The Cyber Security Recruiter Podcast

Dixon Wright on career growth, leadership paths, and using AI without losing expertise Thomas chats with Dixon Wright about his career progression and what drives promotions, emphasizing hard work plus being in the right place at the right time. Dixon discusses playing the long game, building subject-matter expertise before leading, and the importance of choosing work you enjoy rather than chasing...

Mythos, Autonomous Pen Testing, and the Future of Self-Securing Software, with Mike Wilkes, Enterprise CISO at Aikido Security. On the Cyber Security Recruiter podcast, Mike Wilkes discusses a busy week of CISO events at Google (Mythos/Glasswing gathering), the Harvard Club, and Meta’s OSAC cybersecurity committee, plus an NYSE TV interview about Aikido Security’s Series B and growth. He explains...

AI-Native Cybersecurity, MSP Automation, and What Education Must Change Next - with Manal Iskander On the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, the host speaks with Manal Iskander, founder of PCtronics , co-owner of Green Shack Marketplace, and Marketing Lead at Fugazi about how AI and cybersecurity are now inseparable and how she’s using an AI-native, agentic software stack (including SuperOps, NinjaO...

Marketing, personal branding, and networking for cybersecurity careers with Gary Piper Tom introduces a delayed Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast episode with Gary Piper, Marketing Director at Black Talon Security, and outlines Gary's career from graphic design and creative leadership into cybersecurity marketing. Gary discusses the growing need for clear cybersecurity marketing, emphasising the imp...

Craig Adams on Building Security Products: Why Me/Why Now, AI-Driven Remediation, and Extreme Ownership Tom chats with Craig Adams, Chief Product Officer at Rapid7 and Board Member at Peak Metrics. Adams describes himself as a builder, focused on driving revenue growth through technology by avoiding innovation that isn’t leveraged and by anchoring product strategy in “why me, why now,” plus strong...

AI’s Impact on Cybersecurity: SOC Automation, GRC Limits, and the Rise of Boutique Advisory Tom welcomes cybersecurity veteran Dave Cronin, founder of Mission Security and vCISO/Head of Cyber Services with CyberTrust Massachusetts, who recounts his path from technical roles and teaching ethical hacking to senior leadership and nuclear compliance work across U.S. power plants. They discuss AI as a...

In this Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast episode, Thomas chats with Dale Hoak, a former US Navy veteran who transitioned to the commercial sector and progressed from to senior director and now Chief Security Officer/CISO at RegScale. Dale explains that leaving the military is difficult because individuals must take ownership of healthcare, career planning, compensation negotiation, and resume-build...

Chris Tjotjos on building businesses through crashes, advisory boards, and compounding growth Thomas chats with Chris Tjotjos on the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast about his career from sales to leading Logos Communications and later co-founding Promithia and Simvay Systems Chris describes early entrepreneurial “full throttle” focus, reinvesting profits for years, and the power of compounding, in...

Shante Perrin on SOC Leadership, Communicating Risk, and Curiosity-Driven Career Growth Thomas chats with cybersecurity leader Shante Perrin, who progressed from web developer and help desk roles to SOC leadership and Director of Global Security Operations. Shante describes SOC and MSSP work focused on preventing repeat incidents through policies, procedures, customer advisement, and deploying new...

From Security Executive to Startup Founder: Sales, Focus, and Raising a Pre-Seed Round On the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, Tom chats with Tommy Donnelly, CTO, President, and co-founder of Amplifier Security. Tommy describes founder life as high-ambiguity work requiring constant energy, disciplined routines, and learning new skills - especially sales - framing it as “finding” the right customer...

Casey Murphy on Boundaries, Deep Work, and Learning Fast in Startup Revenue Marketing Had a great chat with Casey Murphy, who shares his career path from the US Navy submarine/nuclear program to Accenture, an MBA internship at Secure AI Labs, Microsoft, and his current role at Phosphorus Cybersecurity as Director of Revenue Marketing. Casey describes his identity as a Christian and frames his “For...

Andrew Kirch on Hacker Mindset, Insider Threats, and AI’s Impact on Cybersecurity In this Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast episode, Thomas chats with Andrew Kirch, Director of Technical Operations at Stoic Cybersecurity, who describes his wide-ranging background across IT, red and blue team work, tabletop exercises, and early experience running a major DNS blacklist that helped him understand how a...

Wiley Bayes on Red Teaming, Networking Fundamentals, and Breaking into Cybersecurity Thomas hosts Wiley Bayes on the Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast to discuss Wiley’s career path from early Linux curiosity and the US Navy into networking, systems/cloud engineering, penetration testing, and his current role as Senior Principal Red Team Operator at Dark Wolf Solutions. Wiley explains day-to-day red...

Barak Engel on Fractional CISO Life, Resilience, and Relationship-Driven Security Consulting Thomas chats with Barak Engel, founder/CEO of EAmmune and an advisor/board member across several security organizations, about his 23-year consulting journey, including creating the virtual/fractional CISO concept in 2003 and the realities of “feast or famine” work. Barak discusses rapid context switching...

From Bartending to COO: Hospitality Skills, Remote Work, and Critical Thinking in Cybersecurity The host welcomes Alise Barron to the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast and introduces her career path from hospitality and internet marketing into recruiting leadership roles at Experis Finance, Cylance, and Blackberry, and then multiple promotions at Cyvatar to COO. Elise describes a typical remote-work...

Ray DeMeo on Cybersecurity Investing, AI Risk, and Building Resilient Teams Thomas chats with Ray, managing director at Pulse Drive Group with a background in senior roles across tech and venture advising, about current cybersecurity market dynamics and investing. Ray notes recent acquisitions focused on cyber AI and protecting AI applications and data, highlighting the need to reduce risk and add...

CMMC Readiness, Compliance Consulting, and Career Lessons with Joe Schofield In this episode of the Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast, Tom speaks with Joe Scholefield, a former sysadmin/network engineer and ex-Dell cybersecurity manager, now serving as Director of Compliance at Deafcert, about helping defense contractors meet CMMC (based on NIST requirements) and preparing for DoD third-party assess...

Jim Miller on Talent Acquisition: Career Growth, Remote Hiring, and Today’s Employer Market On the Cyber Security Recruiter podcast, Thomas chats with Jim Miller, a talent acquisition leader with 25 years’ experience, including early recruitment at Allegis, a decade at Google (rising to global head of inbound talent), VP of Talent Acquisition at FullStory, and now VP of People and Talent at Ashby,...

Andrew Wildrix on Transitioning from the Army, Building Networks, and Standing Out in Cybersecurity Hiring On the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, Tom interviews Andrew Wildrix, a former US Army major and current VP of Business Development at Intrusion, about his career path from military service into cybersecurity and sales/technical leadership. Andrew describes his day-to-day work spanning email...

Navigating a Cybersecurity Career and Business Leadership with Dave Anderson In this episode of the Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast, our host converses with Dave Anderson about his fascinating career journey in cybersecurity. They discuss Dave's consistent online presence, bolstered by a specialist assisting him with LinkedIn content, which is pivotal for staying visible in the cybersecurity field...

Leading Managed Security Services: Growth, Hiring Advice, and Playing to Your Strengths with April Jenkins Thomas chats with April Jenkins, Senior Director of Managed Services/Service Desk at Elite Ops, about her career path, and how she prioritizes both customer outcomes and team growth, balance, and psychological safety. April explains her organization’s expansion from 9 to 42 people through new...

Recruiter Insights for a Tough Market: Resumes, Interviews, Follow-Ups, and Professionalism On the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, Tom chats with Barb Adrian, Chief People Officer at Procellis Technology. about how candidates can stand out in a competitive, layoff-impacted market. Barb stresses a well-constructed, proof-read resume (errors like misspellings or mismatched dates are deal-breakers),...

Navigating Cybersecurity Careers and Communication with Jake Everett In this episode of the Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast, Thomas welcomes Jake Everett, VP of Offensive Security at Rule4. They discuss technical challenges, the impact of AI, and Jake's career journey from the Marine Corps to the commercial world. Jake shares his daily responsibilities, the importance of communication and responsi...

Unlocking the Secrets of Talent Acquisition with John Herrick In this episode of the Cybersecurity Recruiter Podcast, Thomas interviews John Herrick, a seasoned professional in the recruitment industry. They discuss John's career trajectory from a boutique agency in 2012 to his current role as a Global Talent Acquisition Manager. John shares insights on the effectiveness of ice baths, the benefits...

Building Relationships and Navigating Cybersecurity Recruitment with Mariah Haag In this episode of the Cybersecurity Recruiter podcast, host Thomas is joined by Mariah Haag, a Security Project and Talent Manager at Stratum Security, which has recently merged with Cyber Advisors. They discuss the organized chaos of managing client demands, Mariah’s career progression from retail management to cybe...