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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.
In cybersecurity, career growth is more than just technical skill—it’s about communication, visibility, and learning how to navigate organizational structures and politics. This dual-perspective presentation brings together the candid insights of a cybersecurity senior manager and a CISO, reflecting on the parallel (and sometimes diverging) paths they’ve taken.
We will give real advice, honest stories of missteps, unexpected opportunities, and lessons learned the hard way, we’ll explore what it really takes to move forward in your cybersecurity career—from gaining trust and visibility to aligning with leadership’s expectations. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for getting noticed, getting promoted, and making the leap from “getting the job done” to driving real influence.
As Vice President of IT and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Cintas, Jake Lorz spearheads cybersecurity, infrastructure, and employee support services. Leveraging his deep understanding of both business and technology, Jake cultivates a proactive security posture focused on data protection, threat intelligence, and incident response.
Drawing upon over two decades of experience spanning aerospace, defense, manufacturing, and software development, Jake brings significant knowledge to his role. He is a widely respected thought leader in cybersecurity and IT, actively driving industry advancement through his involvement in numerous professional organizations. He co-chairs the Cincinnati Cybersecurity Collaboration Forum’s Leadership Board and serves on the Cincinnati ISSA Advisory Board. Nationally, Jake contributes to cybersecurity strategy as a Board Development Committee Member for the NTSC and offers his expertise to CDO Magazine’s Global Security Board and Verizon’s Cybersecurity Customer Advisory Board.
Jake holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Management Information Systems, Business Administration, and Information Technology (specializing in Data Driven Cybersecurity). His commitment to the field is further demonstrated by his CISSP, CISM, and CRISC certifications.
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.