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Paladin Capital hires CEO of UK’s national cybersecurity centre

Paladin Capital Group, a leading global cybersecurity and deep tech investment firm, has just announced the appointment of Ciaran Martin, CB, as a Managing Director. Martin is regarded as one of the leading public voices on cybersecurity and joins from the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which he ran as its first CEO in 2016. Prior to this, Martin was head of cybersecurity for the UK Government’s Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) from 2014, before the NCSC was formed.

Paladin Capital is at the vanguard of cybersecurity investing, having invested in close to 50 cyber and advanced technology companies, including Digital Shadows and Secure Code Warrior. It regards itself as a multi-stage investor and focuses on backing early stage companies that are developing products and services that defend, monitor and secure our shared critical, digital infrastructure.

Commenting on Ciaran’s appointment, Michael Steed, Founder and Managing Partner, Paladin Capital, said: “Ciaran Martin is an exceptional talent in the cyber sphere and we’re profoundly pleased to have him join the Paladin team. His understanding of the ever-evolving threat landscape and knowledge of the technologies required to meet those challenges will help us assess potential investments and support our portfolio companies in their growth.

“At Paladin we focus on companies that have a “dual lens”, that is, they provide services to government and commercial customers. Ciaran’s experience working across the public and private sectors to develop cyber solutions will be invaluable for the companies we back.”

Speaking with Private Equity Wire over email, Mike Steed added that Ciaran’s appointment underscored Paladin’s investment strategy of “broadening and sustaining our information advantage that drives our global cyber investing”. 

“To be a good cyber investor focusing on digital resilience of our critical infrastructure, you must have global leaders helping to form the themes and thesis that will identify the answers to the solutions need to protect and defend our society. Ciaran Martin is just such a global leader,” he added.

Ciaran will be based in Paladin’s European headquarters in the UK and will help grow Paladin’s presence in Europe’s cybersecurity early stage market.

He will also be part of Paladin’s global Strategic Advisory Board, advising the company on threats, trends, risks and opportunities in cybersecurity for businesses and governments. This important role is in addition to Ciaran’s position as Professor of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.

“I am delighted to be working with the Paladin team,” said Martin. “I learned in Government that whether it’s in the UK, Europe, the US or globally, the common cyber threats we face can only be solved if there is a strong, innovative private sector taking care of huge swathes of the problem. That presents enormous economic opportunities for talented technologists and entrepreneurs and I’m looking forward to being part of a venture capital team helping them to succeed.”

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