This episode of Women in Cybersecurity features my dear friend, Laurie Haley, VP of Strategic Alliances at application security company Veracode. I first met Laurie when we worked together at Qualys, where she was a superstar sales leader who had a technical background. She got her start in tech support, moving into network engineering, and then into cybersecurity roles at VeriSign and SecureWorks. Then she worked at CVS doing vulnerability management before moving to Qualys, where she spent nearly nine years, including serving as Executive VP of Worldwide Field Operations. Now she heads up strategic alliances for Veracode. With her technical background and her understanding of customer needs, she is passionate about helping them solve their biggest cybersecurity challenges with effective solutions.
Don’t miss her video below.
Laurie got her start in tech support and network engineering, but has been in cybersecurity since 2007 because it’s such a rewarding field.
“What really was important to me was I wanted to do something with my career that was interesting and I was talented at, but was going to make an impact.”
After working at CVS in vulnerability management, she moved to Qualys, a company known for hiring practitioners on their sales team. “Here I was with this opportunity to take that background and bring in another skill set that I have – which is working with people, communication, negotiation – and bringing to focus helping people, working with clients, helping them do what I did at CVS.”
I have great memories of working with Laurie there, getting her perspective for product releases and working with her on customer case studies.
Now, Laurie is running strategic alliances for Veracode, working on technical integrations to benefit their customers. “I’m taking my hands-on experience to help Veracode align itself with technologies and companies that will help them overcome their challenges.”
I love our industry for the people I meet, and Laurie is one of my favorites. She gave me tips and advice when I was pregnant with my son, as we share aspirations of being powerhouse career women while raising our families. In addition to being a superstar at work, she’s a mother of four.
“I’m a mother of four. It’s a challenge to be a professional at my level in a very fast-paced business in an industry that requires a lot of involvement and effort. I have got to have people who can help me out. So asking for help to be able to balance everything so you can achieve your goals is a really important piece of advice that was hard-learned for me.”
Laurie said the Executive Women’s Forum has been a big part of her journey. “They are one of the biggest groups to support women in cyber, and I’m a part of their mentor program,” she said. “They’re focused on supplying the networking forums that all of us women in this business can use to figure out challenges and help each other get ahead. And there’s the mentor program bringing up young professionals so that they can take over for us someday when we retire.”
Be sure to check out Laurie’s video below. Also, check out the Executive Women’s Forum: https://www.ewf-usa.com/ and connect with Laurie on LinkedIn.
Be sure to visit Enterprise Strategy Group’s Women in Cybersecurity page, where you can also find a link to the full audio interview with Laurie where we discuss this and much more. You can also view past episodes and connect with us to hear more inspiring stories in future shows.
