Ever since she can remember, Donna Ross said she was a tinkerer. “As a child of five or six, I would take apart my grandmother’s radio and put it back together,” she said.
It wasn’t until a previous employer and mentor pointed out her skills when colleagues kept coming to her for technical help while at Prudential that she decided to pursue a career that works with how she thinks. This realization led her to find her passion and pursue a position as the chief information security officer at the Radian Group Inc.
Radian Group Inc. is a financial services firm with a mission to ensure the American dream of homeownership in an affordable, responsible and sustainable way.
Ross was hired as the first chief information security officer at the firm, giving her the opportunity to build out the program, hire the staff, develop the policies and improve the program.
“It is my job to protect the information entrusted to us by clients, customers, employees and partners,” said Ross. “In today’s environment, that is no easy task with geopolitical tensions, rapidly evolving threat landscape, sophisticated cyber-attacks, supply chain risks, ransomware epidemic, emerging technology, remote work, regulatory compliance, and increased cybersecurity governance and resilience focus.”
While managing the cyber threats that exist, Ross said she finds it equally as important to contribute to the practice and mentorship of the next generation of leaders. She serves as the president of WiCyS Delaware Valley, has served on the board of Philadelphia InfraGard, and the advisory board for Ithaca College cybersecurity.
“As a leader, I encourage open communication, promote mentorship and sponsorship, support career development and lead by example,” said Ross. “People are my greatest asset, and when you think about security, there’s people, process and technologies. For technology to work, you have to have processes, but the people are what make the material difference.”
A leader in cybersecurity needs to be resilient, said Ross. “In cybersecurity, you can do everything right and bad things still happen,” she said. “You need to own it, be transparent and be willing to have the difficult conversations that come with being a leader during a difficult time.”
If she could give her younger self advice, it would be to take risks. “Take that job,” she said. “If your coach or mentor sees something in you and encourages you to take that role, do it.”
