CyberWire Daily – "Mary Writz: Take a negative and make it into a positive."

Guest: Mary Writz, VP Product Strategy, ForgeRock
Date: February 22, 2026
Host: N2K Networks

Episode Overview

This episode of CyberWire Daily features an in-depth career reflection with Mary Writz, Vice President of Product Strategy at ForgeRock. Writz discusses her journey as a woman in cybersecurity leadership, including career pivots, lessons learned from managing diverse and high-performing teams, and the significance of resilience and communication. The episode offers insightful guidance for both newcomers and established professionals in the cybersecurity field.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Career and Finding Her Path (01:24)

• Writz reflects on starting her professional journey in male-dominated environments, noting the challenges and growth that came from leading teams of men often older and more experienced than herself.
• Originally considered accounting due to her pragmatic mindset, but quickly realized it wasn't for her:

  "I had a hunch that I wanted to be an accountant... Turns out in college I took some accounting classes and realized I definitely did not want to be an accountant." – Mary Writz (02:02)

• Pivoted to math, computer science, and ultimately cybersecurity, combining business foundations with technical interests.

2. First Steps in Cybersecurity (03:00)

• Her entry into cybersecurity was through an ethical hacking job at IBM in 2001, when the field was still nascent and undefined:

  "They were hiring for ethical hackers, which sounded like the coolest job I'd ever heard. I didn't know what I was doing... it was 2001, nobody knew what they were doing and sort of I knew just enough to be dangerous." – Mary Writz (03:38)

• Gained broad practical experience: pen testing, forensics, and security architecture, which eventually led to a focus on developing products and services for threat detection.

3. Evolution Into Product Strategy (04:05)

• Moved into executive leadership by centering her career on building cybersecurity products to safeguard enterprises.
• Breaks down the product role as highly interconnected:
  • 1/3 learning (market, competition, technology)
  • 1/3 strategy design
  • 1/3 clear communication

4. The Power of Communication (04:48)

• Attributes much of her career progression to excellence in both public speaking and small-group presentations:

  "...life changing events for me happened speaking to small groups, but board meeting type groups, that really elevated my profile and also being confident to speak in large audiences." – Mary Writz (05:08)

• Emphasizes making deeply technical concepts accessible to non-technical stakeholders, especially with identity and access:

  "So I try and frame it from the lens that they experience the technology." – Mary Writz (05:55)

5. Leadership Philosophy & Team Building (06:08)

• Focused on assembling and inspiring high-performing teams.
• Advocates for vision setting and collective strategy formation—forging team buy-in and ownership:

  "...set a really strong vision and get buy in. So have the team help set the vision and strategy because then they feel ownership and they'll run and take it across the line for me." – Mary Writz (06:20)

6. Resilience and Turning Negatives Into Positives (06:39)

• Shares strategies for overcoming tough moments:
  • Focus immediately on the next actionable step
  • View setbacks as defining opportunities

    "...these are actually usually the defining moments in your career and you can turn something that feels negative into a positive..." – Mary Writz (06:57)

• Highlights examples, such as organizations turning breach incidents into customer loyalty wins through strong, transparent responses.

7. Advice for Newcomers (07:22)

• Encourages those interested in cybersecurity to jump in, take risks, and embrace the field’s rapid evolution:

  "It's a hyper growth area with a lot of things changing all the time. So I would say jump right in and don't be afraid to take some risks." – Mary Writz (07:32)

8. Legacy and Most Meaningful Achievements (07:51)

• Values the positive impact she’s had on the lives and careers of colleagues above technical achievements:

  "...the things that mean the most to me are when employees or peers will tell me that working with me or for me changed their life for the positive. And that is what I would hope my legacy would be..." – Mary Writz (08:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On breaking into cybersecurity:

  "I didn't know what I was doing. But it was 2001, nobody knew what they were doing..." (03:43)

• On career-defining moments:

  "...you can turn something that feels negative into a positive by showing people how you can respond to what's happening with a lot of energy and focus and care." (07:00)

• On legacy:

  "...the people around me would feel that they've been able to achieve career milestones or have a really stable, interesting job thanks to my help." (08:08)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:24 | Mary Writz introduces her background | | 02:02 | Realizes she doesn't want to be an accountant | | 03:38 | Starts as an ethical hacker at IBM | | 04:48 | Product strategy is 1/3 learning, 1/3 strategy, 1/3 communication | | 05:08 | The life-changing impact of public speaking | | 05:55 | Explaining identity and access from the user’s perspective | | 06:20 | Involving teams in setting vision and strategy | | 06:57 | Turning setbacks into positives | | 07:22 | Encouragement to jump into cybersecurity and take risks | | 08:01 | Legacy: positive impact on employees and peers |

Tone & Style

Writz presents her journey with honesty, humility, and encouragement, combining insights about business acumen, technical growth, team leadership, and resilience. Her advice is practical yet inspiring, delivered in a warm, inclusive tone that aims to empower listeners at any stage of their cybersecurity careers.

Perfect episode for listeners wanting actionable career advice and honest insights from a leading woman executive in cybersecurity.