Growing up in the Washington DC metro area, Platon was influenced by national affairs leading to her studying global affairs and intelligence analysis at George Mason University. There she continued developing strong interest in international relations and national security.

After graduation Platon began her career as a contractor with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. From there she transitioned into Diplomatic Security — working with the Office of the Technology Officer, then the Office of Personnel Security and Suitability.

"I was really drawn to the mission of Diplomatic Security... seeing the direct real-world impact of that work made it feel really purposeful,” Platon says.

In 2019, Platon made a deliberate career change from Diplomatic Security to Nestlé — where she's been ever since where she currently serves as Corporate Security Manager. She joined Nestlé as one of the first people to rebuild the U.S. market security program from scratch after an office relocation

"I took that leap of faith, but that also involves taking risks... I believe I have a growth mindset,” she says.

In her role, Platon oversees physical security operations across U.S. manufacturing, corporate, and distribution center sites. Her responsibilities span access control, incident trend analysis, threat intelligence monitoring, and travel security. She also works closely with site-level personnel and follows a key philosophy that threat intelligence must be actionable.

"I have all of this information, but it has to be actionable,” she says. “I have to work very closely with our site security champions — they're our local boots on the ground."

Growing in Security

Working in both the public and private sector, Platon has had a front row seat to some of the differences in security leadership. These experiences have shaped her personal leadership style and ensuring buy in from all stakeholders.

"In the government, it's very authoritative — this is a law, this is what has to be done. In the private sector, it's the complete opposite. Security has to be relationship-driven, where security is a partner," she says. "Building trust through transparency and being responsive — that has really helped with improving collaboration between us and stakeholders."

Platon highlights how being a mother of two has shaped her empathy-first leadership approach and has influenced how she thinks about risk and people.

"Being a mom has really reinforced the importance of leading with empathy, having patience, and learning how to prioritize,” she says. “It made me very thoughtful about how stress and uncertainty affect people at a human level, not just an operational one."

"In the government, it's very authoritative — this is a law, this is what has to be done. In the private sector, it's the complete opposite. Security has to be relationship-driven, where security is a partner."

Paying it Forward

Platon says mentorship is an important aspect of growing a security career and has been an active participant in an annual Women in Security mentorship program through OSAC where she offers advice, support and encouragement however she can.

"In security, mentorship is really important because much of the work depends on experience and trusted networks, not just formal training,” she says. "Building relationships early will accelerate learning far more than formal training alone."

For those looking to break into the security field, Platon emphasizes the importance of curiosity, continuous learning and a willingness to take risks.

“My biggest advice to those getting into the field is to stay curious,” she says. “Security is a really broad field... being a generalist supersedes specialization. "Ongoing learning is essential to staying really effective in this field."