Immersive Labs Ex-GCHQ trainer steps into new role
ACYBER security company in Bristol that was founded by an ex-GCHQ trainer has appointed its first chief marketing officer.
Evelyn Swaim, former senior vice president at software corporate Blue Prism, joins the fast-growing business as it continues to scale globally.
Immersive Labs, which is based at Runway East in Redcliffe, has developed a platform that can identify gaps in a workforce’s cyber skills. It counts some of the world’s largest organisations, including Airbnb, Deutsche Bank and the Met Police, as customers.
It is currently working on a Bank of England-backed initiative to test the UK financial sector’s cyber defences, according to the Financial Times.
THE climate crisis seems to be on everyone’s lips this week, which isn’t surprising given that COP26 is taking place in Glasgow.
Switch on your television, or open a newspaper, and there will be someone mentioning the climate.
We are being bombarded with activists earnestly telling us the end of the world is nigh! Well, the only thing for sure in this very uncertain world is, it isn’t.
COP stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’ and this year is the 26th – hence COP26.
By the time you read this, many arguments will have been made, but whether any solutions will have been created is another thing.
The issue is massive, so it is very disappointing that two of the world’s biggest polluters, Russia and China, haven’t sent their presidents. Clearly, it isn’t important enough for them, and as President Xi has made himself unopposed leader for life he doesn’t have an electorate to worry about.
While we have pensioners gluing themselves to the highway, the communist dictatorship in Beijing continues to oversee a country producing over 27% of global CO2. Britain, by contrast, produces around 1%. It is interesting there hasn’t been any gluing to the tarmac outside either the Russian or Chinese embassies.
US President Biden, who did at least turn up, allegedly brought a convoy of bullet and bomb-proof cars with him by airplane. Were they all necessary? I doubt it.
At least Greta Thunberg arrived by train, which is about as climate friendly as you can get, other than walking or cycling.
The most climate friendly way to
Ms Swaim has been hired to help drive growth, awareness and category ownership of the business, Immersive Labs said.
She has 15 years’ experience developing brand and go-to-market strategy for companies such as TIBCO, Progress, Software AG and Nuance Communications. She is also a founding member of USbased executive leadership network CHIEF.
“It is a great time to be joining Immersive Labs,” she said. “As cyber risk continues to spread across entire organisations, the need for workforce-wide human capabilities is growing.
“CISOs in large organisations need to not only validate technological controls, but also their human equivalent.”
Ms Swaim said Immersive Labs had “the key” to helping the world’s largest companies mitigate risk and manage cyber threats. The appointment is part of a wider global hold the conference would have been on Zoom, of course, but then the delegates would have missed out on the luxury food and gallons of wine consumed over important dinners or break-out sessions.
Much of this food and wine has been delivered by vans or trucks, many of which I expect were powered by diesel.
I support anyone stopping the pollution of our planet, but it must be done in a measured way. Trying to scare the population by producing populist-inspired untruths may backfire which, in turn, would put the climate agenda back considerably.
The same goes for the news that our rivers are polluted. Of course they’re polluted! When our sewage system was built nearly 200 years ago it was designed so that any excess rainwater drained into the system generally, which means that our sewage drains get filled quickly, and then overspill into rivers.
In Victorian times rivers were seen as a back-up to the system – not somewhere separate from it. These days no one wants to see effluent floating past their bedroom window.
This government will have to take the action that its predecessors should have done, but didn’t. However, borrowing billions to counteract the problems caused by Covid make it unlikely to be anytime soon.
In the meantime, it’s probably best to avoid swimming in rivers unless you have a diver’s suit on with full breathing apparatus! growth objective, according to Immersive Labs, and follows $123m of investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Insight Partners, Menlo Ventures, Citi Ventures and Summit Partners.
Founder James Hadley, who worked for the government for nine years, said: “We welcome the appointment of a deeply experienced marketing leader who adds depth, experience and diversity to our leadership team.
“From the very beginning, Immersive Labs has benefitted from the power of inclusivity to solve complex challenges with a range of viewpoints, something furthered by Evelyn’s arrival.”
Mr Hadley said Ms Swaim had the “marketing firepower” to help elevate the Immersive Labs brand.
He added: “With her strong leadership, we are poised to capitalise on the opportunity ahead of us as we continue to scale.”
Action must be taken – but scare tactics are not the way to bring about change
Founder of land and property company Fear Group