Johanna Williamson

Senior Manager - Security Strategy and Governance at nbn™ Australia

Johanna Williamson, Senior Manager - Security Strategy and Governance with nbn, is a big believer in “being the master of your own destiny, and really being in the driver’s seat of your career, making it happen.”

She is leading and implementing nbn’s enterprise security and privacy strategy. It is not a role she envisaged holding because it did not exist when she joined nbn but emerged as a result of how nbn structured its security operations. Nevertheless Williamson says, “I absolutely drove myself to be here. I did this by putting myself out there, seeking out mentors and advocates, seeking out new opportunities, trying new things and failing.”

So, it came as a rude shock to Williamson earlier in her career when one of those mentors told her: “Jo, you’re not doing enough.” Upon reflection, she realised the truth of those words. “It drove me to take action, to become fiercer and more resilient and ultimately it pushed me forward.” While this was one pivotal mentoring event, Williamson sets great store by such relationships in general, saying she has been very lucky to have built a number of meaningful relationships which have evolved into providing amazing mentors and advocates.

PIVOTAL PEOPLE

“When I first met these individuals, I never knew at the time they would end up being such important and pivotal people in my life,” she says. “It’s those relationships that have stood the test of time and have been overwhelmingly important for me in moments where I have had to make decisions about the next step to take in my security career, when I have thought about pivoting, or sometimes lacked confidence.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of seeking out and building a relationship with a potential mentor or advocate in your career, because you just never know when the next opportunity may come knocking on your door. Having an advocate there, in the right room with the right people to say, ‘I know someone

you should speak to who might be perfect for that role,’ pays dividends.”

And she adds: “For me, my mentor and advocate relationships have naturally evolved over time. You can’t force these relationships, and you may even have an existing mentor or advocate relationship with someone already and you didn’t even realise it!”

Williamson has now been working in security for 17 years since starting out as an investigator at Coles, a role she gained almost by chance that led her to where she is today.

When Williamson finished school she went to university, but instead of taking a career-focussed course like most of her peers, she indulged her passion, with a degree course in Egyptology. Then, realising it was unlikely to lead to a career, got a job in retail with Coles, and stumbled into security.

FINDING HER NICHE

“I met someone from the supermarket’s asset protection team in head office who took me under their wing,” she recalls. “I started working for her two days a week, doing all the boring things that she didn’t want to do, but were exciting for me. I was introduced to the world of physical security, personnel security, assurance, asset protection and loss prevention and eventually investigations - which is where I ended up finding my niche.

“Looking back, it is safe to say finding a career pathway is all about trial and error. I would tell my high-school self to try something and see if you like it. It’s ok if it’s not what you had hoped for or thought it was going to be, and importantly, it’s ok to pivot.

“Over time I learnt more and more and eventually secured a full-time role as a regional asset protection advisor. I continued my on-the-job learning over the next few years and then worked my way into the investigations and fraud management side, which I ended up loving.

“This was where my corporate career took off and I moved into the telecommunications world. I knew this was what I wanted to do, so I went back to university and undertook a graduate certificate in fraud and financial investigation and eventually completed my master’s degree in the same.”

Williamson says she “never had second thoughts that security was the right choice for me. It only got more interesting and opened a world of opportunities, some of which I didn’t even know would be possible. … Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing what I am now, with the broad visibility and remit across the enterprise in nbn.”

JOINING NBN INVESTIGATIONS TEAM

For most of her career Williamson worked in security investigations, fraud management and security operations, physical and personnel. She joined the investigations team at nbn six and a half years ago to help build its capability in these areas as a member of a new team created under nbn’s converged security model. It was this model that enabled her to greatly broaden the scope of her security responsibilities.

“I was lucky to be working in an organisation where the intersection of all security disciplines and security risks are managed under the one umbrella,” she explains. “This provided the opportunity over time to be exposed to many different security streams, work with a broad range of stakeholders, gain visibility of complex problems and challenges that different security teams were facing, and ultimately carve a pathway for myself to my current role.”

She says this role—leading and implementing nbn’s enterprise security and privacy strategy—is completely different to what she was doing when she started working at nbn, and nbn’s converged security model offers up many opportunities with its varying workstreams and pathways.

“I love that no two days are the same. I am constantly engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders at nbn and managing complex problems. Sometimes this can pose challenges, particularly around managing different points of view, balancing the needs and asks of the business with the fact that operational teams are needing to deliver or respond to incidents.”

Looking back, Williamson says her career achievements would not have been possible “without my personal desire, drive and being vulnerable to try something and not succeed. … And to pick myself up again, dust myself off and remember not to let anything stop me.”

Today, Williamson describes herself as “a senior manager leading a team of people with broad remit across the enterprise specialising in security strategy and planning for all security disciplines, strategic advice, security program management and security and regulatory compliance: something completely different to what I came into nbn doing.”

THE WORK/LIFE BALANCE STRUGGLE

Through all this, Williamson admits to struggling with maintaining a good work/life balance, a challenge made much harder a little over two years ago when she became a mother.

“Each day I do the juggling act, trying my best to be a good mum, wife, friend, daughter, sister, family person, colleague, and succeed at work,” she says. “It can be hard to be great at all of these roles all the time and in fact it’s probably impossible. For me, the way I like to find balance is to try and prioritise ‘me’ time. While it sounds easy, it’s not something that I find easy to always execute on. I do find I have to try and schedule ‘me’ time as part of my day or week, otherwise I sometimes let this fall to the bottom of the prioritisation list, and I struggle to make it happen.

“Outside of work I have creative interests that are completely opposite to security. It is my way of switching off or recharging. I love interior design and decorating, real estate, cooking and gardening, although I’m not very good at it yet. Plants under my care seem to always die for some reason! Trying to also get outdoors and into nature is also something I find really relaxing and extremely grounding.”

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