You Need A Lot Of Grit – Lessons Learned from the U.S Public Sector

Posted: Friday, Oct 04

KBI.Media
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You Need A Lot Of Grit – Lessons Learned from the U.S Public Sector

Karissa Breen, more commonly known as KB, is crowned a LinkedIn ‘Top Voice in Technology’, and widely recognised across the global cybersecurity industry. A serial entrepreneur, she is the co-founder of the TMFE Group, a portfolio of cybersecurity-focused businesses spanning an industry-leading media platform, a specialist marketing agency, a content production studio, and the executive headhunting firm, MercSec. Now based in the United States, KB oversees US editorial operations and leads the expansion of the group’s media footprint across North America, while maintaining a strong presence in Australia, and the broader global market. She is the former Producer and Host of the streaming show 2Fa.tv, and currently sits at the helm of journalism for the group’s flagship arm, KBI.Media, the independent cybersecurity media company. As a cybersecurity investigative journalist, KB hosts her globally-renowned podcast, KBKast, where she interviews leading cybersecurity practitioners, CISOs, government officials including heads-of-state, and industry pioneers from around the world. The podcast has been downloaded in over 65 countries with more than 400,000 global downloads, influencing billions of dollars in cybersecurity budgets. KB is known for asking the hard questions and extracting real, commercially relevant insights. Her approach provides an uncoloured, strategic lens on the evolving cybersecurity landscape, demystifying complex security issues and translating them into practical intelligence for executives navigating risk, regulation, and rapid technological change.

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You Need A Lot Of Grit – Lessons Learned from the U.S Public Sector

From Karissa Breen

A career which has been built on mission driven leadership, Michelle Rudnicki, the President of the U.S Public Sector at NetApp, shared the nuances of managing public sector clients, the significance of mission-driven work, and the role of data infrastructure in modern governance.

Rudnicki’s career is steeped in working with public sector clients, particularly in federal and local government as well as healthcare sectors. At the core of her work with NetApp is data – various clients who NetApp work with from a range of social services to defence operations.

“Data is of the utmost importance to them” Rudnicki noting how it powers the missions that support citizens and national security.

It seems then, that the difference that distinguishes public sector clients from their commercial counterparts is their commitment to their missions,

“They are 100% about their mission” Rudnicki points out, stressing that public servants are driven by a purpose that transcends profit, aiming instead to make tangible differences in people’s lives.

For over three decades, NetApp has spearheaded the implementation of data infrastructures that support the complex needs of public sector clients.

“We’ve helped them to implement the infrastructures they need” Rudnicki explains, covering everything from on-premises solutions to hybrid and cloud environments.

Rudnicki also highlights NetApp’s intelligent data infrastructure, which aids agencies in managing an increasing amount of distributed and diverse data. By aggregating data across various systems, NetApp helps agencies improve service delivery to citizens, breaking down silos that have traditionally hindered efficiency. This transformation fundamental to government agencies who are often saddled with legacy systems that require modernisation to meet contemporary demands.

There are strategies behind migrating public sector data to the cloud – a transition fraught with security concerns.

“We’ve worked to ensure that we’ve got the most secure products” Rudnicki notes, mentioning NetApp’s NSA certifications for top-secret data among other standards.

Leadership qualities essential for driving innovation and success in complex mission environments. Rudnicki reiterated the need for collaboration, transparency, and grit.

“You need a lot of grit,” Rudnicki says, defining it as the persistence required to navigate through various obstacles inherent in the public sector landscape.