We are delighted to announce the latest three members to join the SWCRC Advisory Group. The group will provide the SWCRC with guidance, advice and influence the direction of the Centre.
Welcome to Claire Alexander, Director of Programme at the Swindon, and Wiltshire LEP, Chris Dunning-Walton, Founder of CyNam (Cyber Cheltenham) and Owner of InfoSec People and Ed Humber, Assistant Devon NFU County Adviser.
Mark Moore, Director of The Cyber Resilience Centre for the South West said: “I’m delighted to welcome Claire, Chris and Ed to our growing Advisory Group. The experience that these three individuals have gained through their respective roles will be invaluable to myself and the wider team here at The Cyber Resilience for the South West.
“With our Advisory Group, we are striving to be reflective of the vast scale of businesses that are located and trade within in the South West region. By having Claire, Chris and Ed join us, we are positioning the group to do exactly this.”
Claire Alexander, Director of Programme at the Swindon, and Wiltshire LEP
Claire is Director of Programmes at the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP. She has responsibility for delivery of all LEP programmes ranging from capital infrastructure to the Growth Hub, which delivers business support. Claire leads on the development and implementation of the Business Cyber Centre, which will bring together defence and security assets, academic research, cyber entrepreneurs, and training providers to deliver a service targeted at SMEs.
Swindon and Wiltshire LEP identified the need for a Business Cyber Centre during its research to underpin the area’s local industrial strategy, and told us: “We aim to fill the gap in the market for support and advice for SMEs. We have developed a widely based partnership to build the model from scratch. We are very pleased to link up with the South West Cyber Resilience Centre and to work together to forge stronger engagement with SMEs in this vital area of economic activity.”
Chris Dunning-Walton, Founder of CyNam (Cyber Cheltenham) and Owner of InfoSec People
Chris Dunning-Walton is the Founder of CyNam (Cyber Cheltenham) and Owner of InfoSec People, a leading cyber security recruitment business. An expert in CISO and CxO Executive Search, Chris is a vocal advocate of diversity and inclusivity in cyber with a passion for enabling meaningful connects within the sector. He will support Richard Yorke in ensuring that CyNam are able to maximise their support to the South West CRC.
On joining the SWCRC Advisory Group, Chris said, “I am genuinely thrilled to be of service to the South West CRC which is a massive enabler to the cyber sector and wider businesses across the region.”
Ed Humber, Assistant Devon NFU County Adviser
Ed Humber has the role of assistant Devon NFU County adviser which involves working with 2,900 British Farmer and Grower members across the county to ensure they are supported, well informed, and represented at all levels. This involves anything that could impact or benefit their business, both now and in the future, and Ed is already working with the CRC to reduce cyber risk to those in the sector.
On his appointment to the SWCRC Advsiory Group, Ed said: “Defence against Cybercrime and safe storage of data is vital to farming business. I have joined the SWCRC to represent farmers who are having to interact more and more in an online world in everything from routine activity such as maintaining livestock records and compliance with assurance schemes, to industry advances in farm machinery with online diagnostics and robotics. I look forward to working with the Advisory Group of the SWCRC.”
You can view our full Advisory Group here.