Christian Kennedy is currently the Director of Information Security – Governance, Risk and Compliance at Wolfspeed, a semiconductor company based out of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. She has been with the company for two years.
Wolfspeed creates advanced semiconductor technology that powers the world’s most disruptive innovations. From its inception, Wolfspeed has been focused on the future. The company offers silicon carbide Power solutions and Materials products that enable clients to design innovative, high performance systems that will power their businesses forward.
Wolfspeed is at the forefront of the silicon (Si) to silicon carbide (SiC) transformation. “As part of the Wolfspeed community, your contributions lend to shaping the future of the semiconductor markets, regardless of your role,” Christian says. The tremendous benefits of SiC have a broader range of applications, which is truly innovative and exciting.
An alumna of Seattle University School of Law’s Online MLS in Compliance and Risk Management, she shared her experiences in the program and how they influenced her career.
Becoming a Compliance Professional
Christian’s journey to her career in risk and compliance wasn’t always clear or linear; however, it is a profession where she experiences both respect and empowerment. She explains how her team works within the larger information security team, “from a risk and compliance perspective, the GRC team looks at multiple security considerations from many different governance, risk, and compliance lenses. We establish policies, act as advisors and provide guidance to the broader Information Technology team and other business organizations.”
Compliance wasn’t on her radar as a potential career path when she was younger. She actually started off pre-med and after a frustrated battle with the chemistry portion of the curriculum, ended up earning her undergraduate degree in communications with minors in economics and biology.
Thanks to her many practical skills, she was recruited into the cruise industry to elevate training programs by integrating leading business practices, including international standards and compliance alignments, showcasing the company’s commitment to excellence and global best practices. Next, she joined a large pharmaceutical company where she spent a considerable part of her career. “It was a tremendous opportunity and proved to be an amazing and successful experience,” Christian says.
Back To School – 30 Years Later
She performed global regulatory intelligence in the pharmacovigilance space for 7 years. “After being out of school for almost 30 years, I decided to go back to get my master’s degree. That’s how I eventually discovered the program at Seattle University, because it hit every marker I was looking for that I was not finding in other master’s programs.”
During the second term of the program Christian realized she wanted a change. “I thought of myself as a biopharmaceutical professional in the compliance world. After a dialogue with one of my professors, I started to flip that dialogue – career first, industry second. I’m a risk and compliance professional, and that translates to any industry out there.”
Christian left healthcare and went on to consult in data governance, privacy, and security at Disney Streaming and Hulu. “Around 7 months later, I got a phone call from someone I’d worked with in biotechnology 20 years ago who was now at Wolfspeed. He said they’d like me to meet a few people from his company. No job was available, but it was a great networking opportunity. If there’s one thing you can do for your career – network like crazy. Two weeks later, that same previous colleague called and said he needed someone with my experience to join his team in North Carolina.” Christian’s different skill sets and career pivots lead to building up a GRC team and expanding the program.
Lifelong and Marketable Skills
By this point, Christian knows what to look for in her own team. “Beyond skill set and experience, I’m very big about community,” she says, and future compliance professionals listen up! “I actually do look for volunteer work or similar pursuits … if you’re involved in something that contributes to the community.” She also looks for communication and law or regulatory experience, which indicates that someone can assess and interpret information.
She herself learned many of these skills in the MLS program at Seattle University, and almost immediately saw how the curriculum was built for future success. “It’s difficult, that first-term legal research and writing course,” she admits, but “It’s the foundation for the entire program. I still refer back to those books that are on my shelf. I use them on a regular basis. “There is not one thing from that foundational year that I do not use today.”
“We Are Communicators and Problem-Solvers”
Many professionals arrive at compliance with a background in something else, but they want the legal framework as applied to their subject matter expertise to round out that skill set. “We are communicators and problem-solvers,” Christian says. You don’t have to follow one rigid path to attain a thriving career in risk and compliance.
Starting in compliance can feel like learning a whole different language. That’s why the faculty and staff ensure that students are set up well, and have a lot of support. Personalized course combinations, increased or decreased numbers of classes around life changes, even taking time off? Students don’t need to stress: Flexibility, support, and innovation are all points of pride for Seattle University.
Christian notes that her education trajectory was full of life events and changeups, but Seattle University was there to help her manage every step of the way. “I don’t know if I would have gotten that elsewhere.”
