TheBridge profile: Juliet Okafor

Name: Juliet Okafor

Current city: Columbus, OH

Current job: CEO & Founder, RevolutionCyber

Past job: SVP of Global Security Solutions

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Local cafe with outdoor seating

Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. I learned to build products in my role at Fordham Information Security. This was before I could sell it, as the VP of Sales & Marketing. So, I learned the importance of UX, setting business requirements and managing product development via sprints. It taught me empathy and how to monetize a business idea.

Q. Job advice in three words? Your network matters

Q. How are you (or your company) currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? I own a cyber security firm, we deliver security-culture-as a service. Our job is to address the impact policy, emerging tech and regulation impact the risks to an organization due to employee behavior and build programs to rapidly decrease the risk. Our system, considers each of these areas and designs customer security culture strategies for each of our clients.

Q. Why are you part of TheBridge community? Why do you think it's important this community exists for tech, policy and political professionals? So much of the world's problems could be more easily addressed via true partnerships and collaboration. I am excited to learn from people in all of these areas.

Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Innovators can learn more about considering different users groups or constituencies and leveraging diplomacy to galvanize support for a new invention.

Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Policy makers can learn to look to the future to set agenda and policy. Too often policymakers create policies to correct the past, but fail to consider future impact. As a result, some well-intentioned policies cannot stand the test of time.

Q. Favorite book you recommend? My favorite Book is "Find Your Why"? Everything has a purpose. Understanding that purpose up front helps produce better connections and provides deeper understanding.

Q. Everyday is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job? My day is spent in four primary areas: Working with my leadership team on the "Go-to-market plan" for our service, checking in on key accounts to ensure that our clients are receiving the highest level of service, providing advice, mentorship and guidance to RevolutionCyber employees and working to continue promoting and marketing our services to prospective customers.

Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? Tenacity - Someone with tenacity will have or find the answer to any problem he or she is faced with.

Q. If you had to live in another city, which would it be? Miami, FL

Q. Startup to watch? RevolutionCyber

Q. Which Member of Congress/local lawmaker is most tech savvy? Rep. Bennie Thompson. He is very connected to technology and cyber security initiatives and expects the same from his staff.

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