CREST, the international not-for-profit accreditation and certification body for the cyber security industry, has appointed Nick Benson as its new Chief Executive Officer.
He joins CREST from his position as Chief Operating Officer of ORX, the largest global trade association supporting operational risk management in financial services. Prior to that he held executive roles across the finance and risk management divisions at Nationwide Building Society, one of the UK’s largest retail financial services providers.
“I would like to welcome Nick to the global CREST community,” said Rowland Johnson, CREST president. “He has an impressive track record of building and leading teams through expansion and transformation and while at ORX led a programme of organisational change and delivered strong growth and enhanced service quality. It is a very challenging time for the cyber security industry in the face of a rapidly evolving threat landscape and Nick’s knowledge and experience will be pivotal in supporting CREST members and driving the next stages in CREST’s development.”
Benson began his career at KPMG in its IT advisory divisions in London and Sydney and he qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) in 2005. He also has a BA in accounting and finance from Exeter University.
As CEO, Benson will work closely with the senior management team alongside CREST President Rowland Johnson, who will focus on representing and growing the business internationally.
“CREST is respected across the international cyber security industry,” said Nick Benson. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the CREST team at a time when it is about to surpass 300 members and is investing in new exams and accreditation on a global scale. This marks a new chapter in the CREST story, and I am very much looking forward to playing a part in it.”
About CREST
CREST is a not-for-profit accreditation and certification body representing the technical information security industry. CREST provides internationally recognised accreditations for organisations providing technical security services and professional level certifications for individuals providing vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, cyber incident response, threat intelligence and security operations centre (SOC) services. CREST Member companies undergo regular and stringent assessment, whilst CREST certified individuals undertake rigorous examinations to demonstrate the highest levels of knowledge, skill and competence. To ensure currency of knowledge in fast changing technical security environments the certification process is repeated every three years.
CREST is governed by an elected Executive of experienced security professionals who also promote and develop awareness, ethics and standards within the cyber security industry. CREST supports its members and the wider information security industry by creating collaborative research material. This provides a strong voice for the industry, opportunities to share knowledge and delivers good practice guidance to the wider community.
For more information on CREST: www.crest-approved.org