By Jeannette E. Garcia Reporter, San Antonio Business Journal
Roxanne Ramirez, CEO of cybersecurity company CNF Technologies Corp., continues to be cautiously optimistic about what will come in 2021. While the company is still operating okay with the work it has, Ramirez has seen a stagnation in government contracts and requests for information and proposals within the cybersecurity industry since September, something she hopes will change after the transition to the next U.S. president.
“With our new government going in in January, I’m hoping that it’s for the better, and I’m hoping that, you know, things go a little easier,” she said. “What I mean [by that] is as a country, we seem to be content [with respect to security]. We’re not as alert. And I want us to make sure that we are always on the lookout. Being in the cybersecurity business, you have to always be out there looking at what is going to happen next.”
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramirez has learned a lot personally and professionally, particularly when it comes to operating her business remotely. She described herself as an “eight-to-five person” who has had to get used to remote working, and she acknowledged that she had a hard time with it at the beginning.
“I myself have learned and grown from it in a way that I never thought I would, especially at my age,” she said. “As a company, it has given us a different perspective of how our employees can still function and do a great job even though they’re not in an office building.”
She has tasked her company’s chief financial officer, Jonathan Garcia, to develop a plan to present in early 2021 in order to have a mix of remote and in-office work. In San Antonio, CNF has three offices, as well as employees in Maryland, Colorado and California. Throughout it all, though, Ramirez remains optimistic.
“I have a good feeling that moving in 2021, when we have the [Covid-19] vaccines and people are starting to feel a bit more comfortable, more contracts specific to our industry will be coming out,” she said. “I see more in the future.”