Senior Managing Director, Head of Cybersecurity (Australia) at FTI Consulting
1. What is your background?
I have been working for 20 years in cybersecurity across consulting and industry roles. I have served as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for two large ASX-listed organisations.
Originally from Belgium, I graduated from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Scandinavia’s largest technical university, with a Master’s degree in Science, Information & Communication Systems Security.
During my international master’s degree, I really enjoyed living overseas, and subsequently, I considered cybersecurity roles with international secondment possibilities.
After a few years working in Belgium, I headed to Sydney, where I spent the next 12 years working for Big Four consulting firms before taking on a CISO role, first at Healius, one of Australia's largest healthcare organisations, and then at Santos, a global energy company with operations across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the United States.
2. What is your role about?
I currently lead FTI Consulting’s cybersecurity practice in Australia. As a former CISO, I am deeply passionate about assisting organisations in enhancing their cybersecurity maturity – through improvements in processes and technology and building stronger capabilities within their teams.
On a day-to-day basis, I am responsible for driving new business, responding to client needs, managing our growing team, and ensuring that we deliver exceptional results for our clients.
The matters we work on vary significantly, but we generally advise clients in three main areas: cyber readiness, incident response, and complex cyber investigations and litigation. So, one day, we might be assisting an organisation in complying with obligations under the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act, and the next day we might be helping a client with a ransomware attack or a complex regulatory cybersecurity investigation. Regardless of the type of work, our team is extremely passionate about improving cyber resilience at both the organisational and national level in Australia.
It is also my responsibility to coach members of our team and ensure they are given all the opportunities they need to develop their own careers, so I provide on-the-job training with regular and open feedback.
I also speak frequently at cybersecurity conferences and events and author a number of thought leadership articles throughout the year.
3. Can you give an example of a type of engagement you were recently working on?
Some of the engagements we have been working on recently:
4. Did you always know you wanted to work in this field?
I discovered a passion for technology at an early age. I not only wanted to understand how technology works but also how technology behaves in unintended situations. This turned out to be the mindset that hackers apply when searching for security vulnerabilities in technology.
When studying for a bachelor of computer science, during many of my courses, such as system administration and software development, I kept thinking: How can I use what I learned, think outside the box and make the technology behave in a different way?
I started working for approximately two years as a networking engineer and subsequently decided to go back to uni to study cybersecurity, and I have been working full-time in the cybersecurity field ever since.
5. What is most rewarding about your job?
Satisfying clients by solving problems and delivering the outcomes that they desire is a very rewarding aspect of working in a cybersecurity consulting role.
Working for various organisations also gives you a lot of insights into how different companies operate, their culture, technology and cybersecurity maturity, which are insights that you won’t gain working in an industry role.
6. What was a challenge?
In consulting, we always strive to meet our client requests and timely respond to their needs, and balancing priorities can be a challenge from time to time. Over my career, I have learned the importance of transparency with our clients regarding agreeing on deadlines and managing expectations.
7. One piece of advice that you would give women/female students who want to work in professional services?
Most professional services firms will have a formal mentorship program. Look for a mentor – male or female – who can guide you through the nuances of the industry, champion your growth, and provide advice on career progression. Also, look for organisations committed to diversity and inclusion and seek out networking groups for women in professional services to help develop a strong network.
Specifically for the cybersecurity sector, I would recommend checking out the Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN).
The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting, Inc., its
management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals. FTI Consulting, Inc., including its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a consulting firm and is not a certified public accounting firm or a law firm. FTI Consulting is an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organisations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional. FTI Consulting professionals, located in all major business centers throughout the world, work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges and opportunities. Some services may be provided through FTI Capital Advisors (Australia) Pty Ltd AFSL # 504204. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
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