Big Four and Protiviti members in running for Women in Security Awards

02 May 2023 Consultancy.com.au

As it builds up to its gala ceremony in October, the Australian Women in Security Awards has announced its first wave of finalists, including consultants from Protiviti and the Big Four.

The first cohort of finalists includes Deepa Amrat-Bradley of Protiviti and three Big Four consultants: KPMG’s Mina Zaki, Amandeep Bambhra at Deloitte, and Baby Nagayo of Ernst & Young. The quartet however still face a nervous wait, with the winners not announced until October – with PwC pair Duncan Alderson and Tannya Follington among the judges who will decide.

The largest such female-focused industry awards in the country, the Australian Women in Security Awards was established to inspire both young women and men to consider a career in the sector, and honour the achievements of those who are already making an impact.

Big Four and Protiviti members in running for Women in Security Awards

Altogether there are 17 individual and company awards up for grabs, with nominees being announced in brackets across the categories and the winner announced at a gala event in Melbourne.

Deepa Amrat-Bradley of management consultancy Protiviti has been nominated in the ‘Best Security Mentor’ category after having joined the firm at the end of last year as a director of cybersecurity strategy. Amrat-Bradley crossed after a year and a half as APAC head of cyber strategy and program management at Seek, before which she predominantly served in the UK public sector, including as the Chief Operating Officer and program director at the NHS.

Also featuring as a finalist in the mentorship category is KPMG Cybersecurity Alliances associate director Mina Zaki, who gave thanks to her “incredible mentee” Marina Azar Toailoa for the nomination. With an academic background in law and politics, Zaki joined KPMG in Sydney in the middle of last year, having previously served as the national network lead for AustCyber. Zaki was also a one-time Liberal federal candidate or Canberra.

In addition to championing women in the cybersecurity industry, the annual awards also recognise male and non-binary ‘Champions of Change’ who are working to shift entrenched gender-based discrimination and bias in their workplace, with Deloitte cyber risks services director Amandeep Bambhra in this year’s running. Bambhra has been with the firm for the past eight years, originally joining in London before crossing to Sydney in 2017.

Recently appointed as the SheLeadsTech Coordinator of the Melbourne chapter of ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association), Ernst & Young financial services assistant director Baby Nagayo has been fittingly nominated in the Women in Security Awards’ ‘best volunteer’ category. Nagaoyo has been with the firm for the past five and a half years, before which she spent four years in risk assurance with PwC in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, current PwC duo Duncan Alderson and Tannya Follington will be among the twenty or so judges helping to determine this year’s winners (noting that the awards have protocols in place for any potential conflicts of interest). With the firm for more than a decade, Alderson is a partner in PwC’s Cyber Security and Digital Trust practice out of Perth, while Follington has served in the same practice as a director in Sydney since the middle of last year.