What Makes a Leader?

Great leaders are hard to come by regardless of industry, but the world of cyber presents its own shade of complexity. Technical specialists are trained to recognise and solve patterns with attention to detail and specialist knowledge. So taking a step back to focus on the bigger picture can be an uncomfortable change of pace.

"Leadership tends to be something people grow into with softer skills playing a crucial role", explains Phil who is currently a Senior Director of Engineering at Obsidian Security. Starting his journey studying computer science before working with the UK Government in Cheltenham, Phil knew early on to blend leadership with technical ability by focusing on coaching and developing others. Agreeing that this fusion of skillsets is rare, he explains he's learned a lot by moving back and forth between managing teams and hands-on coding.

"I really enjoy taking a small idea and building it into an enterprise or government-level system."

Post-university, his goal was to become a world-class researcher, but he found building solutions is how you make measurable change. He explains that there are a few ways to learn what problems need solutions in the first place.

“It often comes down to staying focused on solving problems no one else is working on, not getting distracted by what's new and exciting. It's about keeping up with what people need and solving problems rather than trying to push our own ideas and agenda."

From Convention to Innovation

Today's world of cyber requires adaptability. Having left the government in 2017, Phil joined Silicon Valley headquartered Synack as their first full-time engineer in the UK." They allow people worldwide to do security testing, bug bounties and penetration testing to find and fix holes in systems. This approach enables people to function efficiently and understand various situations." With $112M in venture capital behind them, Synack looked to Phil to expand the business building teams in data engineering, asset management, automated vulnerability scanning and more.

"Although many startups are created by innovative young people, effective leadership in building and running the actual operation of the business comes from experience."

The Key to Talent Networks is Trust

Beyond its proximity to his Welsh heritage, friends and family Phil stayed in Cheltenham after leaving the government due to the incredible talent network here. "During my time with the government, my team and I worked on a startup initiative with some members leaving to become part of it with Obsidian Security. During my five years with Synack, they secured the funding required to scale up and go global, then asked me to join them at Obsidian and lead.” Obsidian announced $90 million in Series C financing only one month before Phil joined.

Phil speaks of Cheltenham's world-class talent pool, from software engineers to mathematicians, for whatever your needs are. Government employees seeking their next step are attracted to the startup world over a stuffy corporate office in London. They get to keep their lifestyle while making an impact, but for any startups reading this, you won't find many of these people on Linkedin due to the secretive nature of their work. There are specialist recruitment agencies, but personal connections and building trust are often more valuable.

"Cheltenham also makes a refreshing change for overseas talent who only ever fly into London. The Cotswolds are beautiful; we just need more infrastructure to support the community's growing needs here. Simple things like electric car parking stations and office space are limited. Although there is a long-term plan to build space for cyber brands with projects such as Golden Valley, this will not fix the short-term challenges, and startups think in the short term. However, there is an exciting opportunity to innovate and match people with what problem they can solve, not just which brand they work for."

What’s Next?

Phil's current focus is SaaS security, which means all the various systems and tools people use to run their businesses daily, from Slack to Google. "Currently, people don't have the oversight or support they need from a security team, resulting in real-world implications. We're trying to solve that by providing visibility of what's happening in these cloud environments and teaching people not to see them as separate tools but as one ecosystem that works and communicates with each other. We want to enable businesses to focus on what really matters."

(Originally published as a Factory Cheltenham newsletter feature)