My Story: Amy Lemberger

by Amy Lemberger

I was never a natural geek, I wasn’t coding at 10 or an early computing wiz, and I found school hard work. However, I understood from an early age that the harder you worked, the more you achieved. So I worked hard. One thing I have been blessed with is a high level of determination. So, having been the first from my family to attend University and attaining an MBA later in my career, I truly believe that over time, determination will win out when it comes to doing hard things.

I took my determination into my early career, which was full on. I spent my early days chasing and catching the bad guys. First, as an investigator at the Police and then doing Incident Response on a global scale at BT. I took my love of learning hard things and ensured that every day I learnt something new, I tried to instil the same mentality in those working around me. I turned my determination into resilience, a skill and mindset I think we all need to navigate the level of uncertainty in the world today.

As well as being determined, I am direct. I’ve realised (probably too late) that this means I’m like Marmite, people love me or loathe me. I’ve grown to appreciate my directness and unapologetic style. I don’t shrink from being bold anymore; I look back and celebrate how far it’s taken me. I’ve taken my style and knowledge and mentored emerging talent, opened doors for numerous people in the industry, and influenced policies that now shape how organisations protect themselves. I used to cringe when people said I’m “not easy to forget.” Now I wear it as a badge of honour.

As I celebrate my 40th year, seven of which have been in senior leadership as a CISO or Director of Cyber, I’m proud of what my hard work and resilience have brought me. I’ve led multi-million-pound security programmes, advised Boards through major incidents and crisis, and built high-performing teams from scratch. I am grateful I found things hard from an early age, as it taught me skills that have transcended a single role and shaped a mindset that has set me up for success. So, when you are facing hardships, please recognise that they are shaping the person you will be afterwards.

I’ve never chased awards, but being nominated has shown me just how much impact I’ve made. It’s also reminded me that being yourself, even when it’s not easy, is exactly what inspires others to be themselves.