Kylie Watson crosses to DXC as new A/NZ national security head
Cybersecurity veteran Kylie Watson has joined DXC Technology, crossing to the consultancy as its new national security head for Australia and New Zealand.
Tech consultancy DXC Technology has appointed recent PwC recruit Kylie Watson as its new head of security for Australia and New Zealand. Bringing decades of cyber experience, Watson’s appointment follows that of Kevin Sharp as A/NZ chief operating officer, and coincides with the confirmation of Raul Fernandez as global president and CEO.
Watson is the latest recent PwC partnership recruit to depart the embattled firm after only a brief stint.
Joining DXC Technology in Sydney, Watson boasts a professional resume dating back to the turn of the century, before which she spent a decade in the engineering division of the Australian Army. Prior to crossing to PwC less than twelve months ago, Watson spent two and a half years at IBM Consulting, including as A/NZ client lead partner for national security. Before that, Watson was head of Defence risk advisory at Deloitte, with an earlier stint as a director at SAP.
“With more than 30 years of experience across multiple industries and geographies, Kylie has a proven track record of delivering results and transforming businesses for sustainable growth,” stated DXC Technology’s Sydney-based Asia Pacific & Middle East president Seelan Nayagam. “Kylie will be responsible for helping our customers enhance their cyber posture and protecting them against security threats with proactive advisory and managed security services.”
Watson is often described as a ‘Cyber Sociologist’, with both expert knowledge in technology and the sociopolitical and psychological aspects of cybersecruity. A former lecturer at the University of Canberra, she has previously written papers and delivered addresses on subjects such as the motivations of a cyber criminal, including the internal threat from disgruntled employees, and on the industry impact of concept-driven human cognition and biases.
Watson said she was excited to be joining a firm with the right focus and experience across multiple industries. “There’s lots of smart, capable staff in my teams and the security portfolio offerings are impressive. I feel confident in our ability to deliver expert services and threat intelligence to our customers across their IT environments and operations, while spreading awareness on how to withstand security threats by using smart cyber resilience strategies.”
