Graduating with a Bachelor of Information Technology from the University of Newcastle in 2013, Cole Cornford began his career in a graduate position for the Australian Taxation Office in Canberra.

In 2017, he moved closer to home, securing a role with Westpac in Sydney, working in the AppSec space.

Cole then planned to move to San Francisco, but these plans were put on hold due to COVID. Instead,  Cole moved back to Newcastle in 2020 and founded his own company, Galah Cyber.

“I am now working full-time at Galah Cyber as the Founder and CEO helping organisations around Australia understand the risks around their software engineering practices and helping to secure their applications from inception to production,” Cole  said.

Taking the risk of starting his own company, Cole wanted to create a visually appealing brand that also provided the skills needed for companies to be successful in a way that competitors were not offering.

“Most companies in the Cyber space are barely distinguishable from each other and men's deodorant commercials, so I figured a bright pink, approachable, and clean brand would make a huge difference for us,” Cole says.

Looking back on his younger self, Cole recalls the feelings of uncertainty surrounding future study.

“After finishing High School, I wanted to be a different person and the transition to university was a great way to change myself.

“I changed my perspectives throughout my degree and ended up with a healthy interest in Data Security and Software Engineering.

“My university degree set me up for success by providing a broad variety of skills that have been practical for me in the cybersecurity and software engineering domains,” Cole said.

Fostering the talents of the next generation of data security and software engineers, Cole has been involved   in Big Day In and other conferences, where he speaks about his experiences and encourages high schoolers and the wider community to take up a career in computing and IT.

“I was involved in Big Day In back in 2012 as an event organizer and volunteer.

“I already go to a lot of conferences as a speaker about AppSec and broad security industry issues, so I felt it wouldn’t be a stretch to come and present to high school students as well,” he said.

Cole spoke once again at Big Day In, having presented at the University of Newcastle in October 2022.

Using this platform to highlight his career pathway and answering questions from prospective students, Cole encourages high school students to better understand the world of Cyber.

“I figure Cyber is something most high school students have an interest in but are not very knowledgeable in. I ran this session twice, and it was well received, had a lot of students asking questions to me!” he said.

Cole credits his university experience in helping him succeed in his various roles since graduation.

He encourages all members of the community to take up their own studies in the field.

“Go for it, I think the University of Newcastle offers a great broad education, especially if you supplement your core courses with the right electives.

“I would not have been able to move into cybersecurity or any software engineering roles without the education that I had.

“University is a great place to learn, networking is incredibly valuable, and people shouldn’t be too disheartened about taking time to do their degrees slower or picking up work experience on the side,” Cole said.

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Cole Cornford

Cole Cornford used his extensive career in software engineering and has since created his own company. Find out more and be inspired by his story here.

My university degree set me up for success by providing a broad variety of skills that have been practical for me in the cybersecurity and software engineering domains

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