Kate Drews
ThreatQuotient –  Director of Revenue Operations

What do you do at ThreatQuotient?
Process optimization for all GTM teams, Messaging, and Sales Enablement.

How long have you worked here?
1 1/2 years (wow that went by fast)

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I get to work with a lot of different teams and people on a regular basis, doing different things. It’s really impossible to be bored.

What do you enjoy most about the company?
We have very smart, kind, and dedicated people here, who genuinely want to do right by their peers and the company.

How did you get into cybersecurity?
Accidentally. I have a pretty eclectic background in sales, however primarily physical products, not software and really not cyber security. A recruiter I had previously met was at this small startup called Duo Security in 2014, and reached out to me. I remember that I went to a colleague of mine in IT and asked him to look at the website and tell me what they did, because it was completely foreign to me. I ended up getting the job and haven’t left cyber security since. I don’t think I ever will, I love this space and the people in it.

What are your hopes for women in cybersecurity in the future?
More. There should be more of us. In all types of roles in the ecosystem and that starts in school with STEM. I took a heavy STEM track in school, before it was called that, but I took a lot of flak about it and there weren’t many of us (women) in my classes.
Today, women still only make up about 30% of graduates and 20-25% of existing workforce in STEM based roles. Pay and career path disparity are real things and help keep those numbers down. So that needs to change. Girls need to be encouraged and supported to take the higher level math and science classes and be challenged and see other women in those roles.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #BreakTheBias. What does that mean to you?
I would love to see more organizations set proactive diversity hiring goals. That’s not to say, hire the same amount of men and women, because we just aren’t there yet with the numbers. But work to get more women candidates, and put some practices in place to select prospective candidates without the bias of gender as an influence on a resume.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Hahaha. An Astronaut. Lots of kids say it, but I really wanted it. I begged my parents to send me to Space Camp (they did and it was awesome and I wish I could go back!), I took summer science classes, I took extra math classes as electives. I legitimately love Calculus and Physics and Astronomy and take classes in them now just for fun.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
You can’t please everyone, so do what you think is best and push forward.