Hamish Beaton has been named as General Manager – Cyber Security Advisory.

Beaton, who joins Kordia from the GCSB's National Cyber Security Centre, will oversee a team of highly skilled consultants and cyber security professionals providing advisory services to both private and public sector organisations.

"Hamish is a highly regarded cyber security leader, and we're excited for him to join our team. He shares our vision and commitment to helping NZ organisations become more cyber resilient in the face of an evolving threat landscape. No doubt our customers will gain significant value from his level of experience and knowledge," says Shaun Rendell, Kordia Group CEO.

In his new role, Beaton will be responsible for driving Kordia's Cyber Advisory and Incident Response practices, ensuring consultants are well placed to deliver outstanding cyber security consulting services for customers looking to secure their organisations.

Prior to joining Kordia, Beaton had previously served as the Director Cyber Security within the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and had worked across various roles within the New Zealand Intelligence Community.

"I'm very excited to be joining Kordia's team of highly driven cyber security practitioners. Having worked to protect New Zealand's critical services and information assets over the past decade, Kordia's expertise and commitment to delivering mission-critical solutions resonates strongly with me. I am looking forward to helping drive uplifts and improvements to the cyber security posture of our customers," says Beaton.

Phil Dobson has also been named General Manager – Assurance, which will see him lead Kordia's penetration testing and audit function through its consulting branch Aura Information Security. Dobson was previously Acting General Manager at Aura, and before that held roles as Operations and Sales Manager within the business.

Both Dobson and Beaton will report to Dermot Conlon, who has recently been appointed to a new role as Executive General Manager – Cyber Security. Conlon was previously the CEO of managed security firm SecOps, which was acquired by Kordia in July 2021. His role will oversee Kordia's cyber security business at a strategic level.

Also returning to the Kordia Group is Peter Bailey, who will take up the role of Regional Business Manager – Cyber. Bailey will focus on developing business and key stakeholder relationships in the Wellington market and will oversee the sales team responsible for supporting the cyber security needs of Kordia and Aura customers. Bailey previously spent a decade at Aura Information Security in leadership roles.

"There's no doubt in my mind that the Kordia Group cyber security division is one of the strongest in the country – we have the right mix of talent, experience, and skill to help our customers secure their organisations, through a truly comprehensive range of services and solutions.

"Kordia's cyber security division will achieve excellent work under the guidance of our knowledgeable cyber leadership team," says Rendell.