Honored. OBE Recognition For UKC3 Board Member
OBE Recognition for UKC3 Board Member, Melanie Oldham for Services to Cyber Security
UKC3 Board Member, Melanie Oldham, has been recognized in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List for her ‘services to cyber security. Melanie, also CEO and Founder of the cyber firm, Bob’s Business, was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty The Queen.
See the day in the life of Melanie Oldham here:
Special honors such as OBE, MBE, and CBE are given to people, recognizing amazing achievements and service to the country. The award typically handed out twice a year is an order of the British Empire to people who have made a great impact in their line of work.
For the past two decades, Oldham has been actively involved in the Information Security industry, helping individuals and organizations to understand how cyber security can help them live and work safer online.
Oldham is the Founder and CEO of Bob’s Business, where her efforts are directed at developing engaging information security awareness to develop a secure organizational culture by challenging and changing employee behavior. Since last year, Melanie has been the Vice-Chair of the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) focusing on supporting cyber clusters and encouraging greater collaboration between regional cyber security networks to drive skills growth and innovation in the cyber industry in the UK.
In June 2020, Oldham became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (FCIIS), having demonstrated commitment and earned respect and authority in the cyber security community. Her services to cyber security were remarked also on for her work as the Director of Yorkshire Cyber Security Cluster, which is one of the UKC3-recognised cyber clusters, where Melanie facilitates collaborative work to build and increase information security knowledge and provide a networking platform to share ideas and best practice.
A major component of her service in the cyber security sector is through her collaborations with schools and academia, inspiring the cyber security professionals of tomorrow, encouraging diversity, and helping influence and improve cyber career and qualification paths.
Oldham’s contribution to the numerous cyber security and information security projects, programs, and educational campaigns, on a regional, national, and international level was the basis of the recommendations for the OBE title. The OBE is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions in their fields at a local level, or to those whose work has gained a national profile.
Oldham has also been seen speaking at the Infosecurity Europe 2018 and 2019 event prior to receiving the honor and is highly regarded as an exceptional professional in the cyber security space.
On receiving the OBE, Oldham said:
“I am deeply honoured to be receiving the OBE distinction from Her Majesty The Queen, and grateful to see that my work in the Information Security sector over the last 17 years has been recognised at the national level. The road to integrating cyber security and Information Security into the day to day working processes to have better secured organisations has just started and I am committed to lead on new projects and initiatives that will have a positive impact for organisations’ Information Security at the national level.”
Melanie Oldham
As the Vice-Chair of UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3), Oldham is working with cyber clusters, coordinating the knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices between clusters, in order to develop the ecosystem, promote innovation and grow cyber skills.
The UKC3 supports cyber clusters that drive the growth of the cyber sector and encourage greater collaboration across the UK’s cyber ecosystem.
UKC3 provides a focal point for national and global organizations looking to engage with UK cyber clusters and the cyber-tech ecosystem. It has three core goals: supporting innovation, developing the cyber ecosystem, and boosting skills and talent. Part of UKC3’s remit is to provide support and allocate funding for projects that support the three goals through the cluster network.
