Nicole Beckwith
Nicole Beckwith is the Sr. Manager of Kroger Corporate Information Security's Threat Operations team, where she drives strategic initiatives across threat intelligence, threat hunting, detection engineering, insider risk, fraud, and forensics. With a strong foundation in computer programming and web development, she transitioned into law enforcement, first as a state police officer and later as a federally sworn U.S. Marshal assigned to the United States Secret Service, where she worked as a task force officer. Throughout her career, Nicole has demonstrated exceptional leadership managing complex teams, strategic projects, and overseeing critical operations.
Nicole is an active member of the Cincinnati community where she serves on the Advisory Boards for Miami University’s Center for Cybersecurity, Warren County Career Center’s Cybersecurity Program, and the Cincinnati chapter of the ISSA. She is also a trusted advisor on Googles Technical Advisory Council, IBM’s Strategic Advisory Board, and the ZeroFox Customer Advisory Council.
Session
Place your bets—building a cybersecurity career can feel a lot like playing craps: fast-paced, unpredictable, and full of moments where you're not totally sure if you're winning or just delaying disaster.
In this refreshingly honest session, a seasoned cybersecurity senior manager and a battle-tested CISO team up for a tag-team talk that’s part strategy guide, part war story, and career advice no one ever gives you. Drawing from two very different vantage points—the war zone of middle management and the executive-level boardroom—we’ll roll through our Top Career Tips, learned the hard way at every level of the security stack.
Expect:
- Real talk on what works (and what totally backfires)
- Stories of failure, growth, and awkward promotion conversations
- Tangible advice you can use to stand out, speak up, and move up
- A few laughs, a few scars, and absolutely no corporate buzzword bingo
Whether you’re just starting out, stuck in the middle, or trying to make the leap to executive leadership, we’ll help you figure out how to play the game without losing your chips—or your sanity.