Strengthening governance and risk posture

Across more than 25 years in Cyber Security, my leadership has focused on building governance models and risk programmes that help large financial institutions move from reactive remediation to proactive, intelligence-led resilience.

In my former role as CISO, Head of Cyber Security Risk Advisory & Governance at UBS, I led global initiatives to strengthen cyber risk posture. This included regulatory reviews, red-team-driven control enhancements, and improvements to incident response that reduced high-priority threats and embedded cyber risk thinking into both business and technology decision-making.

In my current role as Head of Cyber Security Risk at HSBC UK, I continue this work at group level. I help shape enterprise-wide risk strategy, oversee complex transformation and regulatory programmes, and ensure cyber risk is clearly understood, owned, and acted upon at executive and board level.

My approach brings together cyber threat intelligence, information security management, and technology audit to provide end-to-end oversight of risk. From perimeter security and identity management to the continuity of critical infrastructure, I focus on clarity across the full risk landscape.

By aligning frameworks such as NIST, MITRE ATT&CK, ISO 27001, and DORA with board-level objectives, I translate complex technical risk into clear, actionable direction. This enables senior leaders and regulators to make informed decisions on investment, resilience, and long-term risk appetite.

Panels, conferences, and Speaking Engagements

My industry impact extends beyond operational leadership into global dialogue on cyber resilience, AI, and digital trust.

I contribute as a panel moderator, keynote speaker, and CISO delegate at international forums focused on AI-enabled fraud, cross-border cyber risk, and digital trust. I'm frequently invited to chair discussions on digital trust and AI-enabled defence, connecting strategy, operations, and emerging technology in a practitioner-led way.

Through executive communities such as CIONET, Pulse Conferences, and specialist cyber summits, I advocate for a shift away from point-in-time compliance towards continuous, intelligence-driven risk management. My commentary often focuses on AI-powered fraud, converged cyber-fraud defence, and cross-border collaboration, drawing on first-hand financial services experience to help organisations operationalise resilience at scale.

Guiding talent and inclusive pathways

Mentorship is a deliberate and consistent thread throughout my career.

My focus is on developing confident, business-aware cyber leaders rather than purely technical specialists. Within global financial institutions, I coach emerging leaders across risk, audit, and security teams to own complex programmes, engage credibly with executives, and translate regulatory or threat-intelligence insights into structured, outcome-focused plans.

Beyond internal teams, I remain committed to creating inclusive pathways into Cyber Security, particularly for under-represented groups and career-changers from adjacent disciplines. Drawing on my own journey across audit, operations, and architecture, I emphasise transferable skills, structured learning pathways, and the importance of communication, resilience, and stakeholder influence for long-term career success.

Heritage, resilience, cross-discipline lessons

My British-Ghanaian heritage and experience working across international, multicultural environments shape how I lead and communicate.

Exposure to diverse markets, regulatory regimes, and business cultures has reinforced a leadership style grounded in respect, active listening, and pragmatic problem-solving. I aim to create environments where different perspectives are actively welcomed into security and risk discussions.

My perspective is informed by experience spanning network engineering, security consulting, IT audit, operational risk, and CISO leadership. This cross-discipline background allows me to see how controls, people, and processes interact in real organisations — not in theory.