MARTYN BOOTH

MARTYN BOOTH

CISO at EUROMONEY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR

Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself

I’m based in South West London and am the group CISO for Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, based in central London. I am responsible for overall group security operations across our business divisions. I also sit on the board of two UK charities and have recently completed an MBA at Durham.

What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?

I started my career in consulting. With management consultants, PA Consulting. Then with two of the big four accountancy firms. I then took over European security responsibility at Equifax (European only, the systems were completed separately from the US systems and were not impacted by the breach) before taking my current role as CISO, 6 years ago.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

Yes. I specialised in security at University and did a secondment with Accenture in their security architecture team to build some experience. At PA, I mostly took on security design roles.

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?

I have had numerous role models. Three that jump out: Adam Fletcher, international security leader at Equifax who I learnt (some) patience from. Stephen Hardie, CRO at Euromoney, who hired me. He gave me a large remit and provided a lot of coverage for my inexperience. Then Tim Bratton, general counsel at Euromoney, whose uncompromising approach to doing the right thing made me a better leader.

How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?

I think they need to be increasingly adaptive. In security, we have to prepare for the unexpected and work out ways to make decisions more quickly so that the business can be truly supported. Remote working will test our abilities to manage their stresses on our workforces to the limit too.

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

Business skills. It sounds obvious but technology leaders seem to get to very senior positions without understanding much about the businesses that they are paid to provide a service to. Providing technology without understanding the requirements of the business and pressures that they are under is difficult to achieve. In future, I think it will be unacceptable and become expected.

How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?

I attend a lot of industry events. Learning from peers that you respect is a great way to go about it. Otherwise, I attend round tables, vendor sessions and subscribe to all of the usual feeds.

What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?

In security it is probably Artificially Intelligent malware. The industry struggles enough with current malware. Ones that learn and adapt will be nearly impossible to stop with current technology defense levels.

"To think and take time to make decisions. All technology people have a tendency to make snap decisions."

If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?

To think and take time to make decisions. All technology people have a tendency to make snap decisions. But one serious mistake will undermine their standing permanently. Patience is important. The other thing, for the hot-headed out there, if you’re angry about an email, don’t reply immediately. Give it a few hours and then respond.

Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?

To think and take time to make decisions. All technology people have a tendency to make snap decisions. But one serious mistake will undermine their standing permanently. Patience is important. The other thing, for the hot headed out there, if you’re angry about an email, don’t reply immediately. Give it a few hours and then respond.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I’d make environmental issues a priority for everybody.

If you would like to gain more perspective from Tech Leaders and CIOs you can read some of our other interviews here.