Matt Foster

Matt Foster has an extensive work experience in various roles related to information and cyber security. Matt has served as the Head of Information & Cyber Security at Lookers plc since October 2020, where they have brought about a transformational change in maturity and enabled the addition of Cyber Insurance to the company's risk management strategy. Prior to this, they worked as the Head of IT Security at Lookers plc from December 2018 to October 2020, collaborating with stakeholders to develop and execute IT Security strategies aligned with business goals.

Before joining Lookers plc, Matt worked at The University of Manchester as an Enterprise Security Architect from May 2017 to November 2018. In this role, they reviewed and enhanced system security measures, implemented a hybrid Security Operations Centre, and introduced identity and access management capabilities. Matt also served as a Cyber Security Architect at The University of Manchester from April 2015 to March 2017, leading a team of solution architects and designing comprehensive cyber security architectures.

Prior to their university roles, Matt worked as an IT Architect/Consultant/Developer on a freelance basis from December 2014 to July 2015. Matt also served as an Operations Manager at Abbey Property Facilities from June 2013 to November 2014, where they headed IT operations and provided quality services through cloud technologies and a DevOps approach.

Matt's early experience includes a long tenure at Unilever starting in October 1995, where they served as an Enterprise Architect Identity & Security within the Unilever IT and CTO departments. In this role, they designed and deployed Bring Your Own Smartphone ActiveSync PoC and led the migration of programs from legacy X.500 to Microsoft ADAM.

Throughout their career, Matt Foster has demonstrated expertise in information and cyber security, strategic planning, architecture design, and stakeholder collaboration.

Matt Foster has a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Brunel University London, which they obtained from 1991 to 1995. Matt also holds a certification as a TOGAF 9 certified Enterprise Architect from The Open Group, which they obtained in 2012. In terms of additional certifications, they have obtained the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification from (ISC)² in April 2021, as well as the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) designation from ISACA in the same year.