Gallagher’s Sherilyn Tasker and Pascale Howell have won ‘Engineer’ and ‘Rising Star’ awards respectively at this year’s ‘Women in Security Awards Aotearoa’.
The Engineer award recognises a professional working within software or hardware engineering that supports the security sector, and the Rising Star award recognises an early career professional who is expected to achieve great things in the security and resilience sector.
“Everyone at Gallagher was absolutely thrilled to hear that both Sherilyn and Pascale are winners at this year’s Women in Security Awards Aotearoa,” said Mark Junge, global general manager for Gallagher Security. “When we announced these wins internally, there was a flood of celebration, which just reiterated how valued and respected these deserving recipients are within Gallagher.
“As an organisation, trust is at the centre of all we do. We build lasting relationships, we’re creative problem solvers, and we help each other to grow. We are committed to a better tomorrow and sharing knowledge freely – and our diversity makes us stronger. Sherilyn and Pascale not only embody our Gallagher values, but they inspire everyone across Gallagher with their passion, hard work, and dedication to delivering the best outcomes for our team, our channel partners, and our customers.”
Sherilyn Tasker, software team leader at Gallagher, has worked in the security industry for more than 30 years, starting with PEC Ltd as a Software Tester in 1989. With Gallagher for the past 20 years, Tasker is a senior people leader in Research & Development (R&D), currently overseeing the work of 2 development teams.
Tasker influences the development of new security products in her release management role, through coordinating and quality assurance – ensuring both product quality, and quality of the technical and user documentation that accompanies it – of the release process across more than 10 development teams.
“Sherilyn is a straight shooter, providing unfettered feedback regarding any perceived opportunities to improve the way we do things across the organisation,” said Nick Winter, software development manager – enterprise security, Gallagher.
“Sherilyn actively considers and advises where she sees the greatest gaps are in how we work, and where positive changes can be made to improve process, systems, or resourcing to meet the larger needs of the team.
“She sets a positive example for other women in security through being independent, confident, and forthright in a traditionally male-dominated profession. The effectiveness of the teams Sherilyn leads also illustrates the importance of a people-centric approach with emphasis on clear communication.”
Pascale Howell joined Gallagher as a product manager within the Security Customisation Team in 2018 straight out of university. Earlier this year, she started a new role as a customer research manager in the recently established Research Centre of Excellence.
Pascale’s dedicated work ethic and ability to quickly learn new concepts – and rapidly apply these learnings to her next challenge – is what inspired her nomination.
“Her ability to connect with customers, understand what makes them tick, identify their problems, and then break this down into a format that everyone can understand, is what sets Pascale apart,” explains Scott Ridder, senior product manager at Gallagher.
“She flourished in her role as product manager, contributing to a range of significant projects for large multinational customers. It is these customers who benefited from her contribution most, as the delivery of new product developments have always been ahead of schedule and the final solutions exceed customer expectations.
“Pascale’s ability to take our customers on the journey as we create solutions that deliver significant value and solve real business problems is an asset. Her strength has always been her ability to both co-ordinate tasks and communicate effectively with everyone involved, something that is greatly appreciated by our sales and R&D teams, along with our channel partners.
“Pascale’s career journey to date is an inspiring example for other women looking to join the security industry. She has proven that through dedication, enthusiasm, and a willingness to get things done, you don’t need a technical background to be successful within security, you just need the right attitude and work ethic,” Scott said.
Organised by the New Zealand Security Sector Network (NZSSN) and supported by the Women in Security & Resilience Alliance (WISECRA) and Defsec New Zealand, the WiSAA initiative was established in 2020 to recognise women who have advanced the New Zealand security and resilience sectors.
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