Matt Swain

LinkedIn for Founders & Execs

I’ve built my career as a creator, thought-leader, author and entrepreneur who helps executives and founders evolve their online presence into genuine influence. I’ve had the privilege of working with global icons such as Wim Hof, Steven Bartlett and Arthur Brooks, and collaborated directly with LinkedIn to shape the conversation around digital content, executive-led brands and how social influence can drive commercial growth.

At the start of 2024, I founded Triangle Branding, an exclusive B2B thought leadership agency built for category-leading founders and CEOs who want to turn their ideas into influence. We help them build human-led digital reputations by using their own personal voice to drive commercial impact through LinkedIn-first content, strategic storytelling and demand-generation systems. 

Over the last 18 months, we’ve helped clients raise over $100M, land deals with companies such as Sony, Nvidia and Virgin, had 100 million eyeballs on clients’ content and generate meaningful inbound opportunities by building executive-led brands that people trust.

--

We've generated 1,000,000+ views in the first 6 months with four C-Suite Execs at a 150M ARR leading B2B SaaS platform. 

We've generated 5,000,000 impressions and 40,000 engagements on a leading Harvard professor - with them becoming a LinkedIn Top Voice.

We've helped an energy leader book qualified conversations with SVP's at Walgreens, Starbucks, Mars, GSK and Lidl. 

We've helped agency owners generate organic engagement & MQLs from leaders at THG, Uber, Heineken, Estée Lauder, Samsung, Lavazza, L'Oréal, Tony's Chocolonely and more. 


www.triangle-branding.com

Founder of SOCIAL CLUB

Founder and Manager of SOCIAL CLUB - an exclusive social media community where members manage over 328 million followers. 

If you're an influencer or brand who wants to connect please get in touch. 
If you're interested in investing/sponsoring/collaborating please email on matt@mattswain.co.uk

I was invited by LinkedIn to attend B2Believe, and the message was clear:

B2B is shifting faster than most teams realise. Creativity, buyer confidence, and human connection are becoming the new growth levers.

Here are my 7 core takeaways (share & save this!) 

1. Creativity is becoming the language of B2B

Creative that grabs and holds attention multiplies leads by 3x. But while 92% say consistent creative matters – only 12% deliver it. 

49% B2B decision-makers say they’re more likely to explore a company if its advertising is creative

40% B2B decision-makers say they’d be more likely to consider a purchase if the ad is seen as “creative”


2. Millennials + Gen Z now make up 71% of B2B buyers 

You need to engage them differently – they respond to: Cultural references; human stories; faces, not logos. 

87% of B2B buyers now prefer content from trusted industry influencers over brand-authored content.


3. Buyability: the new model for growth

B2B buying is slow because buyers don’t feel safe with 64% of marketers saying decisions now take longer. 

The top job-to-be-done is: “Can I defend this decision if it goes wrong?”

Buyers don’t need more information — they need more confidence.


4. Your network is a marketing asset — not a distribution channel

When employees from your target accounts follow your company, you generate 2.4x more leads.

And when senior decision-makers at those target accounts are connected to your employees, that jumps to 2.2x more leads.

You are more than 20x more likely to be bought when everyone in the Buyer Group knows you on Day One. Build brand, trust & authority with the right people. 


5. Video is non-negotiable

Jonathon Palmer said it well: Sound, movement, and visual cues trigger far stronger memory formation than static content ever can.

It generates 1.4x more engagement, meaning more people stop, watch, and interact.

And most importantly: viewers retain 95% of the message when it’s delivered via video.

+20% more leads are driven with video

Attention is scarce and recall is even scarcer. Video gives you the highest chance of being remembered — and being acted on.


6. Employee content > corporate content

B2B is shifting from logos to faces; from corporate statements to human voices.

Even when only 3% of employees post regularly, companies drive 20% more leads.

So bring your team to the forefront. 


7. Brand and demand are no longer separate

Everything now all comes down to trust, Tunji Akintokun put it: “In B2B, trust is the ultimate growth metric that closes deals.”

The era of “brand OR performance” is finished. Full-funnel integration is now a growth multiplier with always-on brand activity showing +10% conversion lift. 


In summary: 

The brands that win in 2025 won’t be the ones who look good in reports — they’ll be the ones who move buyer groups to act.

In partnership with LinkedIn for Marketing #Ad

Simon Cowell and the “Netflix-izing” of TV: 

Simon’s cultural dominance was built on linear television, yet The X Factor format was clearly losing momentum. Viewership had fallen, slipping to around 6 million by its final run (from 20 million at its peak), and the show ultimately wasn’t recommissioned after 2018. 

So he went to the streaming platforms. 

His new show, The Next Act – a behind-the-scenes talent series following the formation, development, and launch of a pop boy band – came out on Netflix last month. A younger, Gen-Z audience showed up, and the series debuted in Netflix’s top three.

While it’s been reported that the show is a “rehashing of The X Factor for the billionth time” it misses the point that more & more linear TV shows will attempt to ‘Netflix-ize.’  Simon is a divisive, well-known figure with a pre-built brand. The show concept has worked for several decades across both sides of the Atlantic. All this gets leveraged & transferred, with some new packaging alongside being formatted in a bespoke way for how audiences today consume content. It makes perfect sense. 

We’re going to see more traditionally proven linear TV concepts, combined with some creative adaptation, become relevant again as they find their way onto streaming platforms. Sport, news, comedy panels, breakfast shows, live cooking, award ceremonies, and chat shows will all follow the same path.

The data shows it: The creator economy is becoming the new Hollywood. 

Individuals are becoming content power-houses commanding attention & cultural relevance that now rivals traditional media. What was once reserved for studios with large-scale productions and billion-dollar balance sheets is available for everyone. 

Media influence is moving from institutions to individuals who understand attention and audience trust – and the gap between “creator” and “studio” is disappearing.

For the last 50 years, TV shows were commissioned around an idea or existing IP. Then the right host or star was cast to fit the format.

That model is flipping.

Now, the individual comes first – and the idea is built around them.

Netflix has just announced one of its first podcast originals, built around Pete Davidson. 

Last month, it was announced that Claudia Winkleman is getting her own chat show on the BBC.

For the last decade, this has been the default in self-owned distribution – podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters. The creator and individual were very much the IP.

But now traditional media is catching up. 

Individuals are becoming the centre point of mainstream shows.

In 2026 your content is about judgment, taste, lived experience, and the ability to articulate why you think the way you do. The bar has shifted from “can you create?” to “can you create something only you could create?” In a world of AI-generated content, context, specificity, depth, scars, perspective and belief are what cut through – and that’s where the next wave of real creators will win.

Are you focused on producing more content… or better ideas, clearer thinking, and standing for something? 

Image credit: Adam Mosseri

Over the weekend, I watched an interesting TikTok that explained how red carpets are now full of influencers instead of experienced reporters. These influencers' sole intention is to fish for viral moments – anything that might spike views on Instagram – with zero expectation that they’ve engaged in the film, researched or prepared compelling questions. What’s more, the people in charge are perfectly happy with this setup – as long as the short-form clips generate superficial numbers. 

We’re prioritizing attention over trust.  
We’re overly rewarding views. 

But why? 

Podcasts are the same – instead of being built around thoughtful, critical conversations – where you pressure-test ideas and interrogate evidence – shows are increasingly engineered backwards from viral moments on Instagram and TikTok. Resulting in soundbites that lack evidence, and contain deliberately polarizing takes to spark a reaction. 

I see leaders and well-known entrepreneurs on LinkedIn play the same game – optimizing for clicks, feel-good content and mass engagement. Taking their impressive multi-decade career and compressing it into recycled frameworks and carousel templates that “perform well.”  At Triangle, we do the opposite. Our focus is on turning leaders into subject matter experts with the intention to build long-term authority with the people who buy, hire, invest, or partner. Because, in a world of people high-jacking your attention and surface-level commentary – depth, context & detail are now the way to stand out. And our data shows this leads to significantly better commercial outcomes. 

We’ve lost sight of the point of content. We’ve blurred the lines between being visible and being credible. As a culture, we’ve become so blinded by attention that we’ve lost sight of our true goals. 

What's your take?

I sat down with Jae Oh, who leads LinkedIn’s ads measurement, formats, and experimentation teams. We talked about:

1. Why ROI is the right metric. But not CPMs, or clicks. Real ROI answers one question: how did marketing dollars translate into growth?

2. The easiest metrics are often the least useful: Cheap impressions look good on slides, but they collapse the moment you’re asked: “How much revenue did this drive?”

3. Marketers lose budget because they speak the wrong language: CFOs don’t think in campaigns and sales leaders don’t think in reach. They think in pipeline, accounts, and revenue – and marketing has to translate into that world.

4. Authority starts with trust – and trust starts with value: People give attention to brands that help them make better decisions. That attention compounds into influence.

5. ‘Brand vs demand’ is a false divide: Buyers don’t experience two journeys; they experience one continuous one. There should be one system. 

6. B2B buying journeys are long (≈211 days): Which means your first message has to remain true all the way to purchase. Consistency builds credibility. 

7. Vanity metrics create false confidence: Great reach, great CPMs, zero impact – if you’re talking to the wrong accounts.

8. The biggest performance unlock is alignment: Brand teams and demand teams chasing different account lists guarantees inefficiency. Focus on shared targets, shared narrative, and shared accountability.

9. Most “measurement problems” are actually organisational ones: When teams don’t sit in the same room, they optimise for different outcomes.

10. Incrementality is what secures budgets: Not activity or scale. Instead, proof that marketing moved the business forward.


If you’re a B2B marketer – this video is for you! 

(Save this and share it with your team)

New York is booked 🇺🇸

Feb 28 – March 4.

As Triangle continues to grow in the US – I’m spending more time out meeting clients, running mini content shoots, and lots of coffees with CEO’s who want to communicate their mission & story with the world in a way that generates demand! 

Here’s what’s on the agenda: 

– visiting LinkedIn HQ 

– in-person shoot with a healthtech client that's reshaping access to care in America 

– and in a series of conversations with teams selling into US enterprise buyers

Between those, I'm carving out time for a handful of informal conversations.

If you're in NYC and building something ambitious – founder, exec, creator, leader – reach out. I'll share what we're learning from working with 30+ clients: what's driving their pipeline and what's cutting through on LinkedIn right now.

If you're around, let’s meet! Drop me a message or email matt@mattswain.com

3 principles for CEO content we're taken into 2026: 

1. Originality 

When people are consuming content, they’re now rightly asking “could this have been generated by an LLM.” Most content still starts externally: GPT search, topics, trends, formats – and tries to bolt a perspective on top. At Triangle, we do the reverse. We start with raw thought: half-formed beliefs, internal tensions, difficult decisions, and patterns noticed over years of experience. That shifts the challenge from writing to ‘extraction’ – and then translating scattered ideas into language and compressing lived experience into a few hundred words. It’s hard work, which is exactly why most people default to the easy option.

2. Editorial writing > social copywriting 

Everyone focuses on proven hooks, algorithm tricks and ‘easy-to-read’ overly optimized formatting. We’re doing the opposite. Moving towards highly researched content pieces backed with data that are journalist-quality – meaning opinionated, genuinely interesting pieces on culturally relevant topics. Our goal is to create truly engaging content, as we know the distribution will take care of itself. High-quality writing preserves the depth and nuance of your ideas, and positions you as someone who’s credible and thinks deeply.

3. Specifics

Linked to both points above, we’re going deeper into specifics. That means naming real trade-offs, important commercial constraints, the options rejected, and the second-order consequences that weren’t obvious at the time. It means zooming into moments – the meeting where the call changed, the data point that broke the narrative, the uncomfortable tension, the reasoning. Specifics signal lived experience and raise the stakes of the insight. The more precise the content, the more uncopyable it becomes – and that’s where trust is built.


What are you focusing on with your content in 2026?

A thought about AI & talent:

The conversation around AI and automation often assumes a blanket condition that all people are the same. In reality, the top 10% performers in every industry operate in a different tier and should never worry about finding a role. 

The world will continue to automate away the average. But businesses will continue to pay a high premium to work with the very best talent. In an AI world, A-players will become increasingly in-demand and sought-after as they become highly leveraged by AI.

Meaning if you’re an A-player who deeply thinks about their work, uses “human compute,” and operates as a critical and strategic thinker, you’ll have greater opportunities in your working life over the next 10 years - not less. Because winners want to work with other winners and understand the energetic connection and momentum that comes from working alongside exceptional people.

Avatar is a perfect example of what content can be in 2026: 

The franchise is all about experience, immersion, bringing audiences into a universe that they’re invested in and want to keep returning to. 

We’re living in a TikTok-obsessed world, optimized for speed, novelty, and constant refresh. Attention is fragmented, patience supposedly gone. And yet Avatar sits at the opposite extreme: three films, the third running 3.5 hours, released years apart – and still drawing global audiences in the hundreds of millions. A timely reminder that when something is genuinely world-class, people will go to great lengths to engage with it.

In the marketing landscape today, everyone is concentrated on quick wins and cheap attention. But the winners know the real game is stickiness; world-building; defining your IP; building an ecosystem; universe expansion; repeatable engagement. 

It’s about building something people want to return to, invest in, and feel part of. Something that rewards attention rather than demands it. 

A reminder for all of us who work in social, content & marketing – focus on creating something amazing that people want to come back to, over & over again.

January has been a busy start to 2026 for Triangle: 

– Over the past month, our partnership content with LinkedIn reached 1,000,000 people – including my takeaways from B2Believe and a conversation with Jae Oh, Head of Ads at LinkedIn.

– We signed 4 new clients – from health-tech, digital printing, CTO advisor with 30+ years of experience in tech and procurement AI company – all with the same underlying goal: using LinkedIn to open senior-level buyer conversations.

– Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Andrew Monu at LinkedIn HQ, sharing more about the work we’re doing to build thought leadership in complex industries. 

– We expanded the team – bringing on an incredible LinkedIn copyeditor, executive advisor with 30+ years of experience running marketing agencies, and have x2 Content Manager roles we’re interviewing for. 

– Finishing the month with record-breaking revenue – a sign we’re moving in the right direction! 

– Our New York presence continues to grow – with 2 new clients based there kicking off this month and an in-person trip planned to spend time with clients and partners.

– A few client wins worth calling out: One of our Harvard professor clients generated 723,280 views; I caught up with a client this week who said he had $500k in new pipeline from our work – testament to our LinkedIn ecosystem approach. 

None of this came easily.

January was long days, five-hour stretches of back-to-back calls, thousands of Slack messages, kick-offs, iterations, and decisions. But ending the first month of the year on a high!

For the first time, a bi-partisan bill is recognizing creators as workers, small business owners who are “building the culture and economy we rely on” – not just 'creating content.'

What Khanna’s doing isn’t just “protecting creators.” It’s the government publicly admitting that creators are no longer a side-hustle category – they’re a meaningful economic contributor and an increasingly important source of information. Especially given that more than 10 million Americans now identify as creators.

The creator economy is growing up — and institutions are starting to catch up!

Lester Chng

Cyber CEOs Brand Strategist. I build your brand as you build your business. | Senior Cybersecurity Advisor | Author | Naval Officer | CISSP | 🇨🇦🇸🇬 |

You head a leading cybersecurity firm.
But your online presence doesn't reflect it.

In fact, being invisible is damaging. 

You understand the power of thought leadership.
You know LinkedIn shapes deal flow and adds credibility in the industry.
You just don’t have the cycles (or the copy) to share your expertise and experience.

You have stories worth telling.

The insights from being in the trenches.
The deep conversations with your ace teams.
The hard discussions with your clients. 

Don’t let this wisdom go to waste.

That’s where I come in.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How we work together.

Profile & Positioning
=> Rebuild your LinkedIn profile so visitors see industry authority, not “another vendor.”

Content engine
=> Ghostwritten posts that leverage your insights and expertise into engaging LinkedIn posts. 

Outreach campaign
=> Targeted DM campaigns and audience-building strategies that build your authority and land you on podcasts and conference stages.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You focus on growing your firm and protecting your clients.
And we will ensure the industry, clients, prospects, and investors can’t ignore it.

Let’s build the personal brand that commands the cybersecurity conversation and drives business.


Worked with global client portfolio 
- MSPs
- MSSPs
- Agentic AI SOC
- AI-powered GRC 
- Operational Resilience 

Senior Advisor, Financial Crimes Unit Exercises. BMO Fusion Centre

Execution of Financial Crimes Unit Exercise and Drill Program
• Design and execution of exercises and drills to operationalize the Financial Crimes Unit Fusion Centre
• Scenario creation and exercise execution for Information Security, Enterprise Fraud Management, Physical Security, and Global Crisis and Continuity Management teams 
• Providing effective challenge of incident response readiness through exercise observation
• Execution of enterprise-wide Purple Team Exercise


Cybersecurity Exercises: Purple Team, Ransomware, DDoS, Malware, Data Corruption, Data Breach, 3rd Party Incidents
Fraud Exercises: ATOs, Attack on Payment systems, Business Email Compromise, PII Breach
Physical Security Exercise: Active Assailant, Civil Unrest, Bomb Threats
Crisis Exercises: Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity, Operational Resilience, Fire Incidents, Natural Disasters, Utilities Disruption

Welcome to yr cyber flight simulator. 

I promise I won’t make u cry. 

The Cyber Range has been a faithful workhorse of Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Incident response professionals, IT teams, municipal leaders, law enforcement officers, veterans, and foreign partners have gone through their paces at the range. 

Has yr team seen what a cyber incident looks like?

Have they been in the hot seat, trying to make sense of what’s happening and needing to coordinate and prioritise actions?

Have they been given the rigor of training to sharpen their instinct, rehearsal their articulation, and coordinate competitions priorities?

This is your cyber flight simulator. 

Step in and see what happens when the rubber hits the road. 

Or are you going to take the risk and wait for a real incident to find out?

Good luck. 
Godspeed. 


P.S 
Please follow Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

We have been delivering exciting programs to individuals and organizations for years and have shaped Canadian’s Cyber Ecosystem. 

It’s going to be an eventful year. 

Follow + try to keep up w the Catalyst.

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I once received AAR feedback from an executive that changed how I view these "mundane" reports.

After-action reports are very important to the success of an exercise program. Without it, there is no chance of leadership buy-in, and soon the program will fizzle out.

These are typical uses/benefits of an AAR.

• capture lessons learned
• provide recap of proceedings
• serve as evidence for risk/auditors
• feeds into enterprise-wide action item register

On this occasion, I drafted the AAR for a fraud-related exercise. It involved many operational teams including executive involvement. The AAR was signed and sent.

One feedback from an executive stood out.

"It had alot of detail, but I don't know if it was a success".

That struck me. We just missed an opportunity.

An opportunity to highlight:
• the alignment with the overall security program
• the collaboration involved to run the exercise
• the advancement in teamwork 
• the reduction of risk

Include a clear story and highlight the win in your AAR.

Don't take these exercises and artefacts for granted.
Each event builds confidence, familiarity, and resilience.
Don't let it go unnoticed; give it its due credit.

P.S Have you seen AARs put to good use?

Most cyber CEOs think LinkedIn is about “posting more.”

It’s about posting with a positioning equation:
Authority + Trust + Leads

Don't start without a clear content strategy.

Here’s the simple way to build your content calendar.

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆
1. Build authority so you become the obvious expert.
Authority is when your audience says,
“This person knows the space.”

Teach one niche concept per post (one takeaway).

Share your lived experienced not conceptual ones.

Break down “why this fails” in real environments.

Add proof when possible:
Lessons, patterns, results, before/after.
Authority posts go deep in your niche.
More “results, insights, wisdom.” Less "frameworks"

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁
2. Build trust so people believe in what you stand for.
Trust is when your audience says,
“I’d take a meeting with them.”
It comes from clarity and consistency, not hype.

Show how you think, how you communicate risk, and how you make tradeoffs under constraints. Use stories, principles, and honest calls on what you will and won’t do. When people understand how you deal with situations, they start to trust your delivery.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀
3. Generate leads without sounding salesy.

Direct: a clear CTA after you have earned it.

Indirect: a walkthrough of what it is like working w you.

Remove friction:
scope, timeline, roles involved, what success looks like.

Make it obvious you solve this specific problem for this specific buyer. Lead posts can be direct or indirect, and “walk-through” posts remove buying friction fast.

If you want a repeatable content calendar, stop brainstorming topics.

P.S Do you start writing without a plan?

Thanks Timothy Martens for prompt inspiration.

And Gerald Auger, Ph.D. + Mike Miller
for the reminder to include an image =)

New year brings exciting new goals.

But appreciate today as u drive tmr. 

- I only have 1 long holiday a year
- I wish for more excitement
- I live in a small townhouse
- I want to invest more
- I drive an old car

- I have a car
- I have $ to invest
- I have my little home
- I am thankful for stability
- I can afford to travel overseas

Don't forget to cherish what you have as your pursue your big goals. 

P.S. What are things that we shouldn't take for granted?

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bootcamp

Sign up here:
https://catalystcorporatetraining.classe365.com/form/view/AutoBootCamp?_gl=1*9rfqtg*_ga*MTQ4NTczNDM0MC4xNjk4MjQxODM1*_ga_YYXBQS6S5Q*MTcwNzgzMzEyNi4xODEuMS4xNzA3ODMzMTYwLjI2LjAuMA

How was your first full week at work?

This will happen if you don't intervene.

The Rule of the First 5 Days is a stock market indicator that states that if the market performs positively in the first 5 trading days of the year, there is a high probability that the markets will end the year positively.

Historical probabilities are between 69 - 84%.

Some of the reasons are:
Early Positioning
Investor Sentiment
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy


Bringing it back to how was your first week back at work?

Busy?
Stressed?
Juggling priorities?

Chances are if you don't make any changes, this will be how your year pans out.


If you had a great week, keep at it!

If not, time to review:
- the triggers
- the pain points
- the larger picture
- the longer term goals

Good luck for week 2!

P.S Dow has best 5-day start to year since 2006!

Time is flying by. Jan is almost over. 

This is 1 thing I miss from 10 years ago. 


My lucious hair that would give me a chance at K-pop auditions. 

Just kidding. I stand no chance. 



What do u miss from 10 years ago?




Thanks sir Chris Chia for taking this pic and sending it again to me recently!

Leader, Coach, Facilitator

If your cyber exercise doesn't make you sweat,

why do you call it an exercise?

Too many teams are taking a stroll during tabletop exercises. They don't prepare in advance, they talk in circles, and frankly take it too lightly.

I have seen teams prepare extensively for exercises.

They relook their process and hold internal preparation meetings to validate if it still makes sense. They ask tough questions internally and the leaders confirm if their assumptions about alternatives, recovery times, capabilities, and priorities are still accurate.

The best teams go in well-prepared and respond confidently. This is not just for show. This is an opportunity where leadership teams have recognized the importance of readiness and set aside protected time to be intentional about preparation. 

This only happens if the exercise program is well-socialized.
When the experience and outputs are understood.
And the leadership is serious about training.

Otherwise, what's the point?
Check a box? It's 2026, do better.

Your next Cyber TTX will be miles better with this small tweak. 

Don’t rush the start of the exercise. 

I know you have been planning it for months. Your adrenaline is pumping and you assume the participants are chomping at the bit to begin. 

But don’t neglect the pre ex brief. 

Here’s why it matters. 

1. Not everyone is familiar w exercises

Some have never participated in one. 
Others can’t remember what it’s like. 
1 or 2 even have weird assumptions. 

2. Remind everyone of the Why

The stakeholders are not equally invested in the exercise or outcome. Half are wondering why they are there. 

3. A good start is important

Some exercises that start poorly can result in minutes of waffling, rabbit holes or just straight up disengagement. 

4. Questions forces a buy-in

Facilitate a short quiz or discussion. 
This makes participants feel involved and helps them warm up as well. 

5. Simple introductions helps

You will be surprised how often teams don’t know each other or what role they play in an incident. 
Take time to do a roundtable intro. 

6. Sponsor emphasis 

Allow the exercise sponsor to speak. 
This reiterates the investment, focus, and important of the exercise. 

7. Calms your nerves

Address concerns before an exercise can help mitigate against difficult scenarios such as wrong expectations and challenging stakeholders. 
There will also be disruption but touching on some issues early helps. 

The next time you plan yr exercise. 
Spend abit more time on the start. 
It will be worth it. 

P.S any other exercise faux pax?

What most Cyber CEOs post on LinkedIn 
 
- repost their company's post 
- post about the latest hack 
- random AI blog 
 
What should Cyber CEOs post on LinkedIn 
 
- customer success stories 
- lessons learned about your business 
- strong opinion about industry issues 
 
You are the leader. 
 
Lead by example. 
 
Here are more post ideas. 

Subject Matter Expertise
- insights
- pain-points
- transformation
- trends + opinion
- counter-trends
- mistakes you have seen others made

Trust
- client success stories
- decision-making dilemmas
- framework for decision-making 
- social proof
- results

Character
- guiding principles
- values
- client examples
- stories of resilience
- leadership

Authenticity
- challenges that excite you
- lessons learned
- challenges that you overcame
- best advice that you received

Majority of my bosses in Cybersecurity have been female.

Yet female only make up 21% of the cyber workforce.

I interviewed Sarah to get her insights on Women in Cyber.

Sarah is a certified coach, facilitator, and founder of the Human Skills Leadership Lab, a unique and customizable program that helps professionals develop the human skills (or ‘soft skills’) required for effective leadership in the modern workplace. 


𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺

1. When you think about women leading in cybersecurity, what have you noticed most often in how they lead, communicate, or navigate their roles?

They’re brilliant and discerning. They carry a full plate - navigating complex decisions and significant risk - and still, they lead with calm authority, thoughtfulness and integrity. They think deeply about their teams, their organizations, their families, and the broader systems. They’re the kind of leaders the world needs more of.


2. As you look ahead to the Women in Cyber Leadership Program in Malaysia with the Catalyst, what aspects of the program are you most curious or energized about?
   
After 4 years collaborating with the Catalyst to support cyber leaders from across Canada, I’m incredibly excited to connect with cyber leaders from 7 countries across ASEAN. It will be thrilling to be part of the conversation as these women come together to learn from and with each other.

 

If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Sarah Lang (MA, PCC, CPCC). She is a human skills expert, a Leadership in Communication Skills Coach, and has trained leaders from leading corporations and brands.

P.S. How are companies promoting diversity?

Soft Skills Expert • Certified Leadership & Public Speaking Coach & Facilitator • Program Design and Instruction @ U Toronto, KPMG, ESRI, Rogers • I help leaders transform confidence into connection and influence.

I trained Principle Warfare Officers. 

We assessed them on 3 attributes. 

The Principle Warfare Officer (PWO) was responsible for fighting the ship. 

This included the deployment of weapons, manoeuvres, and in many cases the control of multiple ships and aircraft to fulfil a mission. 

These are the 3 attributes. 

Knowledge 
- know the procedures 
- know the asset capabilities
- know the adversary’s capabilities 
- know the ever changing situation 

Command and control
- clarity of situation  
- clarity of instruction 
- clarity of orchestration

Creativity 
- demonstrates intuition 
- demonstrates flexibility 
- demonstrates adaptability 


In cybersecurity operations,

We assess
.
.
.
.
.

Hope you get my point. 

Happy training.

Most cyber CEOs aren’t afraid to post.
They’re afraid to be misunderstood.

And 19 other myths of writing on LinkedIn. 

 1. “I’ll get DMs from random people and waste time.”
 2. “If I post about a niche topic, it’ll limit my market.”
 3. “I should wait until my messaging is perfect.”
 4. “I’ll get fact-checked and embarrassed.”
 5. “I’ll be judged by peers in the industry.”
 6. “Clients will think I’m wasting time.”
 7. “I’m not a ‘social media' person.’”
 8. “I need a hot take every time.”
 9. “I’ll look like I’m bragging.”
10. “My team will cringe.”
11. “I need perfect writing.”
12. “People will think I’m selling.”
13. “I’ll attract trolls or get dragged.”
14. “I’ll upset a partner/vendor/client.”
15. “My competitors will copy my ideas.
16. “I’m not ‘big enough’ to have opinions.”
17. “If I post, I’m giving away the secret sauce.”
18. “Need to sound super technical to be credible.”
19. “If engagement is low, it means I’m bad at this.” 

P.S which is your fav? Mine is #8  🔥

I reviewed the LinkedIn headlines of 23 Cyber CEOs.

Not 1 mentioned these important aspects.

LinkedIn headlines are your first impression.
More precisely, the first 57 characters matter.

They are seen:
• on your profile
• during connection requests
• on the main feed via your posts
• in the comments with every response


I help [buyer] achieve [outcome] without [pain].

None of the CEOs mentioned buyer, outcome, or pain.

How would you write your headline?



[9]
CEO at [Company]
CEO at [Company]
CEO at [Company]
Founder/CEO at [Company]
Founder and CEO of [Company]
Founder and CEO at [Company]
Co-Founder & CEO at [Company]
Co-Founder & CEO at [Company]
CEO & Co-founder at [Company] - We are hiring!

[7]
CEO at [Company]| Autonomous SOC
CEO @ [Company]- Enterprise Hyper-Automation
Co-founder & CEO at [Company]| AI for Security Operations
Co-founder and CEO @ [Company] | Security Operations, at scale
Co-Founder/CEO at [Company]| Outpace attackers with agentic AI SOC Analysts
CEO @ [Company]| Executive | Entrepreneur | Revolutionizing the SOC with AI
Founder, CEO @ [Company] Autonomous SecOps & Investigation Platform with Hyperautomation.


[7]
Hiring misfits to solve security!
Tech Entrepreneur, investor and board member.
CEO at [Company] and Author of [Book] available now!
Building Your AI Knowledge Engine for Security Operations. Hiring!
Building great teams to execute on very difficult engineering problems
Tech Founder & Executive. Defender. Nation-state Hacker. Medal of Honor Recipient. Public speaker.
Empowering businesses: ChatGPT training, strategizing AI implementation, and offering tailored LLM and AI solutions for process automation.

AI tools are being used in yr org. 
Have your IR plans kept up?
Here are 4 changes to make. 

Implementing AI tools have left security team scrambling over the last couple of years to ensure it is securely deployed and monitored. 

Your incident response plans may have be neglected in the process. 

Consider these updates. 

1. Include AI related incidents 

- sensitive data exposure
- supply chain vulnerabilities 
- unauthorised model changes 

Don’t assume your plan is a catchall. 
AI asset owners don’t fully understand the security risks. 

2. Validate asset + contact list

- AI asset owners 
- data architects r crucial
- most of these folks r probably new

These AI gurus have been heads down focused on speed on implementation. They probably can’t spell cyber if u meet them for the first time on an incident call. 

3. AI specific containment

- understand the impacts 
- ask if traditional options will work

It’s going to get more complex as AI tools integrate across enterprise. It may soon become so entrenched that disabling it is a non option. 

4. Logs and investigation 

- review if current threshold is valid
- check on logs before/after go-live

You will learn to love “black boxes” and need to navigate round them. 


P.S what other areas to add?

2.

Incident response plans only play a small part in cyber resilience. 

“Do you have an IR plan?”

Is probably one of the most common question that consultants and experts use to gauge a company’s resilience. 

Many teams are happy to tick yes. 

But having a plan is merely the start. 

Here’s why:
- high turnover of staff
- fast pace of tech change
- lots of assumptions remain  
- plans get outdated due to new tech 
- teams don’t use the playbooks/plans
- primary teams hardly get trained
- secondary teams ignored 
- random cyber exercises 
- no training plan

There is barely any focus on training. 

7 men squads in the military get more training time and resources than multi-million dollar cyber defence teams protecting our financial ecosystem. 

Will having a plan alone save you?

And how long are you going to assumed your team is ready?

P.S the world is still a vulnerable place

Human skills training will unlock your career potential.

These are your advantages against AI... for now.

I interviewed Sarah to get her insights on human skills.

Sarah is a certified coach, facilitator, and founder of the Human Skills Leadership Lab, a unique and customizable program that helps professionals develop the human skills (or ‘soft skills’) required for effective leadership in the modern workplace. 


𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

1. What are some of the key human skills that will unlock an individual’s potential in the workplace?
   
First: self-awareness, because awareness always precedes change. From there, the skills of emotional intelligence, listening and clear communication. These will help you improve your relationships and increase your influence and impact.


2. Were there pivotal moments from your own experience or from those that you coached that reaffirm that Human Skills Training is a vital part of career development?

I’m reminded of this everyday, given how easy it is to outsource one’s thinking, ideas, and voice to AI. We’re constantly pitched the benefits of efficiency, when really it’s our unique essence as a human that makes us compelling. Human skills will always be vital to professional and personal development.  


If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Sarah Lang (MA, PCC, CPCC). She is a human skills expert, a Leadership in Communication Skills Coach, and has trained leaders from leading corporations and brands.

P.S. Are you worried about AI impacting yr career?

5 LinkedIn posts that should be part of your pre-RSAC marketing plan. 

If your Head of Marketing is not bugging you to start posting on LinkedIn before RSAC, ask them why?

Even better if they tell u what to post. 

Here’s 5 posts that I will write. 

“Heading to RSAC next week. Here’s the one question I’m asking every CISO I meet.”

“One year ago, [Client Type] was struggling with [Specific Problem]. Here’s what changed.”

“Everyone’s talking about [Trending Topic] at RSA. Here’s what they’re missing.”

“We’re bringing [Specific Thing] to RSA. Here’s why we built it.”

“I have 8 meeting slots open during RSA. Here’s who I wld love to talk to.”

_____________

Here’s 3 reasons why you shld post. 


REASON 1: 
Conferences are chaotic. 

This gives you a chance to cut through the noise.  

REASON 2: 
Post-Conference follow-up success is built upon pre-conference interaction.  

Unless you are a magician and can engage random folks on the floor. 

REASON 3: 
Yr competitors are already doing so. 

Silence = Falling Behind

You don’t want to waste all that $$$$

———————

No time to write?
Overwhelmed by the preparation?
Rather spend time on client demos?

Let’s work together and take that off your plate.

LinkedIn posts can be complicated.  

I simplify it by 3-2-1 method. 

3 types of posts 
- authority 
- leads 
- trust

Cycle this through the week. 

2 content pillars
- cybersecurity exercises
- LinkedIn copywriting 

Alternate pillars per day. 

1 target audience per post

Focus on 1 reader. 


What’s your 3-2-1?
⬇️

People judge within 7 seconds of opening yr mouth.

That's why I still get nervous before every presentation.

I interviewed Sarah Lang to get her insights on public speaking and establishing leadership presence.

Sarah is a certified coach, facilitator, and founder of the Human Skills Leadership Lab, a unique and customizable program that helps professionals develop the human skills (or ‘soft skills’) required for effective leadership in the modern workplace. 


𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

1. How would you explain what leadership presence is for those looking to grow in their career?
   
Leadership presence is your ability to stay grounded and intentional in all moments - including when you’re under pressure. In a society driven by distraction and dopamine hits, leaders who embody this type of presence, steadiness and self-trust stand out.  


2. What are some ways to practice being more grounded and present?

• Spend time on analogue hobbies that anchor you to the physical world - art, books, gardening, cooking, etc.
• Practice mono-tasking on purpose.
• Try slowing down your communication - listening, speaking, pausing, saying less.
• Regulate your nervous system with breathwork, yoga or grounding activities.
• Carve out daily moments to pause and transition between meetings and events


3. Presenting to an audience is a real fear for many professionals. Do you have a couple of tips that you usually teach?
   
First, get crystal-clear on what you’re trying to say and why it matters to your audience. Then, practice your vocal and non-verbal delivery to make sure you sound like you care about what you’re saying! I also teach simple ways to work with nerves rather than fight them so speakers can stay connected to themselves and their audience.
 

If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Sarah Lang (MA, PCC, CPCC). She is a human skills expert, a Leadership in Communication Skills Coach, and has trained leaders from leading corporations and brands.

P.S. What's the best advice u received on public speaking?

Most Cyber CEOs post randomly and wonder why LinkedIn isn't working.
They write when inspiration strikes.
They share whatever feels right in the moment.
They post about the latest breach one day, their product the next, then go silent for weeks.

The result? Confusion. Zero traction. Wasted effort.

Here's what you should be doing instead:
Plan your content around 3 post types.

1. Authority posts
This is where you demonstrate expertise.
Share insights from client engagements. Dive deep into problems you're solving. Break down complex security concepts.

Examples:
"5 issues all enterprises face with AI governance"
"How we helped Company X reduce risk by 40%"
"The biggest misconception about Zero Trust"

These posts establish you as the expert in your niche.

2. Trust posts
This is where you build relationships.
Share your founder journey. Talk about team culture. Reveal the challenges you've overcome.

Examples:
"Why we started this company in 2019"
"The toughest decision I made as CEO"
"What our clients don't see behind the scenes"

These posts show the human behind the solution.

3. Lead posts
This is where you attract prospects.
Address pain points directly. Show transformation. Make your solution crystal clear.

Examples:
"Overwhelmed with compliance requirements?"
"How we saved a client 2000 hours per year"
"Is your board asking about AI risks?"

These posts turn readers into conversations.

Now here's the system:

Mon: Authority post
Wed: Trust post
Fri: Lead post

Repeat this for 6 months minimum.
Map out topics under each category. 
Populate your calendar. 

Never start from a blank page again.

Most cyber CEOs will read this and do nothing.

They'll keep posting randomly.
They'll keep getting zero results.
Don't be most CEOs.

Plan your content. Execute consistently. 
P.S. What type of post do you struggle with most?

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