Powering ahead on cybersecurity

When she was growing up, Anna didn’t expect to have a career in technology. She studied English, and it was her brother who was always considered the ‘Tech-savvy person’ in her house. Despite being good at and enjoying technology as a subject at school Anna did not expect it to be the career she would follow. But her expectations shifted when she applied for a job as an incident manager at a technology company.

Fast-forward to today, and Anna has come a long way. From her first job in her native Poland she progressed to several more IT roles, gaining greater expertise and responsibility at each step and relocating to Prague in 2015. In 2018, her strong technology skills led to an offer from a head-hunter to apply for what she considers her best opportunity yet: a role at PwC Czech on the team that defends PwC’s global network against cyber security threats. She jumped at the chance – and got the job.

As a cyber analyst Anna’s role involved working with teams across PwC’s global network of member firms, collecting information and creating dashboards to support better, data-driven decisions on things like endpoint security and cyber logging. This has significantly enhanced her understanding of operating at a global level and the nuances in policies and legal requirements across the world. At the start of 2020 Anna was promoted to manager and joined the cyber logging team.

In an era of ever-increasing cyber threats, the logging team plays a business-critical role for the PwC network. It works with member firms worldwide to collect and monitor data from millions of devices, systems and applications, and investigates potential breaches. Working on this team demands both deep technical insight and continual personal interaction with colleagues across the world. Anna loves the job – and is also loving life with PwC.

So, what is it about her job that’s so great? Anna shares that she loves working with her PwC colleagues, especially because of their high levels of competency and the network’s smart leadership. From her first day she has always felt she has the opportunity to have an active voice and has never felt afraid to speak up. Her relationship with her supervisor is open and two way, she is encouraged to share challenging perspectives with him and he always appreciates this feedback, and the same goes for Anna who shares “Constructive feedback is what supports your growth – and that really does work here.”

Equally important to Anna is PwC’s commitment to Inclusion & Diversity. It’s an attribute that’s underlined by the open communication and forums that the PwC network supports to foster inclusivity, and in which Anna is an active participant. Anna is a member of the PwC Network and Information Security Global Women's Security Leadership Forum, and has gone a step further by creating a smaller forum for women on the cyber logging team. She also loved participating in PwC’s global Inclusive Mindset (PDF) (file size: 0.72 MB) learning curriculum.

A further plus-point that Anna highlights is the flexibility PwC offers in terms of working hours, and the importance of the autonomy she has over how and when she works. “Sometimes I need to do something in the morning, and I’ll just talk to my boss and start a little bit later while at other times I’ll work US hours to fit in with clients. And on three days a week I don’t accept any meetings after 5pm. I don't have children, but most of the other women on my team do. And I know this flexibility is a big help to them if something happens or a child is sick. It's never a big deal: we just work around it.” says Anna.

Away from work, Anna is a passionate motorcyclist – or, as she terms it, a “dopamine seeker”. She loves riding her 650cc Kawasaki motorbike and has her eye on a 1-litre model. She also enjoys making and painting miniature models – a hobby she picked up from her dad – and restoring furniture. And she’s a huge fan of Lego. The common thread? “After work, I like to do things with my hands,” says Anna. “I find it very therapeutic.” Diverse life experiences while working in a diverse and inclusive firm: that’s Anna’s recipe for happiness.

From your experience, how do you sum up Inclusion & Diversity at PwC?

“It’s about recognising that each person has different qualities, skillsets and perspectives – and providing everyone with the tools and space they need to grow.”

What should others know about PwC’s commitment to Inclusion & Diversity?

“We celebrate and promote this diversity through forums, discussions and education.”