Episode 13

Lola Obamehinti - eBay Cybersecurity Force to be Reckoned with; Security Awareness Advocate; Mixing Tech & Fashion

Published on: 23rd December, 2021

Lola Obamehinti has a background in journalism and technology. Lola is Business Ethics Officer, Security Awareness & Training Lead at eBay.

She graduated with a BA in Journalism from SMU and obtained an MS in Information Science from UNT in 2017. Currently, Lola is the Global Information Security Training & Communications Lead and a Business Ethics Officer at eBay. She is also the Founder of Nigerian Techie and the Founder of the Tech with Style club on Clubhouse where she hosts daily discussions about tech, culture and current events as well as manage the club's online community of over 1,400 members. Additionally, she is a freelance TV Host and keynote speaker who specializes in discussing travel, finance and technology topics. Some of the media outlets she has been featured in are The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Salesforce Trailhead LIVE, Silicon Valley Business Journal, and Cybercrime Magazine. She is also passionate about creating opportunities for historically excluded individuals in the tech industry.

Highlights

0:00 – Introductions and Backgrounds

  • Long round of way getting into cybersecurity with an undergrad degree in journalism
  • Received graduate degree in Information Science with specialist in Cybersecurity

4:05 – eBay Responsibilities

  • Security awareness and communications working with CISO and CIO frequently and Chief Compliance Officer
  • Recently named Business Ethics Officer for the organization - have to have executive presence to relate to the different levels of others

7:18 – Only "black woman on my team"

8:18 – Perspectives on D&I

  • "D&I is not just a position - companies, especially tech companies need a clear roadmap to hire more historically excluded individuals - we are not really minorities, we are the global majority, into positions and create a path to executive levels."

11:16 – Authentic Self and Females in Cybersecurity

  • Started Tech with Style on Clubhouse because of a WSJ article she was featured in to change the narrative of women in the tech industry.
  • "I model on the side"

21:32 – Next in Lola's Purview

  • Devoting her time to growing Tech and Style on Clubhouse - 1600 members (at the time of this recording) and started in April 2021
  • Always thinking of new and innovative ways to make information security relevant and at the forefront of employees' minds

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lolaobamehinti/

Fall 2021 Issue of North Texan (Alumni Magazine for University of North Texas): The Boys Club Gets a Reboot – https://northtexan.unt.edu/issues/2021-fall/boys-club-gets-reboot

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About the Podcast

The CISO Diaries
The path to cybersecurity leadership is not a direct route and it's those divergent routes that create the amazing stories and histories of leaders who are driving security to keep businesses and people safe.

We’re Leah McLean and Syya Yasotornrat and we intend to give CISOs and cybersecurity professionals a place to be their authentic selves. These are the unedited stories told of how they got into cybersecurity, the real struggles they’ve persevered through, personal anecdotes that make them tick, and leadership advice based on experiences.

We aren't the kind of cybersecurity podcasts that focuses on the technologies, or recent incidents. We are the podcast that focuses on the people behind the headlines and the incredible diversity of experiences and backgrounds. (And it's not lost on us that we're two awesome female hosts)!

Let's face it: we are a cybersecurity tribe and we need all hands on deck!

We hope you enjoy our CISO diary entries.

After all, we're only human, right?

Special thanks to our sponsor, Cyber Future Foundation, a non-profit global cybersecurity executive leadership community, where leaders, thinkers, and futurists discuss and develop actionable guidance and frameworks for a trusted and safer world.

About your hosts

Syya Yasotornrat

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Syya is a tenured tech sales professional with her time at SonicWALL and Hewlett Packard (HPE) with some hospitality at the Walt Disney Company and IT recruitment experience in the mix. She is currently a podcast strategist and consultant, helping others to bring out their voice and legacy through podcasting. She loves to learn and talk about anything, so feel free to reach out!

Leah McLean

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Leah is Vice President, Cybersecurity Specialist at Mastercard. She is focused on implementing strategy and programs to evolve cybersecurity risk management approaches and cybersecurity awareness and training. She actively contributes in community working groups to advance cybersecurity risk management and third-party risk. Leah is also a mentor to candidates breaking into cybersecurity careers, and collaborates with employers to rethink their workforce and hiring strategies.
Leah is a co-founder at Whole Cyber Human Initiative, a non-profit focused on redefining how we identify, train, equip, advance knowledge, and build workforce development within IT and Cybersecurity. She also volunteers for Cyber Future Foundation, a non-profit driving workforce development initiatives and private and public sector collaboration.
Previously Leah held senior level roles as a cybersecurity practitioner at Armor, a cloud security company protecting data for SMB and mid-market customers, Apstra (acquired by Juniper Networks), A10 Networks and Cisco Systems. Leah serves on the Board of Advisors for Cloud Defense, Inc., a breach visibility cloud security startup and is on the board for the Cloud Security Alliance North Texas Chapter.
Leah holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with an emphasis in International Relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is an active outdoor junkie always chasing adventure.