Few leaders can say they’ve stood at the intersection of national security, military service, and tech entrepreneurship. Mrs. Renata C. Spinks-McNeal has lived it. She enlisted in the Army at 18 and served her nation while mothering a son and twin daughters. Later, she tackled the layered demands of federal and defense leadership. She now leads a cutting-edge cybersecurity operations focused start-up. Looking at the arc of her career, we can say her journey is anything but conventional.
What unites each interval is a relentless pursuit of the mission. Whether executing orders on the battlefield, safeguarding U.S. interests on the global stage, or driving innovation in the private sector, her focus never wavered. Each transition demanded a recalibration of mindset, from rigid hierarchies to agile innovation, but her core values remained unshaken: integrity, resilience, and a drive to make a positive impact.
Mrs. Renata recalls her active-duty military years as an advanced and non-traditional phase of life, where discipline, hierarchy, and camaraderie were not just professional codes but survival mechanisms. Balancing deployment, stateside duty and detail rosters with bedtime stories and parent-teacher meetings, music lessons and practice/games and track meets for a son in three sports; she developed a rare capacity for grit under pressure while achieving amongst diverse and parallel competing priorities. In her federal leadership role, she used these experiences and operated easily with a global lens to make decisions that impacted national cybersecurity at scale and managed risk intelligently.
Today, as CEO of CyberSec International, the vocabulary may center around creativity, agility, customer-centricity, and rapid evolution. However, her inner directive hasn’t changed. What anchors her now, as then, is a steadfast belief in leading with integrity, providing critical technical capabilities, showing up resiliently, and delivering impact that goes beyond just an echo or soundbite. It resounds and is resolute.
The Trail She’s Blazing Now
Renata C. Spinks-McNeal has never been one to follow well-worn or unimpactful paths. Instead, she builds and creates in spaces where the road of evolution is met with resistance and often times stagnation. Currently, she’s blazing a trail focused on embedding cybersecurity into system life cycles, rather than bolting it on as an afterthought or taking shortcuts due to complexities and risk-based fears disguised as mission-criticality; creating a culture of data informed critical thinking, instinctive decision making and fundamental metrics. She’s leaning into executive education, workforce development, action-based deployment of emerging technology, and digital transformation as, for her, they all connect.
In a climate where every innovation opens the door to new risks, she believes cybersecurity must move just as fast and with just as much care. “I aim to protect not just the systems,” Mrs. Renata states, “but also provide support to the people and communities that rely on them.” She’s pushing for smarter adoption, stronger digital literacy, and shared responsibility. Why? Because the shift she’s ushering in ensures a safer, more secure digital future for everyone who depends on it, including our allies.
Cybersecurity That Protects People First
Cybersecurity has never been just about servers, bandwidth, packets, code or firewalls for this industry veteran. She considers it has always been deeply human. She often says, “We can’t win at this continual cyber warfare if we don’t prioritize the people and holistic nature of the effects of such personally and professionally.”
Although Mrs. Renata has her share of battle scars and breakthroughs, there’s one moment that continues to shape her perspective. During a red team mission on a national security system, her cybersecurity team uncovered several critical vulnerabilities. If left unaddressed, they could have led to the theft of highly sensitive information, jeopardizing operations and even putting lives at risk. By quickly escalating the findings to senior leaders and taking immediate action, they not only protected national security assets but also safeguarded identities, operators, and communities. For Mrs. Renata, it was a powerful reminder that cybersecurity protects people first and foremost and communicating informative and solution-based truth to power is a characteristic all successful leaders must have.
Beyond the Badge: Leadership That Outlasts the Title
Placed among the “Top 10 Women Executive Leaders to Watch in 2025,” Mrs. Renata depicts leadership not as a position but as an innate purpose and her personal responsibility. It must create an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute not just to organizational success but to serve the nation meaningfully. As an active social media contributor, she is grounded in one truth– the headlines and emojis will come and go, but what truly matters and endures is the legacy you build and the impact you have on the people you serve. What sets real impact apart, she says, is showing up, at the forefront and behind the scenes, exchanging ideas, sharing lessons, and lifting others with purpose, humility, and synergy; using technical rigor to continue operations and forward relevant movement.
As CEO of CyberSec International, her approach is deeply entrenched in shared purpose. One Team, One Fight, One Mission is more than a motto. It’s how she operates in a space where strategy and collaboration matter just as much as technical expertise. In the cybersecurity world, her true focus isn’t on outpacing other people. Instead, as Mrs. Renata puts it, “My only competitor is with 1 and 0’s on the keyboard focused on fighting and winning against a relentless set of adversaries continually seeking to annihilate our liberties, create economic mayhem and infringe on the civility of the American people and our allies.” Every day, she’s up against threats designed to compromise and exploit systems and ultimately decrease our nation’s lethality. That’s where she directs her energy, and shows up, fully accountable, quietly powerful, factually humble and deliberately aligned with these responsibilities she so honors.
Purpose That Outlives Profit
Rising Footsteps, Mrs. Renata’s not-for-profit, isn’t a passion project tucked into the margins of her résumé. Rather, it’s the heartbeat behind how she leads. She explains that the organization quietly but powerfully intersects with her commercial work by grounding it in social responsibility and a people-first mindset. Empowering underserviced voices through Rising Footsteps feels natural to her. The NPO mirrors the values she brings into every boardroom.
What keeps her going is the belief that real impact starts with individuals. Uplift a community, and change follows, economically, socially, and even technologically. She sees Rising Footsteps as both a calling and a foundation. It’s her way of proving that leadership ingrained in service can spark real, effective and enduring change.
Mentorship Without Gatekeeping
She’s earned her seat at the table and the go-to voice in the room. But for Mrs. Renata, that was never the finish line. Building new tables and expanding the reach of her influence has always mattered just as much. Her approach to mentorship and inclusive leadership, she says, begins with authenticity. It means actively dismantling blockades and making space for overlooked, misunderstood or quieted voices. Not just inviting others in and ushering their inclusivity but also redesigning the very structure of how leaders lead.
She believes perspective isn’t a catchline, it’s essential. That’s why she actively seeks out different lenses and lived experiences from others. There are moments, she adds, when the answer isn’t a larger table. It’s about embracing the pivot whether that is changing the location of those tables temporarily or permanently. That’s where her philosophy of “pivoting” comes in, a mindset she brings to every space where she nurtures talent, adopts new technology and strategies or shifts a stuck culture into positive forward- movement.
In a world still shaped by gatekeeping, Mrs. Renata focuses on minimizing negative ego from the equation for getting things done. She challenges the survivor’s mentality, where greed and competition breed. For this astute professional, mentorship is about synergy and a shared lift. When people feel seen, heard, and genuinely valued, something shifts. They don’t just participate. They create. They rise. They innovate.
Powered by Intellectual Curiosity, Grounded in Gratitude
What keeps Mrs. Renata on the edge of her seat? It’s the relentless march of technology and the seismic shifts that occur through it. She’s keenly staying abreast of the many advancements in artificial intelligence and the challenges faced. She also devours data analytics, blockchain, and cyber operations. As a leader whose career is marked by rare and inaugural achievements, her incredible journey of self-reinvention and continuous learning is the potent combination that ignites her drive and keeps her perpetually curious about what’s next. She affirms with resolve, “A grateful mindset powered by vigorous continuous learning is the foundation for everything.”
Where Cyber Meets Soul: Renata’s Creative Core
There’s a fascinating layer to Mrs. Renata the public hasn’t glimpsed yet: her unbridled passion for the arts. Think soulful singing, igniting creative writing, and captivating but relatable storytelling. She’s not just excited to share her journey through this platform; she’s ready to share her insights and experiences in a way that truly resonates and sparks inspiration not from tag lines but from authentic truths. For Mrs. Renata, writing is a powerful conduit, allowing her to forge deeper connections and convey the human core of cybersecurity, leadership, and every facet of her rich personal and professional life. Consider it both a wellspring of sharp advice and her personal form of therapy.
When asked if she could radically rewire one belief in the cybersecurity domain overnight, Mrs. Renata doesn’t hesitate. She’d shatter the myth that cybersecurity is only a technical problem. If she could flip the switch, she’d reframe the entire conversation, building a framework that treats cybersecurity as both an art and a science. Her approach is not limited to firewalls, code, endpoint security, analytics or identity management. Rather, it is about emphasizing critical thinking, deepening comprehension, championing relentless education, promoting sharp awareness, and sparking true collaboration—these most essential attributes that lead to critical decision making and action for securing, operating and defending national security assets, jewels and gems and our people.
More than a shift; it’s a reset. Because until people see themselves as part of the solution, no system is ever as secure as it could be. Change management, emergent technology adoption and usage, and culture – impact and effect all become much easier to implement when the human side isn’t treated like an afterthought. This is how you sustain and increase lethality.
Digital Liberation: Tech is the Tool, People are the Power
“Digital liberation means,” Mrs. Renata asserts, “harnessing the power of technology to empower individuals, institutions and communities, breaking free from limitations, and enabling innovation.” In this thrilling new chapter, she’s making digital liberation a living reality. She’s fiercely advocating faster access to technology, promoting digital literacy, and developing security included platforms and solutions.
For Renata, success in the digital realm is built by action, impact, and outcomes; not by handwaves and plans that never see real execution. Digital liberation cuts deeper than mere transformation; it’s the supreme power to disassemble even the most formidable problems. Yet, Mrs. Renata knows that success can’t be achieved by focusing solely on technology. It must start with the people. She drives this home, adding, “This is what I refer to as an ‘imperative.'”
What She’d Tell the Girl in Uniform
Looking back, this astute executive says she would tell her younger self just before stepping into uniform for the very first time to embrace every challenge as a chance to grow. She’d remind herself to forgive freely, learn constantly, and hold tight to her core values no matter what. One thing she wishes she had done earlier? Sought out mentors and built a support network that reflected the richness of cultural diversity around her.
There is also advice that Mrs. Renata would choose to ignore. Any push to tone herself down or conform to expectations that stripped away authenticity, she now sees as limiting. She would reject the idea that being “too much” is a flaw, especially in spaces where others project their discomfort or deceit.”
She’d impart this foundational truth: “It’s important to stay true to yourself, your vision, and your beliefs, but also recognize when you are in the company of those who are deceitful to themselves and others; even if it is you, they’ve made their target.” Her counsel to her younger self would be to use those unfortunate behaviors from others not as a setback but as a springboard for a radical pivot and change; acknowledging these experiences as examples of what not to do, and how not to lead. She’d tell her younger self always remember “you are too much always comes from those who are just not doing enough.”
Mrs. Renata would also tell her younger self to “Embrace the Pace,” pushing past procrastination and stagnation. She’d etch herself to work on confidence and create a resilient, relentless pursuit of connecting with the right individuals and organizations.
The Legacy She Hopes to Leave Behind
When asked how she hopes to be remembered two decades from now, Mrs. Renata’s answer is not the usual corporate jargon. She envisions someone picking up this very feature and seeing more than just a cybersecurity executive. She hopes they’ll see a best-selling author and podcast voice who made a meaningful mark defined by integrity, resilience, and an unshakable commitment to empowering others while safeguarding the nation she served.
More than her career path, she wants her legacy to reflect a life rooted in un-wavered integrity, unmatched resilience and consistently pursued purpose. One where she backed those around her, inspired people to chase their own definitions of greatness and broke new ground in technology and cybersecurity. If there’s one imprint she hopes lingers, it’s her spirit. With profound conviction, she concludes, “I’d like to be known to offer an infectious positive energy, filled with compassion and innovation and that I fueled digital innovation and forward-thinking technical liberties in some of the most unprecedented ways and in some of the most high-paced high-risk environments.”
Now we see how lasting history is made by leaders like Mrs. Renata, who pursue purpose with compassion, empower others, and spark digital transformation with an unyielding, compassionate drive. They blend mission with a people-first mindset that inspires, protects, and liberates.
