Meet our new CxB Advisory Council

We are delighted to announce the launch of CxB's Advisory Council. Our six inaugural Council members will be contributing their expertise to develop and deliver CxB's cyber governance programme.

Top right, clockwise: Tijs Broeke, Caroline Rivett, Rebecca Lawrence, Nicholas Cooper, Hanif Barma, Wendy Barnes

They bring deep experience as non-executive and executive board members, governance experts, cyber security leaders and advisors, representing sectors including critical national infrastructure, government, education, policing, technology, health, professional services and the third sector.

"I am very pleased to be supporting CxB - getting the cyber security and resilience message out to board members, especially non-executive directors, is critical to business survival!" Wendy Barnes

Hanif Barma: an experienced non-executive director, committee member and board reviewer, Hanif is founder of Board Alchemy, a specialist governance consultancy focusing on boards, risk and assurance. His current board roles include Walbrook Institute London where he chairs the Audit and Risk Committee, and Coram Group. He is also a member of Audit and Risk Committee at the Courtauld Institute. Until the recent completion of his second term, Hanif was also a member of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee at the Department of Business and Trade. He is also a member of the Corporate Governance Committee at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and a Commissioner at the National Preparedness Commission. Hanif is a Chartered Accountant and MBA.

Wendy Barnes: a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Scottish Power and a lay member of Council at Lancaster University. She is also an advisor in cyber security governance and works with government to help develop advice and guidance on cyber resilience for boards. Her previous Non-Executive Director roles have included Yorkshire Water, the Boards of several government security departments, the Ministry of Defence, the Met Office, Ofwat and the National Crime Agency. She was also a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of OCSGroup, a global facilities management company, and international maritime engineering consultancy BMT, and led the Enterprise and Finance Committee for Chester Cathedral for many years. Wendy’s executive career was with British Nuclear Fuels and United Utilities, and she was also a Director General in the Department of Energy and Climate Change. She is an angel investor in several technology start ups, supporting the founding teams in developing governance and their approach to cyber resilience.

Tijs Broeke: an experienced non-executive board member with particular expertise in policing and cyber crime. Tijs leads public policy for HP Inc in Northwest Europe, and he currently serves as Chair of the Chair of the Prison Service Pay Review Body, Chair of the Board of Governors at London Metropolitan University, Chair of City of London Police Authority, Chair of the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group, Deputy Chair of the Board at the globally renowned Barbican Centre and is a Board Member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

Nicholas Cooper: is an experienced cyber security leader and board advisor. He is currently Group Director of Information Security at digital healthcare company HeliosX, Audit & Risk committee member at Local Space, and a non-executive director at Adversio Group. Previously he was VP for cyber security at several fast-growing tech companies. Nick is a Chartered Cyber Security Professional, a Chartered IT Professional and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information Security.

Rebecca Lawrence: Previously CEO at the British Library, with a long career in security, and currently a Commissioner of the National Preparedness Commission and a board member at Middlesex University. Previously she was CEO of the Crown Prosecution Service, CEO of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and Director at the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism.

Caroline Rivett: a cyber security advisor, non-executive director and Audit Committee Chair. She is a former Big Four cyber security consulting partner with 25 years' experience. Whilst at KPMG she was the global cyber security lead for life sciences and accountable for data privacy services; she continues to consult in cyber security. Caroline is currently Audit Chair at NHS Kent and Medway, Royal College of Nursing and the Children's Trust, and is a non-executive director at other health and legal services organisations. She is a Chartered Accountant and MBA.

"Cyber risk is right at the top of board agendas nowadays, and CxB’s work in supporting non-executive board members to provide oversight and challenge over this fast-changing area is invaluable.  I’m delighted to join their Advisory Council and be part of this initiative." Hanif Barma