- Dr Ismini Vasileiou and Simon Newman take on director roles
- Appointments come as UKC3 prepares to introduce further regional clusters
- Pair will focus on future workforce, finance and governance
UKC3 has appointed two regional cyber security cluster co-founders to its board of directors.
East Midlands Cyber Security Cluster co-founder, Dr Ismini Vasileiou, joins the national organisation as Director and Future Workforce Lead.
Cyber London co-founder, and former CEO of the Cyber Resilience Centre for London, Simon Newman will lead on the finance and governance portfolios.
Both new board members’ contributions will be invaluable as UKC3 prepares to strategise the next phase of its growth.
UKC3 is the UK’s central hub connecting cyber clusters across the regions. Its purpose is to foster collaboration between smaller hubs, empowering them to share knowledge, invest in projects, and support the start-up clusters as they establish.
UKC3 Chair, Linda Smith, said: “Over the next year, our priority is to consolidate the rapid growth experienced since inception in 2021, and continue to grow and reinforce the guidance and support we have been able to provide so far.
“Ismini’s experience running East Midlands Cyber Security Cluster, as well as her academic insight, will be instrumental in helping us achieve this.
“Simon’s invaluable experience within the cyber security industry will drive forward our plans to encourage the set up of more regional clusters as well as continuing to support the growing number of cyber clusters in our unique UK ecosystem.”
UKC3 is currently working with 17 regional clusters, with specific focus on ecosystem development, cyber skills growth and innovation join-up.
Dr Vasileiou, an Associate Professor in Information Systems at De Montfort University Leicester, said: “I look forward to contributing towards strengthening connections and fostering collaboration across the UK’s cyber ecosystem and influencing the national cyber strategy.
“We’ve seen the impact clusters can have here in the East Midlands, we’re working now towards encouraging other regions to set up clusters to strengthen up and protect the UK’s digital future.”
Mr Newman said: “The cyber security threat to organisations and individuals in the UK continues to grow and, while there is some excellent work being done to firm up defences and limit risk, there is more to do.
“There are lots of innovative start-ups and businesses developing cyber security solutions and services which, with the right support, will be able to help us, help others.
“It’s an exciting time to be involved and I look forward to contributing to what comes next for UKC3 and helping clusters up and down the country.”
Mr Newman and Dr Vasileiou were officially appointed at the most recent board meeting. They join the board on an initial 2-year term as UKC3 looks to focus on encouraging launch of further regional cyber clusters to strengthen the existing network and proactively contribute to the National Cyber Security Strategy.