Debra Danielson: Be fearless. [CTO] [Career Notes]

CyberWire Daily

N2K Networks, Inc.

Tech News, Daily News, News, Technology

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2024

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Please enjoy this encore episode, where we are joined by Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Engineering for Digital Guardian Debra Danielson, as she shares her career journey. From aspirations of becoming an astronaut studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, Finding her first job at a local software company that turned into a long term commitment after it was acquired by another firm. Debra mentions that when she was heads-down programming, there were many women in the field and when she emerged from the cube to take on management and leadership positions, the ratio of women had dropped dramatically. She noted at this time that it took a lot of energy to be different. Debra shared that each time she had challenges in her career, she learned from them. She offers advice of taking risks earlier in your career as you don't know what it could lead to. And, we thank Debra for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Cyberwire Network, powered by N2K.
0:09.7	AI adoption is exploding, and security teams are under pressure to keep up.
0:16.9	That's why the industry is coming together at the Datasec AI conference, the premier event for cybersecurity data and AI leaders, hosted by data security leader, Saira.
0:27.6	Built for the industry, by the industry, this two-day conference is where real-world insights and bold solutions take center stage.
0:35.6	Datasec AI 25 is happening November 12th and 13th in Dallas.
0:41.8	There's no cost to attend.
0:43.4	Just bring your perspective and join the conversation.
0:46.7	Register now at Datasek AI 2025.com backslash cyberwire.
0:52.7	Thank you. dot com backslash cyberwire. My name is Deborah Danielson and I am a chief technology officer and senior vice president engineering for Digital Guardian.
1:15.6	Okay. engineering for Digital Guardian. I think that my home life as a child really influenced what I ended up doing ultimately as a career.
1:25.6	My father was a professor of astrophysics at Princeton University,
1:31.4	and I had three sisters. And so as only girls in the family, we got dad's full attention
1:39.9	on sort of bringing us into his world and into the world of science and technology.
1:49.8	Actually, I was dedicated to not having a career in technology.
1:55.3	I was rebellious, and I really did not want to, you know, sort of follow in the footsteps of anyone in my family.
2:05.7	And so I sort of determinedly tried not to get into technology.
2:09.8	That didn't work very well for me, as you can see. I actually wanted to be an astronaut, of all things, and I started out at school in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
2:30.7	But quite honestly, I was a little bit of a wild child, and I didn't really do very well in school.
2:40.1	And when I got out of school, I ended up with a degree in economics and applied mathematics.
2:48.8	And one day my mother said to me, you either go out today and apply for a
2:54.6	job, one job, or you are out of here. And there happened to be this computer software company
3:01.7	that was about a mile away. And I walked up and I put a resume on the receptionist's desk,
	...

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