Former Global Managing Partner Security Practice, Accenture
Dr. Alastair MacWillson is the Global Managing Partner of Accenture’s global security practice, which comprises of over 3,000 security and risk professionals, and works with business and government leaders around the world on critical issues relating to technology strategy and risk, operational performance and management, cyber and information security, and critical infrastructure protection. He also serves on the leadership council of Accenture’s global technology consulting business.
Prior to joining Accenture in 2002, Dr. MacWillson was the global leader of the technology consulting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers. During his time with PwC he also had responsibility for the PwC technology venture fund, which had $50m invested in new business activities, and was also the founder and interim global CEO for beTRUSTed, a managed service e-security business of PwC. Having successfully established the beTRUSTed business, he handed over responsibilities to a full-time CEO in early 2002.
Dr. MacWillson was appointed as Chair of the Institute of Information Security Professionals in 2011, having previously been the Chair of the IISP Accreditation Committee for 5 years. In his role with the IISP, he aspires to help shape the security industry through greater awareness and recognition, and improving the standards of professionalism.
Over the past 22 years Dr. MacWillson has lead technology transformation and security projects for major organizations such as World Bank, SWIFT, DTC, CBT, LSE, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, NASA, QinetiQ, BP, Shell, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, , Ericsson, BT, as well as intelligence, security and defense departments of the UK, US, European, Australian and Indian Governments. He has advised clients on information and cyber security in the nuclear research and nuclear energy sector and has worked on projects for the UKAEA and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Dr MacWillson has acted as an adviser to a number of governments on technology strategy critical infrastructure protection, cyber security and counter terrorism and has sat on related committees for the US and UK governments, the European Commission and the United Nations.
Prior to moving into consultancy in 1990, Dr. MacWillson worked in government service and held senior advisory positions on security and risk related strategy with the UK Foreign Office and, through secondment, with the US State Department. During his government career, Dr. MacWillson completed tours of duty in the Middle East, Moscow and Washington DC as well as working for shorter periods in a variety of other countries.
With over 22 years of experience in information technology, security and applied cryptography, Dr. MacWillson is internationally recognised as an expert in the field. As such, he is a frequent speaker and commentator on technology and security issues and his insights have been featured by some of the top media outlets such as the BBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. He is also a visiting lecturer on security and technology and has presented on many programmes with MIT, Georgetown, RHUL, Stanford, Surrey universities and the LBS. During his career Dr. MacWillson has published many articles and papers on technology and risk and has authored journals on cyber and information security, risk, cryptography and cyber terrorism, as well as a widely selling textbook on Hostage Taking Terrorism (McMillan 1992).
Dr. MacWillson has a B.Sc. in Physics, Postgraduate Diplomas in Computer Science and Digital Imaging, a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics, a D.Phil. in Cryptographic Science and a Management Diploma from IMD in Lausanne.