Students, parents, staff and alumni gathered for the final Careers and Pathways Breakfast of 2026, which focused on the exciting and rapidly evolving fields of information technology and cyber security.

Hosted by Victoria Spicer-Stewart, Head of Teaching and Learning – Digital Practice, the event featured Beaconhills alumni Deniz Molokov (Class of 2000), Chief Information Security Officer at Downer Group, and Paige Haines (Class of 2018), Capability, Training and Education Consultant at CyberCX.

Reflecting on his time as a Beaconhills student, Deniz shared how his interest in technology evolved into a career in cyber security, culminating in his current role leading a team of more than 150 people across Australia and New Zealand. He explained that people are at the centre of the work he does, with technology playing a critical role in keeping people, systems and infrastructure secure. He also challenged common misconceptions about cyber security careers by highlighting the broad range of opportunities available beyond technical roles.

Paige reflected on her pathway from a creative, arts-focused student to a career in cyber education, capability building and organisational culture. She also spoke about the value of networking, mentoring and community connections in building a successful career.

Both speakers discussed the challenges and rewards of an incident response, emerging trends in artificial intelligence and the future of cyber security.

During the Q&A, a Year 5 student’s question, “What is your best day in IT?” prompted smiles from the audience when Deniz replied, “I’m having my best day when nothing is going wrong.”

Thank you to Deniz and Paige for returning to Beaconhills to inspire our students.