Elena Kvochko is cybersecurity and technology executive having built her career in protecting the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks and building innovative technology and digital solutions. 

She’s held senior leadership positions at Bank of America, Barclays, and S&P Global.

She is a member of the Wall Street Journal CIO Council and served as an affiliate fellow at Harvard Law School.

Her published work appeared in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, the White House cybersecurity report, and The New York Times. 

She has invented patent-pending technologies in cybersecurity, privacy, and secure financial technologies.

Elena was named among the Top 100 CIOs by CIO Magazine, Business Role Model of the Year by Women in IT Awards, Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Women - International, and was honored as part of the 40 under 40 list by Crain’s New York. 

Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate in national cybersecurity and technology diversity programs. Elena is a member of the Board of Directors of Refugees International and a Patron of Carnegie Hall in New York. 

Elena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenakvochko/ 

WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE:

• What is a Chief Trust Officer and why your company needs one.
• Why security and growth are important for every leader to balance.
• What trust is based on in the C-Suite.
• The two big reasons why Elena got involved in Security.
• How mountaineering and aviation inform her leadership experience.
• The greatest lesson she learned summiting Aconcagua at 23,000 feet (the only person in her party to make it to the top).
• What advice Elena would give her younger self.
• How to take the pressure off when making a big career decision.
• Advice for women who'd like to advance in their careers.
• The challenge every leader faces when your team shows up with a new idea. 
• Two things you must consider BEFORE presenting your idea to the C-Suite.
• What Elena is reading for inspiration now.
• A helpful way to deal with the stress of the C-Suite and the Pandemic.
• The best place to go for a run in New York City.

HIGHLIGHTS:

What is Trust:

• A value.
• A way of doing business.
• The confidence you give to your customers and employees.

Advice Elena would give to her younger self:

• Work hard.
• Appreciate the people around you.
• Find ways to contribute and be helpful.
• Work in the field that inspires you to grow and give back.
• Remember that whatever you do, you bring your own perspective onto your work or your life.

QUOTES:

“When you don’t risk, you don’t summit.”

“Appreciate the people around you.”

“Find ways to contribute and be valuable.”

RESOURCES:

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis_Reservoir 

A Promised Land, Barack Obama’s Autobiography https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Land-Barack-Obama/dp/1524763160#ace-g2342880709 

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