Inspirational Woman: Ekaterina Khrustaleva, Chief Operating Officer at ImmuniWeb

By WeAreTechWomen Team for WeAreTechWomen
Thursday, March 30, 2023

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Ekaterina leads a team of experienced sales and marketing professionals at ImmuniWeb, where she precides over continuous growth and expansion across four continents – delivering award-winning application security and security rating solutions to customers and partners across all industries.

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role?

My name is Ekaterina, I grew up in Riga, the Capitol of Latvia and moved to Geneva where I have been living for over 20 years now. I am a co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at ImmuniWeb, a global application security company. I lead our global sales in over 50 countries, serving more than 1,000 enterprise customers from regulated industries.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career?

When I first arrived in Geneva, a city that became home to me and my four wonderful children, I was charmed by private banking and its culture, and eventually spent several years working in the financial industry. Then I had an opportunity to move into cybersecurity: a chance that radically changed my career for good. The art of ethical hacking and digital forensics was so dynamic, novel and attractive that I could not resist reading and learning new things every evening. Today, it’s my thirteen year in the information security industry!

What challenges have you faced along the way and how did you overcome these?

I had several isolated cases of working with toxic people both internally and externally, which could have been both emotionally enervating and professionally demotivating. However, after several years, I understood that most toxic people are intrinsically very kind and gentle, being collateral victims of an unhealthy corporate culture. Today, I am trying to help them to learn about their true strengths and to cope with their weaknesses, gradually bringing self-confidence and happiness to their previously grim lives.

What has been your biggest career achievement to date?

Being a happy mother of four, while driving an amazing team and a great company that has been cashflow-positive and profitable since its incorporation five years ago. That is probably my biggest achievement and one that I, of course, share with all my colleagues who made it possible.

What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in your achieving success?

Constant hunger for new knowledge, a positive attitude and a never-give-up persistence to continually achieve new goals despite small failures or fatigue. Obviously, my success would have never be possible without my friends, teammates and customers, who have been generously supporting and motivating me to untiringly move forward.

What top tips would you give to an individual who is trying to excel in their career in technology?

“Be yourself, no matter what they say,” would probably be the best quote for aspiring cybersecurity professionals. Importantly, you should never be alone: if you face a problem, you need to talk to someone with experience. I regularly coach my younger colleagues, friends and even unknown people who reach out for advice via LinkedIn.

What are the barriers for women working in tech, and how can these barriers be overcome?

In 2023, in most companies such barriers do not really exist – as a corporate culture that is hostile to diversity and inclusivity is just poised to fail. This is actually why the most successful and rapidly growing cybersecurity companies encourage female leadership on all layers of corporate governance.

What do you think companies can do to support and progress the careers of women working in technology?

Early training at primary school will certainly help. Most girls and young ladies are still unaware that they can be highly successful cybersecurity professionals, cybercrime investigators or even officers of law enforcement units in charge of prosecuting Internet crime. Early awareness is the key to bringing amazing female leaders and professionals into our industry.

There is currently only 17% of women working in tech in the UK – how do you think we can improve the gender balance for women in the industry?

I think, any mandatory regulations or campaigns to artificially bring women to tech will not be sustainable. We rather need to cultivate inate passion and genuine interest among girls and young ladies to be a part of the amazing tech industry – and they will all demonstrate unprecedented creativity, success and innovation. Diversity is indispensable to build great companies.

What resources do you recommend for women working in tech?

I would combine both professional resources that focus on advanced technical training, such as ISACA or SANS Institute, and more informal events and trainings, for example, Black Hat or Defcon. You cannot constantly sit a class down and mechanically follow a curriculum, rather you need some peer networking and fun to bolster your creativity and inspiration to continue learning. Read Full Article