What do you do and what is it about your job that gets you out of bed in the morning?
I'm a Product Marketing Engineer at Curity. When people read the job title they tend to
stop at the ''Marketing'' part, but I'm primarily an engineer. My work is the link between
product development and marketing. I write articles, tutorials and examples that help
attract and inform new prospects and solve common scenarios as well as very specific
problems.
What I look forward to every morning is dealing with high and low questions, working
with different frameworks and languages, using different formats to present the message
and still focusing on how to securely access resources. Secure in this context means
protecting one's privacy, integrity, and identity – in technical manners with the help of but
not limited to the Curity Identity Server. My mission is to educate the community so that
secure implementation of authentication becomes not only best practice but practice.
How did you get to where you are today?
It started at university, where I specialized in Information Security. During that time, I
learned about public key cryptography and got introduced to programming, which I soon
started to like a lot. During my career as a developer and further as a consultant I gathered
even more understanding about authentication protocols, frameworks and trust
management. I am in general an inquisitive person who likes to learn and understand
things. I am also brave enough to raise questions if I do not follow or agree with an
argument, but I always try to read up and educate myself before doing so.
What is the most important lesson you have learned along the way?
One thing I learned was to take care of myself. I have seen young and ambitious people
burn out, right next to me. Such a situation affects everybody in your surrounding – your
colleagues, friends and family. I like my job and I would like to continue working here
much longer. Therefore, I do not take on more tasks than I can handle even if it means
that my colleagues eventually take more space. That is a drawback I am willing to accept
for staying healthy and enjoying my work, although it sometimes hurts because I am
ambitious.
What's your pitch to CEOs in the identity space? What do you suggest they START /
STOP / CONTINUE doing and why?
I have been lucky enough to work in companies that I felt had good management and
leadership throughout my career. It is important for a CEO to have a vision for the
company. I also believe that the vision should not be limited to making a profit only. The
vision should include people and leading people requires certain sensitivity. Therefore,
CEOs and managers, in general, need to listen to their employees and encourage them to
speak out. An open-minded culture where everybody feels encouraged to contribute leads
to a better workplace and productivity. Being open-minded means also being inclusive.
Make it a goal to attract different kinds of people with diverse backgrounds and stop
hiring your friends. Only when we are challenged by new thoughts can we develop as a
company and offer better products and services to customers.
In one sentence, why does diversity matter to you?
Diversity matters because it makes me a better person as well as employee by widening
the horizon.
What book/film/piece of art would you recommend to your fellow members? Why?
American History X because it is brutal, violent and hopeful at the same time. The topic
is still relevant because it seems as if humankind never will overcome racism and hate.
What advice would you give to the teenage 'you'?
Stop hanging around with people that hold you back. You're a clever girl, you can
manage that!
Where can we find you on social media / the Web?
Find me on LinkedIn
Follow me on the Curity Blog