Gloria Glaubman wasn’t planning on being an entrepreneur.
She figured her next move would be familiar — maybe a CISO role, maybe COO. After years leading cyber initiatives across the intelligence community and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, she’d earned a quieter chapter.
But the universe had other plans.
“It was a bit of serendipity,” Glaubman says. ”My network kept reaching out, not for big contracts, but for quiet, trusted conversations. They wanted guidance, someone who could connect the dots.”
That realization became GMG Consulting, where Glaubman helps leaders close the gap between cyber policy and action. Her work focuses on clear strategy, accountability and awareness.
“Maybe there’s a connective tissue, matchmaking between another company, another organization, another SME,” Glaubman says. “That’s really what my network was looking for, and I thought, ‘Well, I don’t need a large corporation to back me to do this.’”
Glaubman is also building GMG as a networked model, collaborating with other former federal and industry leaders who’ve launched their own consultancies.
“And the way the landscape is today, I think more and more of these kind of requirements are being met by individual contributors,” she says.
From Mission to Market
Before her assignment in Japan, where she advised the country’s government on modernizing its cybersecurity strategy and accelerating zero-trust adoption and incident response, Glaubman led efforts across the U.S. intelligence community to strengthen threat intelligence sharing, build international partnerships and shape policy for critical and emerging technologies. At the CIA, she oversaw research and data efforts that modernized operations and supported key national security missions.
Earlier, she spent over a decade at a telecom giant, giving her a rare view across three worlds: intelligence, diplomacy and industry.
That mix shapes how Glaubman works now.
“The private sector and the intelligence community have more in common than either wants to admit,” she says. “Both are trying to protect sensitive information, manage risk and stay ahead of adversaries. The difference is language. I help translate one world to the other.”
Only two months in, she’s already busier than expected — the biggest surprise, she says, is how much opportunity there is.
However, Glaubman admits she worried the market might be oversaturated, with so many former government professionals launching similar consultancies. But those fears quickly faded.
“Each of us brings a unique perspective, a unique network and background,” she says. “It surprised me that there really is a large demand signal for this kind of activity.”
A Translator Between Worlds
For a GRWM with Glaubman — no ring light or makeup tutorial required — mornings start with coffee and about an hour of scanning The Cipher Brief, CyberScoop and Ground News. Instead of just skimming the headlines, she’s studying how attacks unfold, who’s targeted and where the next opportunities might emerge.
Glaubman’s days blend client calls, mentoring cyber professionals and growing her network of collaborators. She also mentors those leaving federal service, helping them move from serving to leading. And once a week, she writes, a nod to her high school dream of being a journalist.
“I actually told my military recruiter that, and he said, ‘Great, radioman is the next best thing,’” Glaubman says with a laugh. (A U.S. Navy veteran, she later earned the 2022 Presidential Rank Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.)
Today, she channels that instinct through writing and public speaking.
“Every time I share what I’ve learned, it feels like I’m back in that space, asking questions and telling stories that matter,” she says.
Awareness Over Buzzwords
Glaubman’s advice to agencies and companies trying to get ahead of today’s threat landscape is simple: Start small, but start now.
“And remember the human side of cybersecurity, it’s not just tech. It’s not just buzzwords. It’s getting the support from your leadership, maintain that support, and then develop that messaging or that narrative to the rest of the organization,” she says.
Glaubman urges agencies to focus on the basics: Patch your systems, review your logs and know what’s on your network. And awareness, she says, is the difference between defense and damage control.
“Attackers want easy targets. Make it hard on them,” she says.
And while technology matters, Glaubman believes people matter more.
“Cybersecurity isn’t just about tech; it’s about communication, trust and leadership,” she says. “Get your teams involved, educate everyone from users to executives, and build a shared sense of responsibility.”