Company: Maersk
Role: Senior Cyber Director – Governance
Nick’s role is to oversee cyber security activity, including setting Maersk’s cyber priorities based on business context such as customer needs, company operations, company strategy and our associated logistics transformation. Maersk is a global company operating in 130 countries and employing about 100,000 people. It manages container shipping, ports and terminals, and warehousing and distribution, and this all needs to be cyber-secure so our customers can trust us with their data and rely on our resilience. We have 300 professionals covering the internationally recognised cyber security functions of Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover.
Nick’s role spans all these functions, and he has a highly diverse Governance team of 33 people operating out of 13 countries helping me with cyber security strategy development, Board-level reporting, business engagement, cyber security training and awareness education, and providing 2nd Line of Defence in our assurance operating model.
His job requires degree level education in a relevant technology discipline. It also requires business training in strategy, finance and obligations of Boards and Directors, such as that available from the Institute of Directors or IMD business school. Similarly, training in unconscious bias and having experience of working effectively with people of different cultures is key to being effective in a genuinely international environment.
Nick made his network of colleagues and friends aware that he was looking for a fresh challenge and a previous boss contacted him to say he had been struggling for months to find the right candidate to fill a new role that was temporarily being filled by a consultant. The more Nick learned about the role, the more excited he got, so he applied.
He had previously served as an Engineer Officer in the Royal Air Force and this had helped him develop the skills to constantly balance the operational imperatives of today with the investment needed to meet the needs of tomorrow. Both are critical to enduring success in logistics.
“The best thing about my role is the people I work with, not just my own team (who are amazing), but across the company as a whole.”
One of Nick’s most consistent career highlights has been the people he has led and their capacity to surprise him whenever they are given a challenge.