We are delighted to celebrate a key moment of further staff expansion in our mission to supercharge the North East cyber security community with the appointment of Helen Matthews as Delivery Manager – Skills.
The further expansion forms part of our roadmap for growth and comes as Danielle Phillips officially steps into the role of CEO following a transition period ahead of the recent retirement of Phil Jackman. The staff expansion follows recent partnership development news which has seen CyberNorth cement partnerships with key industry players including Accenture, Hicomply, Gateshead College and a monumental partnership with FTSE 100 company, Sage,the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to spearhead and leverage the capabilities of the North East cyber security community.
The growth and investment in CyberNorth are very timely with news that the UK’s growing cyber security sector is set to be boosted by millions in new investment and a new Cyber Growth Action Plan, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, in a bid to grow the UK’s £13.2 billion cyber sector.
Helen takes on the tenure following 18 months at UKC3, the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) which exists to support the Cyber Clusters in their mission to drive economic growth in the cyber security sector. In her role at UKC3 she played a key role in shaping the operations, and in this newly established role here at CyberNorth, Helen will be engaging and working closely with the North East education sector to ensure our cyber workforce of today and tomorrow are skilled and equipped for success.
As a key contributor to the UK’s overall cyber strategy through our partnership with UKC3 and Department for Science, Innovation and Growth, we spearhead the growth of a thriving cyber security community in the North East by promoting all things cyber, to ensure the region gets noticed internationally and nationally as a centre for excellence for the cyber security sector.
Danielle Phillips, CEO at CyberNorth said:
“We are excited to welcome Helen, she joins us at a key moment of growth and evolution here at CyberNorth. Helen is already a great asset to the team and her deep expertise and strategic leadership will play a key role in strengthening our standing further in the cyber security community.
The formation of partnerships and alignment with academic institutions across the North East is of paramount importance to us, and Helen will play a vital role in cementing and building these relationships further.”
With a wealth of experience in both private and public sectors, Helen’s background in working with disparate and remote teams, nationally and internationally, focuses her ability on collaborative and partnership working. Helen’s professional experience spans training and development, HR, event organisation/coordination, budget management, customer service and wellbeing initiatives.
Helen added:
“I’m thrilled to join CyberNorth at such a pivotal time, collaboration, building relations and bridging connections between academia and industry is of essence for regional growth in the sector and I relish the opportunity to work with Danielle and the talented team here to further impact the cyber security community here in the North East.”
Here at CyberNorth we focus on strengthening the development of three main areas in the region aka ‘Pillars’ Skills (for today and tomorrow) Innovation (future proofing the sector for prosperity) and Ecosystem (support and collaboration for growth).
Since inception, we have built a vibrant cybersecurity community in the North East, supporting 100 businesses and over 2,000 professionals, while collaborating across FinTech, Space, Maritime, and Defence sectors. Strong relationships with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology have amplified the region’s profile nationally and internationally.