The first email and the first virus came into existence almost within a year of each other. Since then, the evolution of cyber applications, cyber security, and cyber threats have been simultaneous and constant. In the 2000s, cyber-attacks gained volume and velocity, making cybersecurity an immediate and serious concern.

Nowadays, cybersecurity has become integral to businesses as cyber risks have become business risks. The demand for cyber professionals has risen significantly, but people with enough depth, understanding, and skills in the arena are critically few.

One such person is Dr. Fene Osakwe, a multiple award-winning Global Tech professional, international conference speaker and Forbes published author with over a decade of experience working with multibillion-dollar companies. He consults for several Financial Institutions, Telecoms and FinTech companies, State Governments, and other Professionals, and sits on the advisory board of several companies across the globe, holding over ten professional IT Certifications.

Fene started his cyber security career as a penetration tester and rapidly progressed into senior management in nine years. He is now a much-acclaimed conference speaker in Africa and other parts of the world. He has spoken at over 43 international conferences and has won several awards locally and internationally. In 2021, Dr. Fene was awarded an honorary Doctor of Business Administration (Leadership and innovation) from the Swiss School of Business Geneva for his exceptional leadership skills and continuous innovation.

Fene is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and is an advisory board member on several boards within and outside Africa. He mentors hundreds of career professionals with a mission to help career professionals rise from fresh graduates to executive management.

He is also the author of the book “Climbing the corporate ladder with speed,” an Amazon best seller for career professionals, where he breaks down principle and practical steps to set career goals, accelerate career progress and get to senior and executive management in less than ten years.

Let’s delve into his journey!

The Journey of Hope and the Success of Relatability

Fene likes to call his journey as a journey of hope – to come from nothing to becoming Africa’s most sought-after cybersecurity advisor – the journey wasn’t an easy one. He had to face several challenges, like a lack of belief and being taken advantage of due to his young age when he started out, lack of finances for basic needs of life, and encountering people who had hero syndrome. Still, Fene retains a positive and resilient outlook to it all, saying, “Ultimately, I think these challenges only make us stronger.”

Fene began his professional career as a cybersecurity specialist with Deloitte Nigeria consulting for various multinationals in Financial services, Tech and Oil and gas. He moved on to MTN (Africa’s largest Mobile Telecommunication operator) as a Business Risk Manager in 2017. He then over to IHS towers in 2018 and rose to Director level, setting up two Functions from scratch – the IT Security Function and the IT GRC Function and maturing same to the level of listing on the New York stock exchange. In June 2022, he was invited into the exclusive Forbes Technology council – an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives. Making him one of the few people to make the Tech Council in their 30s. Fene was vetted and selected by a review committee based on his depth, diversity, and wealth of experience in Information Technology and Cyber Security.

Fene’s fast acceleration up the corporate ladder perhaps comes from his ease of translating cybersecurity technical “jargons”  into immensely relatable examples anybody could easily comprehend. It certainly got him invited to speak at a lot of different conferences.

Fene shares, “As I grew up in the industry and started interfacing with other cybersecurity professionals, I noticed there’s a lot of excitement when cyber people come together and talk about cyber. But when they talk to management and other people, that excitement does not translate. It was clear that there was a missing link somewhere. So, what I do when I speak is that I make cybersecurity relatable. I use examples and scenarios to create real-life scenarios and connect it to an executive or to a non-technical person.”

Demonstrating that relatability, Fene told us about an interaction he had at one of the places he goes to advise executive management on cybersecurity with a Chief Financial Officer who wasn’t going for an awareness session.

Fene said to the CFO, “Oh, why are you not going for the awareness session? It’s a cyber awareness session.” The CFO replied, “Everything they’re talking about there, I know. There’s no big problem. They’re just going to tell us not to click on links.” “What kind of sports do you like?” asked Fene. “Boxing” came as the answer.

At that time, Tyson Fury had a fight with Deontay Wilder. So Fene said, “Deontay Wilder was actually a fantastic boxer, but he lost the match just because he met a better boxer on the day. What we are doing with the awareness is… we know you are aware. We know you know it. We’re just trying to make you better. Because if we are not careful, the hackers out there are going to knock us out simply because we thought we were too good, but on the day – they were better.”

And the CFO left his seat and went for the awareness session simply because Fene was able to make him relate to it. This is what Fene thinks needs to be done to make cybersecurity relatable to people in their everyday lives. 

Business and technology are synonymous. One enables the other to gain a competitive advantage where there maybe none. Simply embedding innovative technology in each part of a business can put it miles ahead of everyone else.

In the modern times, innovation and advancements are utterly necessary for businesses to enhance and expand their services to the segment of targeted audience in the sector. This requires the sheer expertise of the companies that have been assisting businesses to transform, grow and exponentially scale the progress to greater heights while leveraging technological augmentation.

Peloton Consulting Group is assisting businesses to acquire the edge they need to stay competitive in the modern business arena. The company’s tagline ‘Digital Transformation Realized’ sums up its mission, with people, processes, and technology being the three pillars of its approach.

People matter at Peloton, whether it’s the customer or the employee. That is why they have been selected for our edition of ‘Best Workplaces for Women in 2022.’ In this feature, the company is highlighting some of its most influential women leaders – Elise, Toni-Ann, Holly, Julia, and Lesley – their successes and contributions to the company.

In an exclusive interview with CIOLook, Elise, Toni-Ann, Holly, Julia, and Lesley highlight the values and culture at Peloton.

Below are the highlights of the interview:

Please enlighten our readers about Peloton Consulting Group, highlighting its significance in the modern industry.

Peloton Consulting Group (‘Peloton’) is a leading consultancy focused on digital transformation leveraging the cloud. Our customer-focused approach ensures that vision turns into reality and drives meaningful business transformation. We provide Advisory, Implementation, and Application Managed Services with the digital age disrupting entire industries.

At Peloton, we specialize in services that make digital transformation a reality leveraging Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Human Capital Management (HCM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Analytics for the cloud. We have the experts, leading practices, know how, and capabilities to help clients realize the vision of digital transformation.

We believe that organizations that will thrive in the new digital age will provide value through hyper-connected capabilities that connect people, processes, and technology which is why the company partners with its clients to design strategies, implement solutions, and enable digital transformation.

Tell us about the featured people and shed some light on their professional tenure.

We have highlighted a few of our many influential women at Peloton Consulting Group.

Toni-Ann serves as Senior Vice President, Consulting, based in the NY Metro area. During her 12-year tenure at Peloton, she has grown her Practice and region exponentially, leading hundreds of successful implementations and establishing a managed services practice to ensure continued client satisfaction.

Elise is a Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Peloton. She works cross-functionally supporting Sales, Finance, Operations, Marketing, HR, IT, and Executive Leadership. The work is fun, challenging, and collaborative. A dream job for her.

Holly is a Vice President and leads the Enterprise Resource Planning Practice at Peloton. She has 15+ years of experience applying problem-solving and technical skills to improve individual, team and organizational performance She is experienced in leveraging her deep accounting and financial knowledge to advise clients on functional solutions using the most effective strategies.

Julia serves as a Senior Director in Peloton’s Technical Services Practice. She began her career at Peloton 10 years ago in the Enterprise Performance Management Practice. Julia now leads global delivery teams in implementing Cloud Intergrations, Master Data Management, and Analytics Solutions.

Lesley was one of the first pioneers at Peloton Consulting Group and now leads the firm’s Change Management Practice. As the Vice President of this practice, she has developed Peloton’s go-to-market strategy for Change Management– an offering that is now part of all multi-pillar pursuits.

Tell us about the services that Peloton Consulting Group provides to its clients.

We at Peloton help companies leverage cloud solutions to realize the benefits of digital transformation through its full suite of services. Starting with Advisory, we help businesses envision, benchmark, and assess their current processes and technologies to provide a roadmap and implementation blueprint incorporating modern best practices

Cybersecurity has risen to prominence on the agenda of staunch business leaders. Large firms have been struggling with it for decades despite significant investment in that space; however, for many across the boardroom, the realization has taken place over the past few years that cyberattacks were simply a matter of “when,” not “if.” 

As the demand for robust security defence grows by the day, the market for cybersecurity technology has been transforming, as well as the number of solutions. Cybersecurity threats are on the rise. With the rapid increase in security breaches, company hacks and data leaks, cybercrime has become one of the most significant threats to global business.

Large-scale transformative initiatives are shaping up in many organizations and industries where cybersecurity maturity has been low for decades. Still, in the current global enterprise context, businesses have become increasingly reliant on technology, and the need for qualified cybersecurity professionals continues to grow.

Cybersecurity is all about sorting and solving complex problems and spotting vulnerabilities. The professionals who are working in this niche comprehend extensive experience in thinking critically and coming up with creative solutions that are essential for this field. Especially since there is no scarcity of potential cybersecurity threats in the digitally advanced world.

These professionals ensure data protection while adhering to the fact that cybersecurity is not about knowing how to use antivirus software or firewalls. It is more about identifying and solving problems promptly and efficiently before these issues turn into major setbacks! 

Ultimately, it is a matter of fact that the best cybersecurity professionals recognize how to solve problems and are not afraid to dive headfirst into complex projects and figure things out as they go along.

On the other hand, as businesses continue to grow and increase their investments in enhancing cybersecurity, these organizations approach cybersecurity analysts who can anticipate potential threats and circumvent them before they happen. As with any technical field, cybersecurity is rapidly changing while experiencing a significant benchmark of excellence with the innovations driven by the starlets of this niche.

CIOLook sheds light on the dignitaries who are committed to the best practices and emerging industry trends and learning and self-educating – both on and off the clock, in its latest edition, “10 Most Influential Global Cyber Security Leaders Under 40, 2023.”

Flip through the pages and indulge in the odyssey of sparkling augmentations with a distinctive skillset that is revolutionizing the cybersecurity sector.

What makes a company a wonderful place to work? It’s a question we often get asked – not only by those looking to achieve Top Workplace status but also by aspiring organizations that recognize a growing shift in their industry from profitability to personability.

With an ever-increasing demand for employee satisfaction in the workplace, these nine qualities are worth noting and adopting as best practices. They are the critical difference between a thriving company on its way to success and one that is treading water to stay afloat. When leaders show they understand what’s going on in their organization and hold themselves to the same standard as everyone else, it’s easier for employees to get behind the company’s mission. It’s also one of the qualities of a good manager.

Great leaders practice what they preach and are passionate advocates who take a stand on the issues impacting the world around them. In their organization, leadership should be committed to boosting engagement, responding to feedback and concerns, and advocating a healthy company culture.

Communication tops the list when organizations ask what qualities make a company a great place to work. Open and timely workplace communication builds transparency and trust that goes both ways, in addition to uniting employees and leadership under the same goals. Companies that check in regularly with their employees through employee engagement surveys open the opportunity for communication that benefits all involved.

Innovation is at the heart of any successful company. Innovation keeps an organization at the top of its game, allowing the management to flex its competitive muscles and take pride in its work. Innovation also inspires employees to do magnificent work and contribute toward the greater good of the company. Ensure employees feel safe to share their ideas with managers and even higher-ups. Employees know the day-to-day operations best after all – they might just be the source of your next great breakthrough.

CIOLook mapped the journey of the prominent organizations that are driving transformations and setting benchmarks with splendid work environments in its latest edition, “Best Workplaces For Women in 2022,”

Flip through the pages and explore the aspects that contribute to enhancing the facets of developments and advancements while empowering an exceptional work environment.

Business is a tricky road to walk on. And one of the crucial aspects that drive any business to its desired success is an innovative idea that not only enhances the fundamentals but also enacts the business to stand out and get the global spotlight amidst the cutthroat competition in an ever-evolving modern industry. And, at the helm of such a transformative wheel of the business clock stands its innovative leadership.

Along with a mindset of such inclusive developments, business leaders are also found to solve mindboggling problems with the help of technological solutions, and Information Technology has proved to be the harbor to many such socio-economic issues. Solving the challenges with a unique approach and a staunch leadership acumen in correctional facilities and rehabilitation centers while spearheading Telio Group—a prominent name in inmate communication, technology, and infrastructure, is Simon Bonk—Chief Research Officer and Director of Business Development.

As a leader, Simon has been inculcating an inclusive culture in the organization and infusing technology leadership to outgrow Telio’s own record. Appreciated and acknowledged globally, he has been focused on reinventing the lives of employees, the market, the end client, and society more broadly.

Let’s look at the journey of Simon that made him a huge success!

On a Trail to Success

Reminiscing on his career graph and how he climbed up his success ladder, he says, “I spent close to 30 years in the Canadian Public Service holding a variety of roles from an executive being responsible for Functional and Operational programs to Deputy Chief Financial Officer to CIO.”

This took place in three large operational departments—Tax Administration, Border Services and Corrections. “For the last six years, I was the CIO for the Correctional Service of Canada. In February of this year, I Joined Telio as their Chief Research Officer and Director of Business Development,” says Simon.

Weathering the Storms

The first challenge Simon needed to overcome was the move from the public sector to the private sector. He says, “When in government, your bottom line is defined by outcomes for society. Obviously, in the private sector, the bottom line is the defining consideration. I am lucky to be working with Telio, they recognize that these are not mutually exclusive ideas. We can/must contribute to greater societal outcomes in order to truly be successful, and if we achieve this our bottom line will be more than healthy.”

Another challenge was to overcome some of the biases relating to what people believe a CIO should be or what experiences they must possess. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) was open-minded and understood that to be a CIO does not necessarily mean you need to have come through the technical ranks. By becoming the CIO at CSC, Simon had the platform to contribute to thought leadership in the sector and enhance the delivery of modern corrections, and this experience is serving him well at Telio.

Artificial Intelligence continues to advance through remarkable milestones that can be utilized to change the way we do business. AI can solve several business problems, and technologists leverage it to prepare for the future. Carey Smith is one such technologist and an evangelist of the democratization of technology. He believes that placing the power to make digital product changes into the hands of the customer and internal business teams is the significant change that can be an industry disruptor. As the Chief Information Officer of Orchid Insurance, Carey strives to deliver personalized, intuitive, simple yet powerful digital solutions that allow easy self-service no matter when, where, and how the customer wants to engage.

The Initiation

With nearly 30 years of experience building and delivering technology solutions and a reputation as a progressive IT leader, Carey Smith has a long history of driving transformational change at organizations within the insurance, financial services, and manufacturing industries.

Carey focuses on developing technology strategies and delivering digital solutions that amplify the business, which drives the achievement of the enterprise vision. Instead of being constrained by the traditions of legacy IT, Carey champions the use of emerging technologies and modern delivery practices to transform business models, drive extreme growth and achieve industry best results.

Carey began his technology career developing digital solutions and expanded his roles covering all aspects of technology. As a leader, Carey focuses on unifying technology and business so that IT teams operate as business units with accountability to business outcomes. Carey has delivered transformational change to enterprises large and small, established market incumbents and startups spanning public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.

Cultural change is the biggest challenge Carey always faces, regardless of the organization. Changing institutional IT mindsets to think strategically is key to success from a business perspective. Instead of focusing on traditional IT metrics and KPIs to measure outcomes, Carey’s technology organizations focus on value delivered to the customer. Measuring value and holding technology teams accountable to business outcomes helps shape a different perspective and build a stronger, trusting partnership between technology and business.

The First Choice

Orchid Insurance is a unique and rapidly growing Managing General Underwriter specializing in distributing and underwriting residential and commercial property. Orchid is committed to being “The First Choice” for catastrophe property insurance for thousands of independent retail agencies from coast to coast. For more than two decades, Orchid’s products, processes, and people have consistently delivered outstanding coverage solutions in the insurance industry by offering customized solutions with distinguishable ease of use and expertise. Orchid’s proprietary underwriting capabilities and strong carrier relationships have led to a best-in-class historical underwriting track record.

Carey asserts Orchid IT is pivotal in executing the digital business transformation strategy delivering innovative digital products, and improving enterprise operational efficiency. Due to its recent technology modernization, Orchid IT has achieved 32X efficiency improvement, a 14X progress in delivering platform configuration for new revenue-generating business opportunities, and a 9X improvement in time-to-market for delivering new digital capabilities. Allowing more digital capability to be delivered significantly faster with fewer resources has resulted in new digital product delivery measured in days VS. months/years, allowing for a substantial increase in value delivered to the business. Most importantly, these significant improvements were achieved while also reducing the technology operational expense run rate. Orchid IT has achieved the seemingly impossible by delivering significantly more products, quicker to market, and higher quality while reducing expenses.

The digital revolution drives significant change, making itself a new norm of modern times; embracing these changes is an essential part of any forward-thinking business’s capabilities. Understanding the potential of the digital world, Pat Jerding applied his experience in anticipating significant growth opportunities to the opportunities presented following the merger of two industry titans.

As the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Univar Solutions, Pat has influenced an innovative and collaborative culture, mapping a framework to pave the company’s upward path of success and development as it navigates the digital revolution.

Univar Solutions is a global leader in chemical and ingredient distribution with a vast supplier network and a world-class formulation with unparalleled logistics know-how. It is focused on climate action, resource use, release prevention, sustainable supply chain, and sustainability solutions.

The Rise Through Hard Work

Pat believes that every journey consists of unique routes that will quickly teach you that sometimes a step sideways is the best way to move forward. When he started his professional journey as an IT developer at Lyondell, he climbed up the ladder through multiple disciplines. He learned to expand his expertise within different subject areas, realizing the importance of having both depth and breadth of experience to be successful. But what really made a difference in his career growth was relationships. Developing and nurturing relationships with other leaders allowed Pat to land the role of Director of Technology at Nexeo Solutions before eventually taking reigns as CIO.

The Above-Board Approach

Pat has made his mark in the tech space niche by focusing on reliable operations and emphasizing the total cost of ownership without sacrificing performance. He was taught to do more with less during his early career, which he made central to establishing a framework to keep IT cost-efficient and reliable, while uplifting performance at Univar Solutions. Pat utilized his expertise in multiple systems to harness and unlock the value of the latest digital technologies to help serve customers, suppliers, and employees, thereby delivering shareholder value. Pat employs a straightforward approach to career growth in the tech space; learning to move up by knowing his strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. He surrounds himself with smart people who are cutting-edge in the tech space, combining it with his strength of implementation and reliability to impact the company and the overall team positively.

Enhancing Your Growth

Univar Solutions is on a mission to Streamline, Innovate, and Grow. It envisions redefining distribution as the most valued chemical and ingredients distributor globally. After 97 years of experience in the niche, Univar Solutions’ team serves as a global partner and committed ally to its customers and suppliers by supporting innovation, development, and distribution of a massive portfolio of ingredients and specialty chemicals. Touching upon e very industry, Univar Solutions leverages its expansive network, deep bench of experts and high le vel of service and technical expertise to help businesses in the industries it serves run smoothly, while also assisting them in recognizing and influencing meaningful growth opportunities.

Information is a tremendous boon when protected in the digital age, but it can be exploited if it is not private and protected. Having a security and privacy-conscious culture is the most excellent shield for protecting the most valuable information of organizations. Building similar culture by solving the challenging and complex problems passionately in the information security industry is Mr. Rahul Bhardwaj.

From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Bhardwaj worked as an information security analyst for Vertex Computer Systems. He was active as a team manager for Capgemini (Formerly Patni Computer Systems) from2006 to 2009. He began his tenure with FinTech giant FIS in 2009 as a security and governance manager, rising to the post of Director – Information Security Assurance Services in 2013; he also helped FICO set up the Enterprise Risk Management Program serving as Principal – GRC till 2019.

In 2019 Mr. Bhardwaj joined Kroll (Formerly – Duff and Phelps), where he was tasked to design and implement a Global Privacy and Data Security program for the firms. Due to the business nature of acquiring mid to small-size global firms in different geographies, and some of these firms needed to upgrade their respective robust privacy and data security controls to meet the high standard of the firm.