Kordia strengthens cyber team with two senior hires

Kordia has made two new senior appointments to its Cyber Security business.

Patric Balmer and Elaine McCarthy are joining Kordia as Head of Cyber Managed Services and Head of Delivery – Cloud and Cyber Security, respectively. Their appointments come as part of a strategic move to boost the company's cyber security offerings.

Glen White, Executive General Manager – Cyber Security and Cloud at Kordia, welcomed Balmer and McCarthy to the team.

"We're ecstatic to have Patric and Elaine join the team. Their depth of experience in cyber security and delivering exceptional services to customers will help drive the success of our managed security offering," he said.

He further commented on Kordia's broader mission, "Kordia's approach is to help businesses stay secure with effective support across all aspects of information security, from risk and governance to 24/7 x 365 monitoring and incident response. That's why we look for the best cyber talent in New Zealand to ensure our customers stay secure."

Patric Balmer brings over 25 years of experience in the ICT and cyber security industry from previous roles at Dimension Data, NTT, and Liquid IT.

Most recently, Balmer was at Spark, leading the Managed Security Services Practice for their cyber defence division. His experience includes developing security services and solutions for both private and public organisations.

Discussing his engagement with Kordia, Balmer stated, "I'm excited to bring my expertise to such an iconic New Zealand organisation such as Kordia, with a strong focus on cyber security. I'm looking forward to collaborating with the talented cyber professionals working in Kordia's Cyber Defence Operations and Cloud teams, as well as the consultants at Aura Information Security, as we continue driving innovation and excellence in the cyber space for New Zealand organisations."

Elaine McCarthy joins from Computer Concepts, where she was Head of IT Managed Services, with a focus on Public and Private Cloud, Security, Cyber and Modern Work. McCarthy is recognised for her leadership and partnership-building capabilities and was a finalist in the Reseller News Awards for Management Excellence in 2022.

In her new role, McCarthy will oversee the evolution of Kordia's delivery practice within its Cyber Security and Cloud divisions, alongside the consultancy Aura Information Security. "I'm looking forward to helping Kordia continually seek better ways of working with our customers and driving results. What attracted me to Kordia was the passion and sense of purpose the team has for what they do – helping businesses stay safe and secure against cyber threats and navigate complexity in the cloud is truly impactful work. I'm looking forward to building great relationships with Kordia's customers over the next few months," McCarthy said.

The announcement of these appointments coincides with Kordia's strategic decision to merge its Cyber Security division with the Cloud division.

According to White, this development aims to create synergies for customers by providing a comprehensive range of services. "Kiwi businesses are navigating a rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape, while simultaneously trying to shift workloads to the cloud and leverage new technologies like AI."

"Maintaining a strong cyber security posture and resilience against incoming attacks has never been more important, and proper governance and implementation of cloud environments is a major factor in achieving that," he added.