient cybersecurity practitioner who focuses on getting the fundamentals right because no matter how constrained a situation, there’s always something we can do to defend what matters most. I’m an amateur drummer AND an accomplished public speaker in some of the most influential international policy-making forums in financial services.

When I show up with curiosity, a healthy dose of grit, and a growth mindset, I can be sure that IBM will invest in my professional development, providing me with the flexibility I need to be the parent I want to be, and offering a culture where I can be the kind of person I want to be.

In the face of an industry-wide cybersecurity and cloud skills shortage, my story is evidence that there is talent out there waiting to be found; but tapping into it means defining talent differently, hiring differently, on-boarding differently, and managing career progression differently.

This is exactly what IBM is doing and it’s the reason I am where I am today.

I consider myself to be immensely fortunate to be in a role in a company that allows me to nurture my sense of purpose, fortunate to work with colleagues who support me and drive me to be better, and fortunate to have a manager who believes in me and challenges me to reach even higher

I came to IBM by chance, but I will stay by design.

I’m proud to work in cloud security and even prouder to be an IBMer.

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