Geoff Leeming

I’ve been breaking computers and fixing them again since the 1980s. Things have got more complex since then, and I’ve enjoyed every step of the challenge along the way. I trained as a cryptographer, and I’ve watched in fascination as that field grew from an applied offshoot of number theory into the foundation of the global marketplace that we have today. I’ve run security teams for some of the world’s biggest organisations, and have helped those teams grow from the far, geekiest corner of the IT department into mission-critical risk management teams that face off to governments and CEOs. I’ve worked with companies recovering from horrendous disasters, and established robust, scalable technology as the critical infrastructure that will keep people safe. I’ve worked with some of the best in the industry and have taken great pride in seeing team members grow into CISO roles in global organisations. Our world will continue to evolve, and I’ll continue to enjoy meeting that challenge.

I love working with good technology. I spend a lot of time working with some of the best vendors in the marketplace, working out how their solutions will cope with some of the issues our clients are trying to solve, and I love that feeling of accomplishment when we deploy a security system that fits seamlessly and neatly into a client environment. If you get this right, the client should barely notice the system is there until the day they’re attacked and it becomes the centre of their defence. At that point it has to withstand everything you can throw at it, and you know that failure will not be tolerated. That’s why we will partner only with the best vendors in any field: we have to know they’re not going to let us down then they’re put under stress, just as you have to know these systems will protect you when you need them most.”