Ken Allan, EY's Information Security lead, joins PA Consulting
Ken Allan, formerly a senior partner at Big Four giant EY, has joined PA Consulting Group as a senior member of the firm’s digital transformation team. Allan has been tasked with leading the growth of PA’s global digital trust team.
Prior to joining PA Consulting Group, Ken Allan worked for more than fifteen years at EY in London. At the accounting and consulting firm he was a Partner and held a range leadership roles – most recently Allan was the global lead of the firm’s Global Information Security practice. In the capacity he, since January 2012, led EY’s cybersecurity business, was responsible for the development of EY’s offerings (e.g. Three Lines of Defence framework) and thought leadership (e.g. annual GISS report), and, in a dual role, served as the EMEIA leader of EY’s Information Security Centre of Excellence. Previous roles include Head of Technology & Security Risk Services and Partner in the firm’s Financial Services industry.
Before working in the advisory industry, Allan spent almost 20 years with technology player Digital (DEC).
Allan recently decided to embark on a new adventure, and joined PA Consulting Group, with over 2,600 employees one of the globe’s larger consulting firms. At the firm he will, from the base in London, build and lead PA’s digital trust team, which is part of its wider Digital business. Allan brings over 40 years of technology risk and cyber security experience across multiple industry sectors to the role – he has particular experience in the financial services, life sciences and technology sectors.
Commenting on the high-profile addition, Anita Chandraker, head of PA’s Digital Transformation arm, says: “We are delighted to welcome Ken to our digital business. Ken is a proven leader with a strong track record of advising company boards on technology, information and cyber risks and security, as well as the opportunities that such challenges present. His appointment reflects the exciting growth of our digital trust and cyber security business and adds to our global capabilities.”
According to a recent study by Deloitte, the level of cyber threats is set to continue to rise in the years to come, with business expected to ramp up their spending on cyber defence as well as on related insurance products. A study by PA Consulting’s digital team found that also consumers are keen on increased emphasis on battling digital crime – today almost half of UK’s Generation Z wants more focus on fighting cybercrime than on real-world crime.
Against the backdrop of the growing demand for information security, Allan says he is “very excited” about his move, adding “PA has an excellent reputation in the market and is well known for delivering digital trust and cyber security solutions in some of the most challenging industries, including financial services, energy and utilities, and defence and security. I am looking forward to working with PA’s clients to help them build confidence in the security of their organisations.”
Consulting firms going cyber
Cybersecurity has, on the back of booming calls for support from clients, in recent years, grown into one of the fastest growing segments of the consulting industry. To meet requirements consultancies are anxiously bolstering their capacities, with much focus placed on inorganic growth. Last month Accenture for instance acquired Redcore, two months after it picked up Israel-based Maglan, while in the summer PwC bought Everett, four months after it integrated Praxism into its business. Previous deals closed by advisory firms in the cyberspace include EY’s purchase of Integrc, BDO’s pickup of SECOZ and IBM’s purchase of fraud detection firm IRIS Analytics.
Partnerships and alliances is another frequently applied form of quickly extending service portfolios. A.T. Kearney for instance last month agreed to a strategic partnership with the Kogod Cybersecurity Governance Centre, while in April Elixirr struck a deal with cyber security firm CyberInt.
