On April 21, 2026, the Well Defined Women in Leadership Summit will welcome a speaker whose story speaks directly to a moment many women find themselves navigating today: reinvention. In a session titled, Unscripted to Self-Made: Leading Through Change as an Entrepreneur, Michele Novack will share how she turned an unexpected career pivot into a powerful new chapter.
Reinvention at Any Stage
For more than three decades, Novack built a successful career in finance, achieving the kind of professional stability many spend a lifetime working toward. But in her 50s, when many people expect to coast on experience, she faced an unexpected crossroads, one that required not just resilience but also a complete reimagining of her future. Instead of retreating, she chose transformation.
Novack pivoted into an entirely new field, retraining as a cyber engineer and launching CardinalsByte, a women-owned cybersecurity company dedicated to protecting accountants, tax professionals, attorneys, and small businesses from digital threats and regulatory risk. Where others saw disruption, she saw possibility and an opportunity to build something meaningful on her own terms. Today, her journey from finance professional to cybersecurity entrepreneur is a powerful example of what it means to be “unscripted to self-made.”
Turning Adversity Into Agency
Novack speaks candidly about a reality many women encounter but few discuss openly: the anger, uncertainty, and loss of identity that can come when careers shift unexpectedly, whether through industry change, corporate restructuring, or being pushed out of spaces we once helped build.
Rather than allowing those moments to define her, Novackh used them as fuel. Her story is one of reclaiming agency and learning to move forward with an abundance mindset rooted in self-trust and purpose. Along the way, she has become not only a cybersecurity expert and business founder but also a voice of encouragement for women navigating reinvention.
A Conversation That Resonates Right Now
In her talk, “Unscripted to Self-Made: Leading Through Change as an Entrepreneur,” Novack will share what she learned while rebuilding her career from the ground up, including lessons about courage, resilience, and the power of choosing yourself when the script changes.
For women navigating career pivots, unexpected transitions, or simply wondering what the next chapter might look like, her story offers proof that reinvention is not only possible but also deeply empowering.
Get your tickets today to hear Novack speak at our upcoming Women in Leadership Summit.
