Welcome to Kernel - the podcast that gets to the core of cybersecurity careers, leadership, and innovation across North America.
Hosted by James Warren, a cybersecurity recruitment specialist with over seven years of experience placing executives, managers, and individual contributors into full-time and contract roles across the United States.
From Application Security to Cloud, AI, and Identity, James has placed talent in virtually every cyber domain, earning 50+ public testimonials and maintaining a 95% Net Promoter Score with clients and candidates alike. Through in-depth interviews with senior cybersecurity professionals, Kernel explores the evolving landscape of security work and what makes a great cybersecurity leader.
Expect honest and forward-looking stories from the cybersecurity industry.
Episode 1: Eron Howard, COO, Novacoast | Building an Elite Security Consultancy
In the first episode of Kernel, James Warren speaks to Eron Howard, Chief Operating Officer at Novacoast, a US-based cybersecurity services firm specialising in identity, managed security services and incident response.
With over 28 years in the market and more than 450 security professionals globally, Novacoast is known for its technical depth, long employee tenure, and focus on security maturity over short-term fixes.
Eron’s career is closely intertwined with the company’s growth. Joining Novacoast straight out of engineering school, he has spent over two decades progressing from hands-on technologist to COO, helping scale teams, services, and global operations in an industry often defined by burnout and churn.
In this conversation, James and Eron explore how cybersecurity careers have evolved — from the early days of penetration testing and pre-compliance security, through cloud transformation and managed detection, to the growing role of AI in modern security services.
The episode also examines why some security firms retain talent for decades, how Novacoast develops people from entry level through to leadership, and what skills and traits matter most for those looking to build long-term careers in cyber today.
Who Should Listen? ✅Cybersecurity professionals thinking about long-term career paths ✅Security leaders and CISOs building sustainable teams ✅Hiring managers navigating talent shortages and attrition ✅Early-career technologists considering cybersecurity ✅Anyone interested in how AI is reshaping security services
Key Takeaways ✅Early-career breadth can be more valuable than early specialisation ✅Culture, psychological safety, and opportunity drive retention in cyber ✅The strongest services firms grow talent from within ✅AI enables higher-quality, more mature security operations — not commoditised delivery ✅Curiosity, passion, and grit consistently outperform credentials alone
