Her Story
About Malini
Malini Mistry is an AI governance, cybersecurity, cloud security, and enterprise technology leader with 20 years of experience in the field and 6 years focused on artificial intelligence. She serves as CEO of 963IT.AI, an AI consultancy and cybersecurity firm based in North Texas, and holds a board position with the ISACA Austin Chapter. Her background includes prior roles in cybersecurity and AI with organizations such as KPMG, Brinqa, Microsoft, and Oracle, along with a bachelor's degree in financial accounting earned in 1998, additional degrees in cybersecurity and AI engineering, and certifications in both cybersecurity and AI engineering. Malini is also a member of Women in AI US and the Austin Chamber of Commerce. She attributes her success to continuous learning, unlearning, and relearning, dedicating several hours each week to staying current on AI developments even while running her company.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Malini
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success is all about learning, unlearning, and relearning, along with hard work. Even while running my busy company, I spend 3 to 4 hours every week learning about AI, AI security, AI privacy, and AI healthcare. I believe in continuous learning and that attitude keeps me going.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
At a cybersecurity summit, an FBI agent told me 'I believe in you, and never give up.' Those simple words from a stranger in authority have stayed with me, and whenever I have ups and downs, I remind myself not to give up.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Learn, show your skill sets, show encouragement to learn and grow, never give up, and have a mentor early on, even in college or university. Find a practitioner in the industry who is doing tremendous work, copy that success model, and go with it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The industry is very fast-moving and dynamic, with rapid changes like from ChatGPT to other models. The hype around AI exists but people are reluctant to adopt due to audition concerns. The opportunity is to shift mindset from seeing AI as a technology stack to a business strategy, leverage it maximally, and maintain an attitude of continuous learning.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Ethics, honesty, transparency, and accountability are the key things in business, job, friendship, or anything. These are most important in professional and personal life.
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