GET TO KNOW
According to an ISACA workforce
development survey, 59% of
organisations have unfilled
cybersecurity positions, with
Frost & Sullivan forecasting a
shortfall of 1.5 million by 2020.
This growing security challenge is
reaching a critical point. Failure to
address it now has the potential
to disrupt the emerging global
digital economy. Governments,
organisations and educational
institutions need to work
together and invest in training to
address this skills gap.
How do you deal with
stress and unwind outside
of the office?
I’m passionate about
motorcycles. I find riding and
racing my bike is a great way
to completely take myself
away from work. Nothing clears
your head like riding a motorcycle fast and
concentrating on staying alive.
If you could go back and change one
career decision, what would it be?
I don’t think I’d change anything. Where I
am in life – which I think is a very good place
– is a result of all of my previous decisions.
Every decision I’ve made has been a
learning exercise which has contributed to
getting me to where I am now.
What are the region-specific
challenges when implementing new
technologies in Europe?
Going beyond Europe’s General Data
Protection Regulation – which any company
working within the EU needs to comply
with – regional regulation and compliance
laws must also be taken into account. For
example, when it comes to hiring decisions,
the process is usually different in Germany
than it is in the UK because employment
laws are different.
82
INTELLIGENTCIO
What changes to your job role have
you seen in the last year and how do
you see these developing in the next
12 months?
“
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain C-level
position in your industry? GOVERNMENTS,
ORGANISATIONS
AND
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
NEED TO WORK
TOGETHER
AND INVEST IN
TRAINING TO
ADDRESS THIS
SKILLS GAP.
You have to invest in people to ensure you
acquire the right talent for your team. You
can never be successful if you don’t have a strong group of people around you.
Empower them to make the right decisions
and they’ll help carry you to the top. n
My role in itself hasn’t changed over the
past year – but a lot around it has. Over
the past 12 months I’ve been focused
on helping to reshape the business with
the goal of gaining market share. There
have been changes in management,
we’ve hired quite a few people and we’ve
been busy growing the business so that
we can accelerate that growth and take
a leadership position against our main
competitors. This is something we want to
continue doing – and which will keep me
busy in the months ahead.
www.intelligentcio.com