Ivy Nguyen, Senior Manager of Security Awareness at General Mills, studied Computer Science and started her professional career as a web developer. But, as fate would have it, later in her career, Nguyen was recruited into security through a connection in the Asian Leader Network at General Mills.

When Monique Hart started building information security programs for enterprises, the label “security” wasn’t quite being used yet. “I started in security before it was thought of as security,” she laughs.

Jameeka Green Aaron has had many significant accomplishments in her career in technology and security thus far, but just as impressive are her passion and dedication to mentoring, championing and encouraging women and people of color to pursue careers in technology, engineering and security and see themselves in careers and leadership positions they may not have otherwise even thought existed.

Director of Global Safety & Security at Airbnb Susan Goggin took her current role because the organization’s mission and culture resonated with her.

Mary Fleury’s professional story is a story about longevity. She’s been with Ford Motor Company for over 30 years and that time has allowed her to absorb information that has helped her throughout her tenure — to understand how other departments, divisions and operations work; be able to benchmark and learn from peers in the industry; and also to learn from and watch what’s been done before.

In this year’s Security Leadership: 2021 Women in Security report, we take you through the professional journeys of 13 enterprise security leaders that have risen the ranks during their careers with their skills, forward-thinking mindsets, and a passion for the job they do.

Gary Johnson is much more than Director of Security for the Pojoaque Valley School District in New Mexico. He’s in charge of safety and security, transportation and more, but his most important role is supporter, with this role becoming even more prominent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a centralized place for intelligence and information, the NFL’s GSOC, led by Director of Intelligence Operations Robert Gummer, played a pivotal role in the League’s pandemic response, streamlining access and infection control, updating business continuity plans, and providing relevant data to enable all stakeholders to make informed decisions.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime, workplace homicides declined between 1995 and 2015. Yet workplace homicides are not the most common form of workplace violence — simple assault is. Simple assault is defined by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) as an attack without a weapon that results in no injuries or minor injuries (e.g., cuts, scratches, black eyes), or any injury requiring fewer than two days in the hospital.

Anyone with access to your organization — employee, contractor, former employee, etc. — poses a potential risk to the enterprise. So, what is insider threat; who should own an insider risk mitigation program within the enterprise; and most importantly, how can security leaders assess and mitigate the risk?