WISP Leadership Talks: "What Got You Here Won't Get You There"
Part of WISP's mission is to help women of data protection, cybersecurity and related areas develop their networks and leadership skills. In our third session of 2026, we'll be gathering inspiring women leaders in these fields for a night of learning and connection, as they share their journeys with us and we explore what modern leadership looks like in an age of rapid technological and social change.
On the evening we'll be hearing from these distinguished leaders:
Dr Valerie Lyons, COO, BH Consulting
Dr. Aleksandra Aytova, FIP, Group Head of Privacy, Applegreen
Elena Donea, CEO at Whatsexposed
Indu Sajeev, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Strategic Advisor at Nebulock
We want to ensure that the event is an inclusive and welcoming as possible, so do feel free to bring a friend who might be new to WISP, even if they aren't in a "traditional" data protection or cybersecurity role.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Valerie Lyons is winner of the Most Inspiring Woman in Cyber award 2026, and included in the Top 100 Women in Cybersecurity in Europe, Dr. Valerie Lyons is Board Director and COO at BH Consulting, where she advises boards and executive leaders on cybersecurity, AI governance, and data protection. She also serves as INED on the board of Legend Trading, one of the first fintechs to be authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under MICAr. Valerie has over two decades of leadership experience, including 13 years leading cybersecurity risk at KBC Bank. She holds an award-winning PhD in Privacy and Ethics and is currently undertaking the Chartered Director programme, further strengthening her board-level governance expertise. She is author of The Privacy Leader Compass: A Comprehensive Business-Oriented Roadmap for Building and Leading Practical Privacy Programs (2024), recognised as a significant contribution to modern privacy leadership practice. A faculty lead on the Institute of Directors Cybersecurity Programme, Valerie holds CISSP, CDPSE, and CIPP/E certifications along with certifications in Corporate Governance. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Irish Information Security Forum since 2003 and serves on advisory and policy initiatives including CeADAR (Ireland’s National Centre for AI), the EDPB, Cyber Ireland, and the UN Internet Governance Forum. Valerie has spoken and keynoted at major international conferences and was the first woman in Ireland selected to present at RSA Conference. She is a passionate advocate for advancing women’s leadership in cybersecurity and for strengthening industry resilience through principled, governance-driven practises.
Dr. Aleksandra (Assia) Aytova is the Group Head of Privacy at Applegreen. She brings extensive experience as a barrister, assistant professor, in-house counsel, and external privacy advisor in the AdTech, FinTech and Retail sectors. She has led the development, implementation, monitoring, and certification of Information Security, Privacy, and AI Management Systems. A recognized expert in multijurisdictional privacy frameworks and AI governance, Dr. Aytova is deeply passionate about the intersection of human rights and technology, offering innovative insights into the ethical challenges posed by technological advancements. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/E), a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), and a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) from IAPP. Additionally, she is an Internal Auditor, Lead Auditor, and Lead Implementer for ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) and ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management) from Intertek. Aleksandra holds a Ph.D. in Fundamental Rights from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski," a master's degree in IT Law from the University of Tartu, and a master's degree in Law from New Bulgarian University. Recently, she completed a specialization in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at MIT.
Elena Donea is the CEO and Co-Founder of WhatsExposed, a CREST-certified offensive security company based in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, offering penetration testing, continuous exposure management, red teaming, and AI security testing to organisations across Ireland, the UK, and the US. Elena co-founded WhatsExposed in 2023 with a focus on direct delivery of senior-level expertise to end clients, and transparent pricing and performance metrics for both partners and clients.Her career s pans over a decade in cybersecurity and risk. Prior to founding WhatsExposed, she held roles as Cyber Security Specialist and Security Testing Lead at Kontex, and before that worked as a Cyber Risk Consultant at Deloitte. She also gained earlier experience in data analytics at Aon's Centre for Innovation and Analytics. Elena holds a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College Dublin. WhatsExposed holds CREST certification for its penetration testing engagements and maintains ISO 27001 certification for its own information security management system.
Indu Sajeev is a cybersecurity and technology advisor currently working as the Chief Product Officer and CISO at Binarii Labs. Indu expertise spans across venture-backed startups, university spinouts, and deep tech companies on product-market fit, secure product design, and responsible AI adoption. She partners with founders and investors to translate advanced technologies into scalable, trusted, and enterprise-ready products, embedding security and regulatory alignment from the earliest stages of commercialisation.
She is a founding consortium member of the AIUC-1 (AI Use Case Consortium), contributing to the development of secure and responsible AI adoption frameworks across industry.
Previously, Indu served as Chief Information Security Officer at ASOS, where she led global cyber, fraud, and physical security for a large-scale digital platform. She has also held senior security leadership roles at Pearson plc, KPMG, and Nomura, bringing deep expertise across cybersecurity, AI governance, and platform risk, and a strong track record of supporting innovation in complex, regulated environments.