Summary:

What happens when an engineer who thrives on data is forced to navigate chaos where the rules no longer compute? Chris May shares how COVID stripped away his reliance on rigid process and revealed the true currency of business: empathy, connection, and people-first leadership. This conversation explores how Chris reshaped himself and his company to succeed by humanizing technology and centering people at the core of cybersecurity.

Chapters:

00:00 – When the rules don’t compute: Chris’s messy COVID reality

03:45 – An engineer meets chaos: when process fails

07:30 – Facing fear, loss, and the human side of crisis

12:15 – Chris’s three-month road trip: rediscovering connection

17:40 – From transactions to people-first leadership

23:00 – Learning to translate between tech and human

27:10 – Data vs. context: why relationships matter

31:20 – Cybersecurity’s biggest risk: humans, not servers

36:00 – Training people, not just systems, to fight cyber threats

40:45 – Mentorship, growth, and soft skills in tech careers

46:30 – Cutting through the static: avoiding politics and division at work

50:00 – Fighting otherization and building people-centered IT

52:00 – Closing reflections: disrupting IT with empathy

Host Alexa Beavers: linkedin.com/in/alexabeaverspmp

Guest Chris May: linkedin.com/in/chrismaycybersec

Executive Producer Jim Kanichirayil: linkedin.com/in/drjimk

Music Credit: "Lost in Dreams" by Kulakovka