Gonzalez is proud of her contribution and believes her role makes an
impact at Northrop Grumman and beyond because she has the opportunity
to provide resources to defend our country and provide food and resources
to astronauts in the ISS.
“It is more than just engineering and getting a project done, it is about
advancing the future of aerospace, advancing humanity. At the end of the day, my
job is to help our country, our people,” she shares.
Aside from her day job as a rocket scientist, Gonzalez blogs with the purpose
to empower and inspire other women to have a fulfilling and purpose driven life.
“The road ahead is not going to be easy but it is very rewarding if you are
willing to work hard, accept constructive criticism, develop a passion for learning,
and leave egos behind,” she shares. “I would encourage every single aspiring
Latina in STEM, to never give up, to always treat people with respect, to pursue
your passion wholeheartedly, and never forget where you came from.”
Xochitl Monteon
Senior Director, Cyber Security,
Cyber Governance, Compliance and Privacy
Intel’s Information Technology Division
Migrating to California from
Mexico in the mid-1970’s,
Xochitl Monteon naturally
gravitated toward numbers at an early
age. However, it wasn’t until she took an
AP Physics course in high school taught
by Professor Karandikar that she was
certain she would pursue a career in
STEM.
As a Senior Director in Cyber
Security, Monteon is responsible for
Cyber Security Governance, Compliance,
Xochitl Monteon.
Application Security, Security Awareness
and training, and Privacy within Intel’s Information Technology Division.
“My team ensures cyber security and privacy best practices, policy
compliance and employee awareness are implemented into daily operations to
ensure that Intel’s enterprise systems and assets are protected and compliant
with global regulatory requirements,” she shares.
With 25 years of experience leading cyber security risk management, IT
Operations, business continuity, disaster recovery, cyber security awareness
and training, and operational excellence in organizations spanning high-tech,
manufacturing, financial services, biotech, insurance, and healthcare, she brings
a diverse view of risk and security to Intel. Before joining Intel, she held several
cyber security leadership roles at McAfee. Monteon also held various technical
leadership roles at eBay, Inc and PayPal. She holds a bachelor’s of science degree
from San Jose State University and is a Certified Business Continuity Planner
(CBCP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems
Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).
For Monteon, the development of an internal, collaborative and transparent
Cybersecurity governance at Intel has been a labor of love.
“With the constantly evolving cyber threat landscape, ensuring our business
units and employee have a clear understanding of risk and their role in ensuring
Intel is secure, is vital,” she shares. “As part of the governance program, I
developed a global cross-functional consortium to focus on highest cyber
security risks. The team reviews priorities annually and diligently work each area
throughout the year, with a monthly meeting to check on progress or additional
areas of risk. We further developed a Cybersecurity Maturity Program to align to
Intel’s business needs, while benchmarking externally to best known methods in
similar industries.”
Information Technology Hack the Strategy Event. (L-R)
Harish Thanneer and Xochitl Monteon in Bangalore, India on
October 2018.
Monteon is an active member of the Intel Hispanic Leadership Council (IHLC),
where her contributions enabled Intel to meet its 2020 goal of achieving full
representation of women and under-represented minorities in the U.S. workforce
two years early. She also spearheaded the council’s sponsorship program
for Hispanic employees in partnership with Intel Latino Network (ILN), where
17 IHLC leaders are sponsoring 20 ILN members to open doors to new career
opportunities at the company.
“Cyber Security, Privacy, and IT Compliance are key to protecting Intel’s data
assets, personal data, while ensuring we remain agile and efficient,” she shares.
“I am privileged to have a passionate, highly skilled, and driven team that is
focused on ensuring we achieve our mission. My role is to empower them,
enable them, and allow them to use their talents to their fullest potential to secure
our critical assets.”
While her Professor sparked an interest in STEM, it was her parents, who she
considers her role models, that shaped the person she is today.
“Family, integrity, positivity, community, growth, continuous learning and fun
are core values that were instilled early in life,” she shares. “Both of my parents
began working on their family farms in Mexico before the age of eight and never
had the opportunity to attend any sort of schooling. They taught themselves math
and how to read and write. They believed in the American Dream - that anything
was possible, that you could be anything you wanted if you worked hard,
continuously learned, and remained focused. I have remained true to these core
values in decisions I have made throughout my professional career; these values
define my identity and enable me to be my authentic self.”
Monteon’s advice to Latinas is to “embrace the opportunities ahead, say yes,
take risks and fail, learn from these failures and persevere.”LS
Want to comment or have any questions on this article?
Email us at info@latinastyle.com
LATINAStyle Vol. 25, No. 4, 2019 www.latinastyle.com 15
/www.latinastyle.com
link
