Meet Courtney Banks, the CEO at Nat’l Security Associates Worldwide LLC (NSAWW). NSAWW was formed to assist companies in successfully realizing their full potential in addressing the challenges and opportunities of the world’s burgeoning homeland and national security markets, as well as the markets in logistics, global health care, cyber and federal civilian.
WashingtonExec recently had the opportunity to interview Banks. She has proved herself an innovative leader and thinker, and is passionate about protecting our nation, especially when it comes to your cybersecurity.
WashingtonExec: As a CEO, what can you say about the qualities of a great leader?
Courtney Banks: A great leader motivates and inspires her staff to achieve their highest potential while working seamlessly as a team. Within my firm, I have strived over time to create a healthy and supportive environment for my employees. The culture of my company reflects my ideals – loyalty, honesty, ethics, and hard work – with a little fun thrown in too. I believe in giving my staff freedoms and experiences they wouldn’t get at many other companies. I have two employees with young children, and I allow
them to work at home a few days a week to maintain the flexibility they need to raise their family. I facilitate office bonding by holding holiday lunches, giving gifts, throwing birthday celebrations in the office, taking my employees to sporting events, etc. I think that if you invest in your staff, they will be motivated to invest back in you and in the company by doing the best work possible.
In terms of leadership values, one of my most defining qualities has always been my loyalty. My staff at Raytheon and Lockheed Martin knew I would fight for them to ensure they were treated respectfully by the company at large and received the best possible salaries and benefits. Consequently, many of them have followed me and now work for my current company. I also believe in being fair, open and encouraging with my staff. I make myself available to everyone and try to devote a certain amount of time to training and educating my younger employees.
I truly think that culture flows from the top. A positive, hardworking executive will instill in her employees those same characteristics, and my company thrives because of the quality of my people.
WashingtonExec: In your opinion, what’s the best way to defend our country from possible cyber terrorism?
Courtney Banks: The best way to defend our country from possible cyber terrorism is to engage the private sector in coming up with solutions to safe guard their own cyber infrastructure and create significant defenses for the next generation of systems.
What was the most important thing you learned during your time working with the Clinton Administration as the Assistant for Global Terrorism Issues in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations /Low Intensity Conflict?
Courtney Banks: To have the courage of your convictions and do what you think is right professionally and personally even if it is not a reflection of popularly held beliefs. My colleagues in that office were focused on the threat to our nation from Al Qaeda many years before 9/11 and often faced intense skepticism and resistance from their peers as a result. However, they also persevered in their efforts to help protect the nation from an attack by Al Qaeda and were well positioned on and after 9/11 to help craft and coordinate appropriate measures to not just respond to the attack but to put in place mechanisms to prevent another one.
WashingtonExec: If you were the President of the United States, what aspects of defense would be your top priority? Why?
Courtney Banks: Protecting our nation’s cyber infrastructure would be my highest priority – we are extremely dependent as a nation on our cyber based systems that a successful attack on them could seriously cripple our economy and stability. One thing that also does not get enough attention is the protection of our existing resources- especially our food and water supply. The deliberate introduction of a deadly pathogen into our food or water supply is a very serious threat and one that we are not doing enough to prevent. There needs to be a lot more attention paid to securing our nation’s supply chain and infrastructure for the growth, storage, transportation and consumption of food. A contagion can not only cause large scale fatalities but would induce a panic that could have a debilitating effect on the economy and our nation’s agriculture industry. We need to do more to secure the agro- and hydro-infrastructure of the nation to prevent terrorists from exploiting their weaknesses.
WashingtonExec: Throughout your entire career, what are you most proud of?
Courtney Banks: I think the thing of which I am most proud is my commitment to helping and mentoring other women and young people. When I first came to Washington, DC, to work after college, well before the success that I have experienced now, I greatly lamented the lack of professional women in my field to whom I could turn for advice and mentorship. Prior to 9/11, there were fewer women in prominent positions in the national security and defense industry than now. I resolved that if I ever had some success in the industry, I would always make myself available to other young women who wanted to follow in my footsteps. I also pledged to help young people in general.
To that end, many of my employees are women, from my Chief Operating Officer all the way down to my summer interns. I take time out of my busy schedule with each of them to ensure they are getting adequate guidance and professional development support. I participate in many women’s industry organizations, and have served as a guest speaker for several of them, including Women in Defense and Ladies Who Launch. I return every year to my high school in Philadelphia to speak to students and give career advice, and many of those students follow up to come intern for me after graduation. I pride myself on my openness and availability to my staff and colleagues, and I am well known in the industry for my willingness to mentor other women.
WashingtonExec: What book had the most impact on your life?
Courtney Banks: When I was a young girl, I saw a mini-series on TV called The Winds of War, based on the book by Herman Wouk, which I then proceeded to read. It inspired me, as did its sequel, War and Remembrance, to pursue a career working with our nation’s military and in national security. It re-enforced the importance of serving something larger than oneself, and the story of the sacrifices the protagonists made in service to our nation during World War 2 really motivated me to want to make a difference.