Heather Barnhart, Head of Faculty at SANS Institute, on leadership, inclusion, and real world experiences that shaped her personal and professional growth.
As part of Techitup Middle East’s International Women’s Day 2026 Leadership Series, we spotlight women leaders shaping the future of technology across the region. In this feature, Heather Barnhart shares her professional journey, leadership insights, and advice for women in tech.
We are entering a defining AI-driven era. How is AI changing leadership expectations for women in tech?
Heather Barnhart: AI today is capable to identify leadership gaps at speed. In a AI-driven era, leaders will have to understand technology well to ask the right hitting questions, identify the gaps, and make judgement, when the tool gets things wrong.
For women in technology, this is an opportunity. Many of us have built our credibility by having to prove ourselves repeatedly. This process forced us to learn the details and strengthen the foundation. In today’s AI world, depth of this foundation is an asset.
What is one structural barrier that still needs to change for women to scale into more C-level and board positions in tech?
Heather Barnhart: I believe for women to scale into more C-level and board positions in tech, sponsorship is key than mentorship. I have seen incredibly capable women overlooked just because no one was actively advocating for them.
Rather than focusing on diverse mentoring programmes, organisations need to bring a culture where senior leaders are held accountable for sponsoring women into high visibility roles.
Was there a defining moment in your career that changed your trajectory?
Heather Barnhart: Working on cases involving crimes against children, homicides, counter-terrorism, I saw firsthand that what I pulled from a phone or a hard drive could put a dangerous person behind bars or exonerate someone wrongly accused. That weight never left me.
Once you know your work has that kind of real-world impact, you stop thinking about it as a job and start thinking about it as a responsibility. Everything I have done since, including building courses at SANS, came from wanting more people to have that same capability.
What leadership trait has helped you the most in navigating the tech industry?
Heather Barnhart: Being willing to say I was wrong. I have made mistakes in my career and I talk about them publicly. In a field like digital forensics, where your findings can affect someone’s freedom, the worst thing you can do is let ego get in the way of accuracy.
The same is true in leadership. If you build a culture where admitting mistakes is a weakness, you end up with a team that hides problems instead of solving them. Being honest about what I got wrong has built more trust than any credential I have ever earned.
What practical advice would you give young women entering the AI and digital economy today?
Heather Barnhart: Fundamentals are important, not just tools. Tools will keep changing. If you only know how to use the software, you will be lost the moment it breaks or gets replaced. Understand the why behind what you are doing.
Also, this field moves fast and it is impossible to know everything. Do not let that intimidate you into staying quiet. Ask questions, especially the ones you think sound basic, because usually half the room has the same question and no one is asking it. And find people who will advocate for you, not just advise you.
The difference between those two things will shape your career more than any certification ever will.
This interview is part of the Techitup Middle East IWD 2026 Leadership Series, for women leaders who continue to accelerate innovation, champion diversity, and redefine the technology ecosystem across the Middle East and beyond.
