Olesya Pavlova, the VP of Marketing at CyberKnight, speaks about why she chose the security industry as her career choice

Tell us about yourself and your current job role.
As Vice President of Marketing at CyberKnight, I am responsible for driving marketing strategy as well as execution to fuel the company’s accelerated growth in the region by creating value for vendors, channel partners, and end customers.

Tell us about your journey into the security industry. Was the security industry your first choice?
My technology career began back in 2011, in Sweden, where I joined one of the leading approved resource providers (ARP) for Ericsson, as Marketing Manager for large telecom projects across the globe. Being totally new to this field, I learned a lot about 4G (back then!), Ericsson radio systems, network operations, and how Ericsson helped to connect the world.

I then joined an R&D company in Stockholm, a leading Nordic IoT and RTLS provider, focusing on IoT and pioneering Europe’s first IoT projects: developing software and hardware for industrial use. A few years later, I moved to the UAE and continued my IT journey by leading marketing functions for multiple value-added distributors (VADs) predominately focusing on IT, OT, and IoT security.

During your tenure in the security industry have you experienced major changes the industry has gone through?
It is no secret that the tech industry always was and is male-dominated: less than 10% of the Middle East’s tech workforce is female. Many tech companies are run by men and, clearly, women are under-represented in the IT sector. Yet, throughout my career in the Middle East, I have observed over the years that this trend is shifting.

Nowadays we can see more and more women working in IT; highly educated, talented, knowledgeable, and passionate individuals who have become senior leaders, reputable technical experts, or successful sales representatives within their organizations.

Are there any challenges you face on a day-to-day basis working in this industry?
I love this industry and what I do. These days I truly believe that I am quite privileged and lucky as I do not face any major challenges.

What sort of future do you foresee for the security industry as a whole?
Cybercrime is only going to get worse. Very cliché but true. With digital transformation, cloud adoption, remote workforce, and multiple other reasons I foresee continuous and exponential growth for the cybersecurity industry.

What more needs to be done to welcome more and more women into the security industry?
Nowadays diversity is more than just “a good thing to do” for workplace culture and inclusivity – it is a business and economic imperative: multiple research findings have consistently demonstrated that diversity leads to a better overall organizational performance. I believe companies will increasingly evolve their hiring policies to create balance and equal opportunity for women and their career progression paths.