John Suffolk, ex-CIO of UK govt joins Huawei

Huawei has appointed the ex-CIO of UK government, John Suffolk as the Global Cyber Security Officer (GCSO), effective from October 1st. In his new role, he would be in charge of developing Huawei's cyber security assurance strategy and system, managing and supervising its implementation.

The system will be adopted globally by all business groups and across all departments including R&D, supply chain, marketing and sales, project delivery and technical service, said a release. He will directly report to Huawei's CEO. The GCSO's office will be located in Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

Prior to joining Huawei, he had held leadership roles as the chief information officer of UK government and he was responsible for the development and implementation of the UK Government's Transformational Government Strategies, the Technology Strategy, and the Information Assurance Strategy. He has also been an adviser to the World Bank High-Level Experts group since 2010 advising governments on how ICT can be used to transform the public service sector and generate economic growth. He was the director general of the UK Criminal Justice Transformation Program and managing director of the Britannia Building Society, a large retail financial services company, said the release. He holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from University of Wolverhampton and he is a certified director from the UK Institute of Directors.

Ken Hu, deputy chairman of the Board and Chairman of Huawei's Global Cyber Security Committee said, "Huawei is fully committed to addressing the emerging challenges of tomorrow together with our customers. Mr. Suffolk has a wealth of experience and expertise in dealing with cyber security issues with deep insights into emerging global cyber security trends. This will enhance Huawei's capabilities in addressing security challenges, and further support our proven track record and reputation among customers in an increasingly complex environment."