Recruitment & Reskilling Strategy , Training & Security Leadership , Video

Profiles in Leadership: Octavia Howell

Equifax Canada VP Opens Up on Career Obstacles, Challenges Securing Data Globally
Octavia Howell, vice president, head of information security and risk, Equifax Canada

Octavia Howell has been a trailblazer throughout her career in information security. And as vice president and head of information security and risk for Equifax Canada, she takes great pride in giving opportunities to other women to carve out their own unique paths.

See Also: Women in Tech: How Are We Doing? How Should We Be Doing?

In an interview with Information Security Media Group as part of the CyberEdBoard's ongoing Profiles in Leadership series, Howell discusses:

  • Her unique career path;
  • Attracting more woman of color to the profession;
  • Her key accomplishments as a cybersecurity leader.

Recognized as a 2021 Black Engineer of the Year Awards Modern Day Technology Leader and shortlisted as the 2020 Security Champion of the Year by Women in Technology, Howell is an experienced technical leader who specializes in networks, cybersecurity and building operationally excellent, motivated cross-functional, multicultural teams. She is focused on career growth and helping everyone she encounters reach their career goals. She prides herself on understanding, solving problems, and discovering secure solutions for her business partners. In addition to being chief information security officer for Equifax Canada, Howell is the founder and CEO of Augustus Redefined, an organization focused on the advancement of Black women in cyber. She believes that a security leader should mentor, motivate trust and lead their teams to act with integrity and openness.

CyberEdBoard is ISMG's premier members-only community of senior-most executives and thought leaders in the fields of security, risk, privacy and IT. CyberEdBoard provides executives with a powerful, peer-driven collaborative ecosystem, private meetings and a library of resources to address complex challenges shared by thousands of CISOs and senior security leaders located in 65 different countries worldwide.

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About the Author

Tom Field

Tom Field

Senior Vice President, Editorial, ISMG

Field is responsible for all of ISMG's 28 global media properties and its team of journalists. He also helped to develop and lead ISMG's award-winning summit series that has brought together security practitioners and industry influencers from around the world, as well as ISMG's series of exclusive executive roundtables.




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