Recognized as the 2024 Canada CISO of the year, one of Canada’s Top Women in Cybersecurity,
as well as the 2024 Cybersecurity 40 Under 40, Octavia Howell has spent her career protecting
some of the world’s largest financial institutions from cyber-attacks. She serves as Equifax Canada’s
Chief Information Security Officer. Octavia received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer
Science and Mathematics from Spelman College and holds multiple industry certifications. She is a
member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the International Information Systems Security
Consortium (ISC2), Co-Chairs the CISO Forum for the Information Technology Senior Management
Forum (ITSMF), and sits on the Advisory Board of SiberX.
Octavia believes “A team is only as strong as their leaders and each leader casts a shadow that they
will be held accountable for.” She genuinely believes that we are placed on this earth to help each
other achieve greatness (whatever that may be). One thing for sure, Octavia lives by Mary Church
Terrill’s “Lift while you climb.” In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family,
and cheering her daughter on in Competitive Acrobatic Dance and her son in Track and Field.