Talent First

SEASON FOUR: This week's episode is a bonus episode with Joshua Copeland, Field CISO, Cybersecurity Director and LinkedIn's self proclaimed 'Unpopular Opinions Guy'. We chat about what being a business enabler really means, how to alter the view of the cybersecurity department from cost centre to value add as well as that most contentious of subjects - the distinction between a tec...

SEASON FOUR: In this episode of Talent First, I speak to Melinda Stallings, Founder of The Positive Consultant and another fabulous woman who is securing Texas through her leadership and positivity consultancy. We talk about what makes a good leader, how to deal with conflict and how leaders can be empathetic and benevolent without being a pushover. About Our Guest: Melinda Stallings is an interna...

Season Four - In this episode of Talent First, I talk cybersecurity leadership with Sonja Hammond, ORBIE finalist and CISO at National Veterinary Associates. Sonja offers fantastic advice on how to build a cohesive security team and the rewards and challenges of doing this remotely, as well as how to resolve conflicts between team members. We also talk interviewing for fit, and how to identify the...

Season Four - In this first episode of our new season of Talent First, I chat to Susanne Senoff, CISO for PROS about her views of the issue of allyship. We focus on allyship between women in corporate America, how we can support each other and the benefits of mentorship. We also have a quick chat about CISO/Board relationships, so this is an episode not to be missed! About Our Guest: Susanne Senof...

In this episode of Talent First, I return to the EdTech theme with my guest Martin Saunders, CEO and Co-Founder of EdShed. We discuss the fantastic range of products and services that EdShed offers Primary-aged children to support their learning and their wellbeing and sense of achievement. We discuss a range of topics including neurodiversity in schools, how the system is potentially failing pupi...

In this week's episode, I chat to Christophe Foulon, vCISO at Quisitive and Adjunct Professor at Bellevue University. We discuss a range of current issues in cybersecurity, from the so called talent gap to what entry level really means, and we chat about Chris's career journey so far. His work with Whole Human Cyber Initiative and his books on nailing the cybersecurity interview will be of huge in...

In this episode I speak to Professor Sarah Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor for Education at Solent University. We talk about passions that we share - how to enhance learning and teaching through technology, digital equity and accessibility and the future of education. We also discuss Sarah's work on AI literacy and her development of AI literacy frameworks for Higher Education students with a key f...

In this episode of Talent First, we return to those leading the way in education technology - and this week I talk to Estelle Lloyd, Co-Founder and COO of Macademia, an edutainment platform whose mission is to help parents raise exceptional humans with their focus on being kinder, smarter and with a keen sense of social values. I loved this chat with Estelle - her views on digital literacy, access...

In this episode, I talk cybersecurity awareness training with the fantastic Jemma Davis, Founder of Culture Gem. Jemma shares her incredible personal story and professional journey into cyber and we discuss how to get away from boring security awareness training, what Culture Gem offers their clients, and what a true security culture looks like. BIO: Jemma Davis is a leading Cyber Behaviour and Cu...

This week's episode of Talent First is a remaster of a fantastic discussion with David Pugh-Jones, Board Trustee and Founding Executive Charity Member for Neurodiversity in Business. NiB is an industry forum that seeks to improve the inclusion of neurodivergent people in the workforce and that is why I wanted to include this chat with David here - because at the core of their work and when we...

This week's episode of Talent First sees a return to a focus on EdTech innovators with a fantastic chat with Fadl Al Tarzi, Founder and CEO of Nexford University. Nexford University offers students a range of online courses with an innovative approach to learning and teaching and to assessment which is a real passion of mine - and his focus on affordability and relevance of education (and how...

This is part two of my chat with Annabel Berry, Co-Founder of Leading Cyber, an organisation whose mission is to deliver impactful and effective leadership development. In part one of our conversation, Annabel and about the realities of the leadership role, how you know if it is the right time, and what can be done to prepare for the demands of management. In this part, we move on to discuss the o...

This week I continue my slight departure from The EdTech Season to speak to the wonderful Annabel Berry about her venture, Leading Cyber, an organisation committed to delivering impactful and effective leadership development through mentoring, off-site workshops and cybersecurity leadership programmes. In this part of our two part episode, we discuss Leading Cyber's mission, the realities of c...

In this episode of Talent First, I talk to Kelly Pracht, Co-Founder of nVenue a predictive analytics and micro-betting technology platform built for sports betting businesses and sports media. Although this is a departure from EdTech, the focus of Season Three, I was fascinated with Kelly's career, the fact that she is a woman not only in tech but in sports and sports betting, and of course th...

In this episode of THE EDTECH SEASON, I speak to Ben Mason, Founder of globalbridge about his career in education, how he moved into technology and about the huge impact the globalbridge product is having on both students and for their enterprise partners. We discuss changing notions of human capital - the current value we place on education, what skills will be in demand and his advice to student...

In this episode, I speak to Sarah Mintey, MBE about her career, how she founded and funded Developing Experts and about the impact her services are having on learning, teaching and corporate partnerships. We also chat about the importance of balanced diversity in STEM and about data-driven analysis of the impact her work is having on students. Bio: Sarah founded Developing Experts in October 2015....

In this episode, I speak to Chris Parrish, Co-Founder of Podium Education. We began by talking about his background, education and career and we found that we had a lot in common which fuelled a lot of the discussion around Podium's products and services. We also talk diversity in tech, coding and data courses and the increase in popularity in these internships especially for students that are...

SEASON THREE -- THE EDTECH SEASON In this first episode of Season Three of Talent First, I speak to Brentt Brown, VP of Growth and Innovation at Mursion. In this episode, we chat about the work Mursion does for K-12/education  and for corporates, the future of VR in Diversity and Inclusion training and its impact and potential and the phrase 'soft skills' - is it time for a rebrand of this...

In this episode of Talent First, I chat to Justin Merhoff, Director of Cybersecurity for Deque Systems about an often neglected topic - digital accessibility and equality. This is a fascinating discussion about the barriers faced by some to cybersecurity careers because of a lack of accessible products and tools, the need for diversity in tool design and development and Justin's advice organis...

In this episode, I speak to CISO at Accurx Diane Abela about her experiences as a woman in cybersecurity - this is an open and frank discussion as well as being solutions-driven. We also chat about the evolving role of the CISO, the increasing demands it presents and how self-management is the key to success. Diane is a Chief Information Security Officer of a health technology organisation, with o...

In this episode of the award-nominated Talent First, I speak to Kate Raulings, CISO at the Environment Protection Authority in Victoria and also a dear friend of mine. This was a great opportunity to catch up, and also to discuss some crucial topics around the role of the Chief Information Security Officer, Kate's advice for those looking to enter the profession and why we are not seeing more...

In this second part of my episode with Tennisha Martin, Founder of Black Girls Hack, we chat about the threat to DEI initiatives in corporations, and the ripple effect this will have for nonprofit organisations dedicated to progressing women in tech. We also talk about the current state of diversity in cybersecurity and how it can be improved. Don't miss the final 5 minutes where Tennisha tell...

In this episode, which is part one of a two part special, I speak with Tennisha Martin, Founder of Black Girls Hack about her career journey, her experience as a nonprofit Founder and about the current threats to DEI initiatives. We also talk about the current state of diversity in cybersecurity as well as what the future holds for her incredible organisation. Tennisha Martin is the founder and Ex...

In this episode of Talent First, I speak to three outstanding young women from Norfolk in the UK who are about to embark on the trip of a lifetime, to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championships. We discuss their love of STEAM, their resilience in this journey, and how we can attract more young women into STEM careers and subjects. If you would like to sponsor or contribute to their funding fo...

This episode of Talent First is a little different and a slight departure from The CISO Season. I speak to Emily Maxie, StartUp Marketing Advisor about her recent appearance on ABC 11 News. In her interview, Emily talked about Raleigh, North Carolina's climbing of the women in tech rankings, beating other states such as Seattle and San Francisco, not only in terms of the number of women in tec...