Pinsent Masons launches Cyber Professional Services team

Christian, the former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Pinsent Masons, will lead the new team as the firm seeks to broaden its cyber capabilities in the wake of an increasingly challenging cyber security environment. 

The move underscores Pinsent Masons’ commitment to developing professional services which sit outside of the traditional legal skill set and serve to support clients on a broader range of strategic and commercial issues. Earlier this year, the firm hired former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Chief Operating Officer, John Carroll, to boost its professional services and investigations capabilities. 

Head of Cyber at Pinsent Masons, David McIlwaine, said: “Christian’s experience as CISO gives him outstanding insight into the increasingly complex cyber security challenges facing all businesses today. Drawing on his expertise developed during his 30-year technology experience – 16 of which have been dedicated to information security, he will provide vital operational cyber advice and guidance to our clients, supporting them as they strive to safeguard their business.”

Christian joined Pinsent Masons in 2017 to become the firm’s first CISO responsible for global information and cyber security across its network. Throughout his career he has delivered pre and post breach strategy and support for a range of industry sectors including Financial Services, Insurance, Industrial and Infrastructure across the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia. 

Commenting on his appointment Christian said: “As cyber breaches become more sophisticated and frequent an established and nuanced understanding of how to prevent breaches has become critical to any business seeking to protect their organisation. I look forward to working with the cyber team and the firm’s clients.”

Christian’s appointment enhances the firm’s existing innovative approach to cyber security services for clients. In recent years the firm has launched a number of tools and services including the Human Cyber Index and Cyturion which help businesses manage their incident response playbooks, regulatory notifications and assess behavioural changes to improve processes and security culture.