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Denise Carter-Bennett has been named as the next co-chair of the New Zealand Network for Women in Security (NZNWS).
An active member of the network since 2022, Carter-Bennett will take over from outgoing co-chair Sai Honig, who co-founded NZNWS with Tash Bettridge in 2019, will continue as an honorary committee member.
“I am confident that the organisation will continue to thrive under the leadership of Denise Carter-Bennett and the rest of the board”, Honig said.
“It has been an honour to serve as co-chair of NZNWS since its inception. I am incredibly proud of the work we have done to support and promote women in the security industry.”
The current NZNWS treasurer, Carter-Bennett (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei) was instrumental in setting the organisation up as a registered charitable trust and helping with compliance.
“Diverse thinking is an advantage in the tech sector,” she said. “I became involved with NZNWS because I am passionate about increasing the representation of women in tech.”
After honing her skills in ethical hacking, malware analysis and open-source security as a security researcher, Carter-Bennett went on to hold senior roles in cyber security at Datacom, and currently works as a security architect at Network For Learning.
She won the cyber security champion award at the Women in Security Awards last year.
“As a neurodiverse Māori wahine working in security, I understand how isolating the work experience can be for minorities,” Carter-Bennett said. “That’s why I am so motivated to build a community that will empower more people like me to thrive in their security careers.”
Current co-chair Andrew Thorburn will continue to serve alongside Carter-Bennett while Wellington based Michelle Crowe, leader of Xero’s security risk and compliance team, will also be joining the board.