MEET THE MAESTRO INTERVIEW

Steven - Cybersecurity & Technology Leader

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At Maestro, we know there’s more to life than work. In fact, it’s the experiences, relationships and pursuits we have outside of work that can often give us an edge in what we do each day. We are kicking off an interview series called “Meet the Maestro” where we interview our Maestros and get an insight to who they really are and what makes them tick - beyond the CV.

Our Meet the Maestro this week is Steven, a business-focused executive and hands-on cybersecurity and technology consultant, known for helping organisations secure, align and elevate their digital strategies. Steven offers fractional CISO, CIO and CRO services, supporting everything from high-level strategy and governance to technical implementation, compliance and assurance. With a career spanning executive roles, Steven blends deep technical expertise with a systems-thinking approach, able to see the big-picture architecture while tuning into the detail that drives real outcomes. His calm, focused presence and high emotional intelligence make him a trusted partner in navigating risk, transformation and complexity. Grounded, sharp, and genuinely human, Steven brings clarity, heart, and a good sense of humour to even the toughest challenges.  

1. Tell us about a career highlight to date…

A career highlight was when I left the corporate banking world of Macquarie Bank in 2018 to join a startup business called InLoop as their CIO / CISO, with the huge goal of building new, secure digital claims rails in healthcare through our LanternPay business. Within a few years, lots of iterations and hard work, we successfully met our cybersecurity and business goals by LanternPay becoming ISO27001 certified and being acquired by NAB. LanternPay merged with HICAPS in 2022.

2. Talk us through an unusual career choice you’ve made along the way…

Leaving the security of the corporate world to join InLoop may have been viewed as an unusual choice. Around the same time, I also pivoted from a standard career path to work with a venture capital firm called Blue-Red Capital, which was fascinating and rewarding. Joining an entrepreneurial, agile business like InLoop and working with Blue-Red were decisive steps towards developing my entrepreneurial mindset, curiosity, building big dreams and working with talented people to bring those dreams to reality.

3. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

This might sound funny, but my earliest memory is that I wanted to be a bulldozer driver when I grew up! Boys and their toys?! Being a pilot came a close second 😊

4. What are your passions outside of work and how do you make time for them?

I love spending time with my family, enjoying exercise and being active in the outdoors, so any destination with mountains and wild, natural beauty are some of my favourite go-to spots. I try to structure my days accordingly (though not always successfully!). I’m also involved in the wider community supporting a local youth group that emphasises personal leadership and empowerment.

I’m extremely passionate about music – listening to music, playing an instrument (I was trained as a child to play classical piano) and singing/harmonising to acapela. I always make time for music!

5. If you could instantly master any skill or hobby, what would it be and why?

I have a passion for the guitar and started lessons a few years ago, but then haven’t continued practising. I’d absolutely LOVE to play acoustic and electric guitar like Mark Knopfler, lead guitarist for Dire Straits (showing my age!).

6. What’s a personal value or belief that guides the way you live your life?

A saying I try and live by: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?".

To me, actions are much more important than words in terms of writing your story and defining yourself. In fact, with words, less is more.

Plus integrity, transparency and doing what you say you’re going to do is so important. 

7. What’s a challenge you’ve overcome outside of work that shaped you?

As a second-generation Holocaust survivor, I grew up carrying the weight of history that wasn’t mine firsthand - but deeply shaped who I am. My father survived the Holocaust as a child and built a new life in Australia after the war, but the trauma didn’t end when the war did. I witnessed the impact of this and had to navigate its echoes and find a way of responding in line with my values.

Coming to understand this legacy - and choosing how to carry it - was one of the most formative challenges of my life. It gave me a deep sense of perspective, empathy and resilience. I learned not just to admire my father's strength and those of other survivors around me, but to develop my own: to hold space for complexity, to find light even in dark places, and to lead with both clarity and compassion.

8. What do you think your job will look like in 10 years time?

Great question! I see myself leading and investing in innovative, thriving businesses, collaboratively achieving meaningful and purposeful outcomes.

9. If you could travel anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go and what would you do?

Balos lagoon and beach in north-west Crete….what would I do? Explore the beautiful countryside, swim, hire a yacht, you name it! 

10. What does success look like to you?

In a nutshell, working to live, on my own terms. I want to create space and time to have meaningful connections with people, do mentoring and inspire others to do the same.