PRO+ Premium Content/Information Security

Don't tell Annalea Ilg, recently promoted to the role of CISO at cloud and IT managed service provider ViaWest, that she can't do something. The one-time interior design major ended up with a job in the cabling industry, moved into IT and never looked back. "I was lucky to be surrounded by great people that had faith in my abilities and let me see how far I could go with it," she said. "I just did what needed to be done, and then I thought, 'Wow! I can do this'—and discovered that solving problems in IT was my passion." On the strength of that passion and real-world expertise, Ilg held IT administrative positions, roles as a network administrator, and then worked as a senior IT security analyst and business continuity coordinator at a large insurer. From 2011 to 2013, she was director of compliance and security at Cosentry, another IT managed service provider, before joining ViaWest, based in Greenwood Village, Colo., eventually moving into her current role of CISO and vice president. And, she admits, experience has turned her ...