On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .

Back in 2018 , about 30 hospitals in regional Victoria were impacted by a ransomware attack and the company I was working for at the time was hired to handle the incident response . That entailed travelling around to all the different sites and working with the executive leaders and other cyber firms participating in the recovery effort .

One of the most vivid images I ’ ve retained from that period is of an older woman who ’ d been scheduled for orthopaedic surgery being turned away because the computers were down . She was absolutely devastated because she ’ d been waiting a long time and couldn ’ t really grasp what was going on . It was probably the first time in my career where I truly recognised what we do is super important . We subsequently received cybermedals from the Victorian government for our efforts which was pretty nice !

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

I ’ ve always been a bit of a gamer , as well as a fan of punk and rock music , and I think having those passions piqued my interest . I chose to study business , rather than ICT , at university so I don ’ t have tertiary level

cyber-security qualifications but my motivation to learn as much as possible about how the technology works has stood me in good stead throughout my career .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?

I ’ m very much an empathetic style of leader . Because I ’ ve been in the position of the people I lead – and not that many years ago either .

I always try to put myself in their shoes . It ’ s important to me to seek everyone ’ s input as I feel that creates an environment where people are not only accountable but also really invested in the success of the enterprise . You don ’ t get that unless people feel

I ’ ve been very lucky and privileged to have reached certain milestones in my career much quicker than I was anticipating .

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