Lisa Ventura
CEO & Founder
UK Cyber Security Association, this is a trade association for individuals and organisations who actively work within the cyber security industry.
My role is to oversee all the different facets of the organisation including membership, strategic partnerships and our awareness raising campaigns which include women in cyber security, neurodiversity and cyber security, the cyber skills gap and our "Be Safe, Be Sure...Be Secure" campaign which is aimed at small businesses and SMEs to help them stay safe online.
Every day is different and I love that what I do makes a huge and positive difference to the business community when it comes to them staying safe online.
I was working from my dedicated home office before the pandemic so my day starts off at around 8.30am when I catch up with emails and check out my meetings schedule for the day ahead. I will then spend my day reviewing membership, dealing with enquiries, taking part in events and webinars, writing articles and content for the website and preparing member briefings and information to send to them. No two days are the same!
I didn't start off in the cyber security industry, I spent many years prior to that working in the entertainment industry with the host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire in the UK Chris Tarrrant. In 2009 I joined Titania Ltd, a cyber security software development company which was founded by my ex-husband and worked alongside him to grow the business. When we separated and divorced, I knew I wanted to stay in the cyber security industry so I went to work at BT, and I founded the UK Cyber Security Association in 2018. The rest, as they say, is history!
I hope that I can continue to fight the good fight against cyber criminals through my work and the cyber security awareness raising work that I do. If I can stop one business from getting caught out by online fraud or suffering a cyber attack, I will be happy.
I love walking with my GSD/husky cross dog, watching fims, reading and bullet journalling in my spare time. I am a huge fan of the rock band Queen and Freddie Mercury, so you can often find me listening to Queen songs, watching their live concerts from years gone by or collecting memorabilia from the band.
Fortune favours the bold. I heard this quote in the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" and it completely resonated with me. You need to be bold and go for that job, ask for help or ask for opportunities. The worst that can happen is that it is a no, if that is the case, just say NEXT and go for other opportunities. Fortune really does favour the bold.