BrazilEY promotes Richard Watson to global leader of cybersecurity consulting
EY has promoted Asia Pacific based partner Richard Watson to Global Leader of its Cybersecurity Consulting division.
Richard Watson, who is based in the firm’s Sydney office, has been with the Big Four giant for six years, joining in 2015 as Cybersecurity Consulting Leader for Australia and New Zealand. One year on, he was promoted to the division’s leader for Asia Pacific, steering the unit and its 20+ country teams through a period of rapid growth.
Now in the top global seat, Watson (who will also continue as Asia Pacific leader) oversees a team of over 12,000 cybersecurity consultants working across sectors.
Commenting on his promotion, Watson said: “Cybersecurity is a universal concern. I am excited to lead the global organisation in the development of EY cyber capacities to better protect clients from cyber-related risks, no matter where they operate, and help build a more trusted and secure working world.”
Watson is end responsible for the unit’s strategic direction, client management, capability development of internal teams, partnerships with cyber technology software vendors and other alliances, and thought leadership. He also will play a role in EY’s cyber deals agenda – the firm has acquired several cybersecurity companies over the past years (including SecureWorx and Aleron in Australia), with more such focused acquisitions expected.
On client engagements, Watson specialises in cyber strategy, risk assessment, technologies for monitoring and protecting against cyber attack and managing cyber incident response. “In my work with clients, I help them understand the cyber risks they are facing and prioritise investments to improve their cybersecurity posture. This supports clients so they can better protect themselves and helps build a more trusted and secure working world.”
“I have worked in various industries, focusing on those that have intellectual property to protect, a significant risk of brand damage from a cyber incident or whose operations require them to have large volumes of personal data,” he said.
Prior to joining EY, Watson was Managing Director for cybersecurity and risk management in the Asia Pacific and Middle East operations of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence. Before that, he spent eight years at Accenture and two years at Arthur Andersen.
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