EY recruits national cybersecurity leader Michelle Price as partner
Big Four professional services firm EY has nabbed cybersecurity expert Michelle Price, who after four years leading the national industry growth network AustCyber will join the firm as a partner.
The inaugural CEO of Australian cybersecurity growth network AustCyber, Michelle Price, has departed her role four years after its inception to join professional services firm Ernst & Young as a partner.
The move follows last year’s merger of the federal government agency – initially named Australia’s Cyber Security Industry Growth Centre – with start-up tech accelerator Stone & Chalk.
Price is credited with having grown the burgeoning network’s handful of founding companies on AustCyber’s establishment in 2017 into a 600-strong membership today, with more than 350 local representatives and a strong pipeline of startups growing into scale-ups, in what is described as a vibrant and growing community. Stone & Chalk CEO Michael Bromley will now take on the role.
Commenting on the announcement, AustCyber’s chair, Doug Elix, said, “It is with mixed emotions we received this news. Michelle has done exactly what the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centre Initiative was designed to do. She led AustCyber to help build a national network of globally competitive companies, to boost Australian employment and provide sovereign capability.”
Elix continued; “On the other hand, we congratulate Michelle on her new appointment at EY. Michelle has been an outstanding leader and earned wide respect in Australian industry, government and the research community, and is internationally recognised for her expertise and leadership within the cybersecurity sector. We are most grateful for her contributions and leadership.”
Prior to taking up the AustCyber chief executive officer role, Price spent time as a senior cybersecutity advisor at ANU’s national security college, and before that five years in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, latterly as a senior advisor for domestic cyber policy. Earlier, she was with the Australian Border Force, serving as a director of corporate risk & strategy.
“It has been a true privilege to lead AustCyber to deliver on our mission to grow a vibrant and globally competitive Australian cybersecurity sector,” Price said. “Now is the right time to pass the reins following the successful completion of the merger with Stone & Chalk. I’m very excited to be joining EY to continue my passion for cybersecurity and its role in an ever-changing strategic landscape.”
