Hispanic Heritage is celebrated in the U.S. at this time of the year (September). That makes this article, about my unique journey – Cuban Refugee to Cybersecurity Leader, that much more special. Growing up on the streets of New York as a Cuban immigrant was an instructive experience. Hispanic Executive (https://hispanicexecutive.com) published this article.
We discuss some of the challenges we (Latino immigrants) encounter coming up in the U.S. professional/corporate ranks. Most immigrants run into similar, sometimes worse, situations. I am cognizant of that. Personally, my many years training in Judo brought me many relevant benefits. This is so due to the discipline of our training but also the flowing, yielding and toughness developed along the Judo journey.
Commonly a path to a technology career is neither linear nor straightforward. The article touches upon this and how I flow with my life’s directed momentum. My journey traverses multiple disciplines within technology. The challenges have been abundant. The lessons learned, priceless. The federal government space, the corporate world, the cybersecurity startup / product world, and consulting for some high profile entities, are worlds I have lived in.
Furthermore, I speak about two other areas in the article that are of paramount importance to me. Those areas are translation and balance.
Translation is of great importance and is relevant in multiple directions. Undoubtedly a successful leader is constantly translating information because part of achieving success is building bridges between entities that don’t speak the same language (i.e. business and tech). I blogged about some of this earlier in the year.
Unquestionably, balance can be elusive, especially within the context of work / life balance. Judo training forces one to understand their own balance on multiple fronts, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Within the context of cybersecurity leadership I speak of the need for balance between technical capacity and business acumen.