Random Access Memories

Avani Desai once believed she had to make an impossible choice: be a good mother or become an exceptional executive.

Today, she's CEO of Schellman, and she's building the kind of workplace she wishes she'd been able to see earlier in her career.

In this episode of RAM, Avani joins Jake Bernardes to talk about growing up as the daughter of immigrants, beginning her career as one of the only women in penetration testing, and eventually becoming one of fewer than ten women leading a top-100 CPA firm.

But this isn't really a story about becoming CEO.

It's about what happened along the way.

Avani opens up about being afraid to disclose her first pregnancy because she worried it could affect her next promotion, seeing her newborn son fewer than 50 days during his first year, and ultimately leaving a job she loved because she refused to sacrifice the kind of mother she wanted to be.

Then an opportunity at Schellman changed the equation.

Now, as CEO and mother of three, Avani is trying to make sure the people coming behind her never feel forced to make the same choice.

It's a conversation about ambition, representation, parenthood, leadership—and redefining what having it all actually means.

In this episode

• Why Avani's father moved his family to America specifically to create more opportunities for his daughters
• Going from penetration tester to privacy, marketing, president, and ultimately CEO
• What it feels like to be the only woman—or woman of color—in the room
• Why Avani was afraid to tell colleagues she was pregnant
• The impossible choice she felt forced to make between motherhood and her career
• Seeing her son fewer than 50 days during his first year
• Why she ultimately left a job she genuinely loved
• Finding a company where parenthood and ambition didn't have to compete
• Why 70% of Schellman's executive leadership team is female
• Why Avani believes representation isn't about celebrating being “the only”—it's about making sure you're not the last
• Her approach to being fully present at work and fully present at home
• Why Schellman shuts down for three weeks every year
• Why “rest is not a reward after burnout. It is part of performance.”
• Building a leadership team strong enough that the CEO can make herself “irrelevant”

Chapters

00:00 – Meet Avani Desai
01:54 – Her hero: the father who sacrificed everything for his daughters
02:42 – Growing up as the daughter of immigrants
04:34 – Reinventing yourself without changing companies
06:35 – Being a female penetration tester in 2002
06:52 – Becoming one of the few women leading a top-100 CPA firm
07:34 – Why being “the only” isn't something to celebrate
08:04 – Being afraid to disclose her pregnancy
09:00 – The impossible choice: executive or mother?
09:47 – Seeing her son fewer than 50 days in his first year
10:18 – The opportunity that meant she didn't have to choose
10:55 – Building a leadership team that's 70% women
12:35 – Why Avani talks publicly about the good and the bad
13:12 – Can you actually “have it all”?
14:00 – Protecting the hours that belong to her family
21:38 – Why Schellman completely shuts down
22:26 – Why she rejects unlimited PTO
24:12 – “My job is to make me irrelevant”
24:30 – Why exhaustion shouldn't be a badge of honor
24:50 – Rest is part of performance

Everyone remembers the headlines, but very few know what happened after the cameras left.

Former Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan and his wife, Prathiba, join Jake for an honest conversation about what it was like to navigate one of cybersecurity's most public legal battles—not as a security leader, but as a family.

From media scrutiny and online speculation to preparing their children for the possibility of prison, Joe and Prathiba share the conversations that happened behind closed doors and the resilience that carried them through.

This isn't another breach retrospective. It's a story about marriage, community, parenthood, and what happens when your hardest professional moment becomes your family's burden too.

If you've ever wondered what leadership really costs, this episode is for you.

In this episode

• What life looked like behind the headlines of the Uber incident
• How public scrutiny affects spouses and children—not just executives
• Navigating fear, uncertainty, and the possibility of prison as a family
• Why community became their greatest source of strength
• Teaching resilience, honesty, and courage through adversity
• How hardship ultimately strengthened their marriage and reshaped their purpose

The Emotional and Strategic Resilience of a CISO: Insights from Tim Brown

In this episode, Tim Brown reflects on his extraordinary journey through one of the most high-profile cybersecurity breaches in history, his health scare, and how these experiences reshaped his outlook on leadership, community, and the future of cybersecurity.

Main Topics:

• The human side of cybersecurity leadership and managing personal health amid high-pressure incidents
• The importance of community support, compartmentalization, and resilience in crisis situations
• Lessons learned from a major breach and regulatory challenges, including navigating SEC cases
• The evolving role of the CISO in strategy, AI, and business impact awareness
• The benefits of pivoting careers and fostering innovation within the cybersecurity community

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction to Tim Brown and episode overview

01:09 - Tim’s background, heroes, and personal interests

02:25 - Handling a major breach and personal health during crisis

04:00 - Managing work-life separation during high-stress legal and public scrutiny

06:00 - Lessons from a prolonged SEC case and their impact on mindset

07:24 - Decision to fight SEC charges and the importance of integrity

09:00 - Recognizing physical health signals amid stress

10:37 - The role of recovery versus stress and mental well-being

12:36 - How the incident changed life priorities and outlook

14:36 - Reflecting on advice for cybersecurity professionals before a crisis

17:02 - Factors motivating the decision to fight legal battles

19:20 - Post-crisis career pivot and current roles with Team8

22:24 - Trends and challenges in the cybersecurity community, including AI and future skills

28:18 - Resilience, design, and strategic thinking in the evolving security landscape

36:44 - The importance of visionary thinking beyond immediate technical solutions

37:22 - Final reflections: whether to avoid hardship or embrace growth

38:46 - Closing remarks on community, leadership, and future directions

Resources & Links:

• Team8
• CISO Village
• Tim Brown on LinkedIn
• Book (The CISO Journey)

Connect with Tim Brown:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Tim emphasizes the importance of community, strategic thinking, resilience, and integrity in cybersecurity leadership. His journey highlights how personal experiences can reinforce professional purpose and community contribution.