Bettina Tornow

How did you start building your network?

I started on attending security events and just raise my profile internal and external. I also showed that I am reliable, work hard, know my stuff but also fun to be around. But more importantly I am myself which people recognize and this way you will start conversations with different people who will remeber you.

Did anyone ever oppose your career plans when you were young or push you in a direction you did not want to go?

I grew up in a family with a single and five kids. My mum was unemployed her whole life. No one believed that I would go to University, I was told by my teachers that someone like me would never become a professional but would work in a low income job because that is what the statistics say. But I never listened to all the negative things and kept pursuing my goals. I finished my A levels with an honors degree lived all over the world, finished my Bachelor Degree in Economics at the University of Hamburg and are now working in Cyber Security. So I can just tell everyone out there go and pursue your goals, it won’t be easy and people will try to bring you down but if you work hard and focus you will defy the odds!