Missouri’s cybersecurity leadership bench reflects a mix of higher education, insurance, financial services, manufacturing, consumer brands, and technology strategy. The women in this feature are leading across information security, compliance, awareness, business alignment, and enterprise risk in organizations that depend on trust, resilience, and disciplined execution. Some are responsible for formal security programs, while others are shaping cyber outcomes through BISO leadership, security culture, and broader technology strategy. That range matters because it shows how cybersecurity leadership in Missouri extends beyond any one function or sector. It is a state where cyber influence increasingly comes from leaders who can connect security with operations, people, and long-term institutional priorities.
Rebecca Thurmond Fowler — CISO, University of Missouri System
Rebecca Thurmond Fowler is Chief Information Security Officer for the University of Missouri System, where she is responsible for the ongoing development and delivery of a comprehensive, system-wide information security strategy and program. Her role includes protecting information assets, aligning security with the university’s risk posture, and supporting compliance and regulatory requirements across the system. Before becoming CISO, she spent more than two decades at the University of Missouri-Columbia in security leadership and analyst roles covering incident response, vulnerability scanning, risk management, business continuity, disaster recovery, procurement review, and policy development. She stands out for her deep institutional knowledge, long tenure in higher education security, and focus on creating an environment where both the enterprise and her team can thrive.
Monica Cole-Rowe — CISO, National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Monica Cole-Rowe is Chief Information Security Officer at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, bringing a career centered on financial services, security strategy, and helping people understand complex cyber issues. Before joining the NAIC, she served for six years as Chief Information Security Officer at Mazuma Credit Union and also led MRowe Consulting, where she provided part-time CISO services focused on program development, board education, strategic planning, and incident response. Earlier roles at MidCountry Financial Corp, Midwest Information Technology Solutions, and Union Bank added experience across policy development, audit and compliance, e-commerce systems, and operational IT leadership. She stands out for her ability to align security with business goals while also supporting workforce development and making cybersecurity more understandable and actionable for leadership teams.
Teri Green — Vice President of Technology, Elevate
Teri Green is Vice President of Technology at Elevate, where she leads technology strategy, cybersecurity posture, and data innovation for a national nonprofit focused on equitable energy solutions. Her current role includes overseeing leaders across cybersecurity, data and analytics, and information technology while driving enterprise technology vision, compliance, cloud infrastructure, vendor strategy, and digital innovation. Her earlier experience includes chief information leadership at Lite Technology Solutions and Normandy Schools Collaborative, where she led initiatives that strengthened cyber posture, reduced overhead through cloud migration, and aligned technology more closely with organizational strategy. She stands out for her blend of strategic technology leadership, cybersecurity oversight, and mission-driven execution in organizations focused on transformation and impact.
Heather Reed — Head of Cybersecurity, IT at Nestle North America
Heather Reed is Head of Cybersecurity and ISMS Lead at Nestlé North America, where she leads an international security and compliance team with responsibility across risk management, ISO 27001, cloud security, and identity and access management. Her work includes improving security across factories and distribution centers, building a widely recognized cybersecurity ambassador program, shaping insider risk and data loss prevention processes with HR and Legal, and helping integrate security into broader digital transformation efforts. Before moving into her current role, she held compliance-focused positions within Nestlé Purina North America and brought a background in communication and people management from earlier work at Anheuser-Busch. She stands out for the way she combines security and compliance leadership with strong communication, behavioral insight, and culture-building.
Amy Sauerwein — Cyber Security Technologies Performance Excellence and Strategy Lead, Bayer
Amy Sauerwein is Cyber Security Technologies Performance Excellence and Strategy Lead at Bayer, where she focuses on platform strategy and operational excellence across identity and access management, infrastructure security, and network security. Before stepping into this role, she led cyber security awareness and training at Bayer and earlier held awareness leadership roles at Emerson and Monsanto, where she built training modules, managed phishing programs, coordinated volunteer networks, and developed people-centric dashboards and metrics. Her background reflects a sustained focus on creating cultures of information security awareness at scale across large global organizations. She stands out for her ability to connect security strategy, performance improvement, and human-centered awareness work in ways that support long-term cyber resilience.
Michelle Sickbert — Senior Director, BISO, Equifax / Board Member, Women in Cybersecurity (WiCys) St. Louis Metropolitan
Michelle Sickbert is Senior Director and Business Information Security Officer at Equifax, with a long background in business-aligned security leadership, risk assessment, third-party security, and compliance. Before joining Equifax, she spent more than two decades at Citi in BISO, business risk, control, and operations roles, where she supported information security strategy, managed vulnerability assessment and vendor security programs, coordinated compliance efforts, and worked closely with auditors and regulators. She also serves as a Board Member for Women in Cybersecurity St. Louis Metropolitan, reflecting her involvement in the regional cyber community. She stands out for her long experience translating security policy and standards into practical business support across complex financial environments.
Where Missouri’s Cyber Leadership Continues to Deepen
The women in this Missouri feature show how cybersecurity leadership in the state is built through more than one path. Their work spans universities, insurers, financial organizations, global manufacturers, nonprofits, and consumer brands, with responsibilities that include program leadership, culture-building, risk management, and business partnership. Together, they reflect a cybersecurity landscape where technical depth matters, but so do communication, trust, and the ability to align security with organizational goals. That breadth gives Missouri a leadership bench worth watching closely.
Explore more profiles of the amazing women shaping cybersecurity across numerous industries in our Women’s Month collection.