Consulting® APRIL 2020 11
IN
THE
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Anne Bayerkohler joined Coalfire in 2014 and brings to the team a near decade of experience in QualityAssurance in IT service delivery.
Today, she is the Director for theQuality Management System atCoalfire where she is responsiblefor development and implementation of the QMS globally. Her focusis on Coalfire’s risk and complianceinternally, while improving thequality of services offered throughtrend analysis and documentationof standard operating procedures,policies, work instructions, training, Internal Audit, oversight, documentation control, and CorrectiveActions/Preventive Actions.
“I truly enjoy watching this in-
dustry grow. I remember sitting in
college talking about the new voting
machines and how they would have
to be hacker proof. Then, working
for the Payments Card Industry Se-
curity Standards Council, I was able
to see how the standards affect data
security on a global scale,” Bayer-
kohler says. “This all culminates
into working at Coalfire, where I can
work across all teams and divisions
to make the world a safer place. Be-
cause we work across multiple spac-
es, I am in a unique position to make
these business lines more effective.”
Having served at both the regula-
tory agency level and in the consult-
ing field, seeing the industry from
both angles gives her an incredibly
valuable perspective, she says.
To that end, in the fall of 2016,
she founded and created Coalfire
R.I.S.E., the firm’s Women’s Asso-
ciation of Cyber Security and Lead-
ership. R.I.S.E. stands for Recruit/
Retain, Influence, Support, Educate.
“Since our founding, Coalfire’s fe-
male technical staff has grown from
roughly 9 percent to more than 26
percent, close to twice the average
in the cybersecurity industry for
North America,” Bayerkohler says.
“Because of the impact of R.I.S.E.,
I am also now serving with our inau-
gural corporate-wide Diversity and
Inclusion Council. Not too long ago,
I was the only woman in the room,
and I worked to change that. Now,
we have internal initiatives to ensure
no one feels alone regardless of gen-
der, religion, race, or sexual orienta-
tion. I am most proud of R.I.S.E. and
the movement we started.”
As far as being recognized with
the award, she says that honoring
women in this field shows that their
contributions are valued. “I was used
to our voices being minimized, and
now, our voices are now amplified.
I’d like to reach a day where 50 per-
cent of this workforce is women—
when we will not have to call out
women separately, and when it will
not matter if a leader is male or fe-
male,” Bayerkohler says. “Until that
day, having awards like this proves
to those girls currently in college
and at the beginning of their career,
there is a path forward. Cybersecu-
rity is no longer a boy’s club.”
ANNE
BAYERKOHLER
COALFIREEXCELLENCE INLEADERSHIP
Have you experienced any unique challenges being a woman consultant in the
technology field?
BAYERKOHLER: “The answer to this is always, ‘yes.’ I have been asked to take
on the role of ‘secretary’ and take notes more times than I can count, even when
I am the presenter. Most people assume I am the assistant in the room instead
of the director. I have been accused of being ‘too loud’ or ‘too aggressive,’ and
to that I say, ‘one man’s aggression is another woman’s assertiveness.’ Once I
was told I couldn’t hold a position because my husband was also working in this
field, and that felt like the ultimate glass ceiling. Bottom line is this: your gen-
der should not affect your opportunities. There is still a long way to go, and I’m
proud to be an initiator of this movement at Coalfire through R.I.S.E.”
Q&A
