Meet Christine
"It's okay to have three degrees and an iPhone full of trap music. That's me and I make no apologies for it."
CEO | Cyber Security Culture Hacker | International Speaker | Professor | Walking Lituation
Christine Izuakor is a Houston native, born of two parents who immigrated to America from Nigeria to pursue higher education. Starting from humble beginnings, Christine has always been motivated to maximize on the opportunities her parents and community created for her. In 2013, despite discouragement and limited role models, Christine decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Security Engineering at the University of Colorado.
“I was told I was too young, too inexperienced, and too naïve to contribute anything to my industry at age 23”.
Nevertheless, Dr. Izuakor completed the program at 27 years old, making her the youngest student and first African American woman to do so. Her research contributions were published in numerous international journals, and she presented in international conferences from South Korea to Rome, Italy. During this entire journey, Dr. Izuakor also maintained a full-time job within the cyber security team of a Fortune 100 company. Her rapid growth within the technology industry landed her a spot on Chicago Business Crain’s Tech 50 List, a roster of influencers and names to know in the Chicago technology scene. She was also featured on The Crains 20 in their 20s list.
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Prior to this, Christine earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She also earned a master’s degree in information systems security from University of Houston, while simultaneously completing a year-long internship on the information security team at United Airlines. Soon after, she went on to earn the highly sought after CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional) and the CISM (Certified Information Security Manager).
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Dr. Christine Izuakor
Christine is passionate about influencing workplace culture, and in 2015 co-founded Gen Trend, a Millennial Business Resource Group. As the former Vice President of the organization, she was a driving force in the development and execution of a critical strategy to engage and retain the next generation of aviation employees and customers.
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Izuakor is also active in the diversity and inclusion community. She served a 2 year term as the Head Editor of the Illinois Diversity Council Editorial Board, and member of the National Diversity Council Newsletter Committee. Additionally, she is dedicated to helping close the opportunity divide challenge people face around the world. She has launched numerous scholarship and fellowship programs in support of cultivating cyber talent.
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​Most recently, in 2020, Dr. Christine Izuakor shook up the industry with her departure from the corporate arena coupled with the launch of her new cybersecurity startup, Cyber Pop-up (www.cyberpopup.com), an on-demand cybersecurity service platform powered by vetted freelancers.
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An avid world traveler, Dr. Izuakor has been to over 30 countries in the last few years and enjoys learning about various cultures. She also enjoys museums, shopping, dining, and spending time with her family and friends in Houston. When asked about her personal mission, she shared:
“I am dedicated to reaching my full potential with hope that as I share the journey, I inspire and encourage those around me to do the same.”