CyberWire Daily - Debra Danielson: Be fearless. [CTO] [Career Notes]

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

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

You're listening to the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K. of you i was concerned about my data being sold by data brokers so i decided to try delete me i have to say delete me is a game changer within days of signing up they started removing my personal information from hundreds of data brokers i finally have peace of mind knowing my data privacy is protected delete me's team does all the work for you with detailed reports so you know exactly Thank you. JoinDeleteMe.com slash N2K and use promo code N2K at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com slash N2K and enter code N2K at checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com slash N2K, code N2K. My name is Debra Danielson, and I am a Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Engineering for Digital Guardian. Music I think that my home life as a child really influenced what I ended up doing ultimately as a career.

My father was a professor of astrophysics at Princeton University, and I had three sisters. And so as only girls in the family, we got dad's full attention on sort of bringing us into his world and into the world of science and technology. Actually, I was dedicated to not having a career in technology. I was rebellious and I really did not want to, you know, sort of follow in the footsteps of anyone in my family. And so I sort of determinedly tried not to get into technology. 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 but quite honestly I was a little bit of a wild child and I didn't really do very well in school. And when I got out of school, I ended up with a degree in economics and applied mathematics. And one day my mother said to me, you either go out today and apply for a job, one job, or you are out of here. And there happened to be this computer software company that was about a mile away. And I walked up and I put a resume on the receptionist's

desk and they called me the next day. And within a week, I was employed and working there. That was a company called Applied Data Research. and I was there for about five years until the company was acquired by Computer Associates. And interestingly, I stayed at Computer Associates for 32 years. my career, one of the things that really sort of sticks out as a pattern is that almost the worst thing that could happen happens. And then somehow or another, I translate that into a next great opportunity. And so if I sort of look back, I have, I don't know, four or five of these events in my career where at the time I sort of said, oh no, this is absolutely terrible. But then when I looked back a year later, I said, thank goodness that happened. There were a reasonable number of women in the field when I first started. And then there was a substantial

decline. And so back in the days when I really spent all of my time sitting in a cube in front of a computer programming, which was probably the first five to 10 years of my career, that's the time when there actually were quite a few women around. And then the second part of my career, that's the time when there actually were quite a few women around. And then the second part of my career where I was out of heads down programming and more into, you know, collaborations and management and leadership, that's where the ratio of women in the environment really dropped. And I think it was a challenge, certainly. If I look back on it, I think the biggest impact that it had on me was that it took a lot of energy to be different. And so I would just sort of feel tired at the end of the day from putting on a bit of a mask.

You know, I think the thing that I wish I had learned many, many years ago was to be fearless and to not fear making mistakes or saying something stupid or doing something wrong. All of the mistakes that I have made in my career have ended up giving me something valuable from them. The thing I learned as a result of it was always better than if I hadn't done the mistake. But taking risks and being confident that you're a valuable person and that you have something to give, that helps you go be out there. Like that helps you go be out there. And you have to be out there in order to get opportunity, in order to move forward, in order to really sort of make your mark and figure out who you are in your career. Thank you.