Adelante · Hispanic Heritage Month 2026
Marcela Denniston
Senior Director, Head of Cyber Defense Operations and Engineering, NVIDIA
Technology chapter
Marcela Denniston started in military cyber operations, built and sold her own cybersecurity company, and now runs NVIDIA's cyber defense operations and engineering. Her argument is that a career built on learning through change, more than on mastering one technology, is what prepares a leader for the AI moment.
01What you're building
What are you building right now, and what does it make possible that wasn't possible before?
Right now, I’m focused on AI education and enablement through building an agentic SOC. We’re giving our teams the opportunity to learn AI by applying it to real security problems, experimenting with agents, and rethinking how cyber defense gets done.
We’re also working closely with partners like CrowdStrike to push innovation across the broader cybersecurity ecosystem. What this makes possible is bigger than automation. It’s creating a model where humans, AI, and industry partners learn and innovate together at a speed and scale we simply couldn’t before.
02What it took
What did it take to get here that people don't see?
It took a pretty unconventional path. I started in the military working in cyber operations, went on to help build national-scale security operations, became an entrepreneur and built and sold my own cybersecurity company, and then moved into leading cyber defense inside some of the world’s largest technology companies.
Along the way, I’ve had to repeatedly put myself in rooms where I didn’t have all the answers, learn new technologies quickly, build teams from scratch, and take risks before I knew exactly where they would lead.
I think that’s actually what prepared me for this moment in AI. My career has been less about mastering one technology and more about learning how to navigate change, build through uncertainty, and bring people along with me.
03Who carried you
Who carried you, and what did they teach you that you still use every week?
Different people carried me at different points. Leaders who took a chance on me before I was completely ready taught me to do the same for others. My teams taught me that the person closest to the problem often has the best answer, and that leadership is as much about listening as directing.
My daughters taught me resilience, perspective, and that success means very little if you lose yourself or the people you love along the way.
And there were people who simply opened a door, made an introduction, or said my name in a room I wasn’t in. I still use all of those lessons every week: take chances on people, listen to the people doing the work, and use whatever influence you have to open doors for someone else.
04For the leader coming up
What is the one thing you'd tell the leader coming up behind you?
Don’t wait until you feel ready. Most of the opportunities that changed my life came before I felt completely qualified for them.
Say yes to the things that stretch you. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Stay curious enough to become a beginner again and again.
Technology will change. AI will change. Your role will change. Your ability to learn, adapt, and bring people with you is what will keep compounding throughout your career.
Stay curious enough to become a beginner again and again.
05Adelante
Adelante means forward. Where are you taking your function, your company, or your industry next?
For me, adelante isn’t just about how far I can go next. It’s about how many people I can help move forward with me.
I’ve had opportunities in my career that changed the trajectory of my life, and I want to use what I’ve learned, the network I’ve built, and the access I have now to create those opportunities for others, especially people who may not have had the same access, resources, or someone telling them they belong in the room.
The next chapter for me is about doing that at a much larger scale. I want to mentor, guide, connect, and hopefully inspire the next generation of leaders to go further than I did.
To me, that’s adelante: you move forward, and then you reach back and bring others with you.
The recognition · Technology
Marcela Denniston is Senior Director and Head of Cyber Defense Operations and Engineering at NVIDIA. She began in military cyber operations, helped build national-scale security operations, and built and sold her own cybersecurity company before leading cyber defense inside some of the largest technology companies in the world. She is recognized in the Technology chapter.
Meet all the Adelante leadersThe Floor
Every leader recognized in Adelante answers a short set of questions in their own words, and the answers they approve go into the 2027 book.
