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Share An Authentic Conversation With Truist Bank Senior VP Michelle Foley on Grit, Security, and Service. From Windows 98 Helpdesk to Cloud Center of Excellence
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An Authentic Conversation With Truist Bank Senior VP Michelle Foley on Grit, Security, and Service. From Windows 98 Helpdesk to Cloud Center of Excellence
Senior VP at Truist Bank Michelle Foley (Truist Cloud Center of Excellence) joins the Four Fs Podcast for an Authentic Conversation about career pivots (pre‑med → IT → 18 years at Microsoft), frontline support and incident response (DART), practical cybersecurity habits, and the humble power of showing up.
What you’ll hear (quick bullets)
- Real Microsoft support stories: Windows 2000 surge support, mass‑reimage prevention, and product supportability wins
- Boots‑on‑the‑ground incident response: Nunavut ransomware recovery and community impact
- Straightforward security advice: password managers, MFA, patching cadence, and attack‑surface reduction
- Career and mentorship lessons: saving thank‑you notes, building credibility, and enacting quiet advocacy
Chapters 00:00 Intro and episode summary01:23 Marshall, Texas — childhood and family roots03:29 Pre‑med to tech pivot; first IT role11:21 Windows 98 rollout; teaching faculty to use computers20:54 Windows 2000 surge support — first‑day stories41:03 Small Business Server and multi‑product phone support50:05 Program manager for System Center readiness01:00:00 Supportability win: preventing mass reimages01:04:03 Transition to cloud/security supportability01:11:53 DART incident response — Nunavut ransomware case01:15:41 Reflections on Microsoft culture and change01:23:53 Truist Cloud Center of Excellence — mission and scope01:28:37 Practical security tips for individuals01:35:11 Attack surface reduction and IoT guidance01:37:18 Volunteer work, DigiGirls, mentorship, and rescues01:43:57 Mentorship impact — a mentee’s journey to Microsoft and advocacy01:46:46 Career advice — the “wins” folder and confidence building01:49:23 CBT for insomnia — health and performance01:54:45 Closing reflections
Listen if you want actionable security steps, real incident‑response stories, and practical mentorship advice from a leader who’s done the work and stayed human while doing it.
Links From Show Topics:
Case Study about Nanavut: Theday Nunavut went dark – Microsoft Unlocked
Michelle on the Today Show: https://youtu.be/Km6Unhybhsg?si=VwGrqrXxwhpBvzFS
Definition of STIG: SecurityTechnical Implementation Guide - Wikipedia
You can read more about Michelle or get in touch with us here: https://www.fourfspodcast.com/guests/michelle-foley/
Follow along here: https://www.fourfspodcast.com/follow/
If you listen to any of the following shows, we're sure you'll love this episode: The Diary of a CEO (Steven Bartlett), The Goal Digger Podcast (Jenna Kutcher) , Dare to Lead (Brené Brown) , The Lex Fridman Podcast, How I Built This with Guy Raz, The Mel Robbins Podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, Female Startup Club
Tags: Authentic Conversations, Cloud Center of Excellence, Truist, Women in Tech, Mentorship in Tech, Tech Leadership, Career Pivot Stories, Microsoft Alumni, Professional Development, Podcast for Leaders, Community Impact, Volunteerism in Tech, Digital Hygiene, Cybersecurity Leadership, Cloud Governance, Cloud Security Best Practices, Security Program Management, Supportability Stories, Tech Support to Product, Empathy in Leadership, Inclusive Tech, DigiGirls, Female Founders Spotlight, Resume and Interview Tips, Career Confidence, Wins Folder Strategy, Trust and Advocacy, Employee Advocacy, Organizational Integrity, Incident Response Leadership, DART stories, Ransomware Response, Nunavut ransomware, SolarWinds insights, Boots on the Ground Response, Security Operations, Threat Actor Insights, Password Manager, Multi Factor Authentication, MFA, Patch Management, Attack Surface Reduction, IoT and Home Security, System Center, Configuration Manager, Windows 2000 stories, Windows 98 nostalgia, Practical Cyber Hygiene, Tech Podcast, Authentic Conversations Podcast, Listen and Learn, FFFF, zero Fs to give, No Fs left, leadership.
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By Jeff CluffSenior VP at Truist Bank Michelle Foley (Truist Cloud Center of Excellence) joins the Four Fs Podcast for an Authentic Conversation about career pivots (pre‑med → IT → 18 years at Microsoft), frontline support and incident response (DART), practical cybersecurity habits, and the humble power of showing up.
What you’ll hear (quick bullets)
- Real Microsoft support stories: Windows 2000 surge support, mass‑reimage prevention, and product supportability wins
- Boots‑on‑the‑ground incident response: Nunavut ransomware recovery and community impact
- Straightforward security advice: password managers, MFA, patching cadence, and attack‑surface reduction
- Career and mentorship lessons: saving thank‑you notes, building credibility, and enacting quiet advocacy
Chapters 00:00 Intro and episode summary01:23 Marshall, Texas — childhood and family roots03:29 Pre‑med to tech pivot; first IT role11:21 Windows 98 rollout; teaching faculty to use computers20:54 Windows 2000 surge support — first‑day stories41:03 Small Business Server and multi‑product phone support50:05 Program manager for System Center readiness01:00:00 Supportability win: preventing mass reimages01:04:03 Transition to cloud/security supportability01:11:53 DART incident response — Nunavut ransomware case01:15:41 Reflections on Microsoft culture and change01:23:53 Truist Cloud Center of Excellence — mission and scope01:28:37 Practical security tips for individuals01:35:11 Attack surface reduction and IoT guidance01:37:18 Volunteer work, DigiGirls, mentorship, and rescues01:43:57 Mentorship impact — a mentee’s journey to Microsoft and advocacy01:46:46 Career advice — the “wins” folder and confidence building01:49:23 CBT for insomnia — health and performance01:54:45 Closing reflections
Listen if you want actionable security steps, real incident‑response stories, and practical mentorship advice from a leader who’s done the work and stayed human while doing it.
Links From Show Topics:
Case Study about Nanavut: Theday Nunavut went dark – Microsoft Unlocked
Michelle on the Today Show: https://youtu.be/Km6Unhybhsg?si=VwGrqrXxwhpBvzFS
Definition of STIG: SecurityTechnical Implementation Guide - Wikipedia
You can read more about Michelle or get in touch with us here: https://www.fourfspodcast.com/guests/michelle-foley/
Follow along here: https://www.fourfspodcast.com/follow/
If you listen to any of the following shows, we're sure you'll love this episode: The Diary of a CEO (Steven Bartlett), The Goal Digger Podcast (Jenna Kutcher) , Dare to Lead (Brené Brown) , The Lex Fridman Podcast, How I Built This with Guy Raz, The Mel Robbins Podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, Female Startup Club
Tags: Authentic Conversations, Cloud Center of Excellence, Truist, Women in Tech, Mentorship in Tech, Tech Leadership, Career Pivot Stories, Microsoft Alumni, Professional Development, Podcast for Leaders, Community Impact, Volunteerism in Tech, Digital Hygiene, Cybersecurity Leadership, Cloud Governance, Cloud Security Best Practices, Security Program Management, Supportability Stories, Tech Support to Product, Empathy in Leadership, Inclusive Tech, DigiGirls, Female Founders Spotlight, Resume and Interview Tips, Career Confidence, Wins Folder Strategy, Trust and Advocacy, Employee Advocacy, Organizational Integrity, Incident Response Leadership, DART stories, Ransomware Response, Nunavut ransomware, SolarWinds insights, Boots on the Ground Response, Security Operations, Threat Actor Insights, Password Manager, Multi Factor Authentication, MFA, Patch Management, Attack Surface Reduction, IoT and Home Security, System Center, Configuration Manager, Windows 2000 stories, Windows 98 nostalgia, Practical Cyber Hygiene, Tech Podcast, Authentic Conversations Podcast, Listen and Learn, FFFF, zero Fs to give, No Fs left, leadership.