Last week saw the first meeting of the WMCRC Advisory Group and the first meeting of our Trusted Partners.
The Advisory Group saw nine new members meet virtually with WMCRC Director Alison Hurst. The first meeting was Chaired by Mandy Haeburn-Little CEO of BRIM who are responsible for establishing the network of CRCs across the country.
Alison welcomed the members to the meeting before Mandy invited discussion on activity of note within the region which would be taking place between now and November to help the Advisory Group develop a plan for the Centre.
The group were also asked to consider themes which the WMCRC team could focus on during the first six months. The group discussed a range of topics which they felt would be most useful and practical to the business community. It was agreed that remote working and supply chain would provide the first two areas of focus for the WMCRC.
Reflecting on the meeting Alison said: “The Advisory Group are an impressive and engaging group of business leaders. It was great to experience so much enthusiasm and energy at the first meeting and the sharing of innovation and ideas. The group contributed lots of ideas and plans to reach out to the wider business community in the region to deliver key cyber security support. More news on this coming soon.”
The second meeting was with the Trusted Partners of the WMCRC. The WMCRC Trusted Partners are official providers of Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Certification to local businesses and charities.
Cyber Essentials helps businesses to guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrates commitment to cyber security which can often become a requirement when tendering for work in both public and private sectors.
There were 14 Trusted Partners at the meeting which was a welcome meeting and introduction to the WMCRC team and each other.
Alison said: “Our Trusted Partners are an extremely knowledgeable group of individuals from diverse range of businesses. It was great to see how they bring different perspectives and approaches to the group which is exactly what we need. The team and I look forward to working with all of them as the Centre grows.”
Mandy Haeburn-Little, CEO BRIM who is working with Alison on the setup of the Centre added: "The West Midlands centre is one of the fastest growing that we have in the network that extends across England and Wales. The support, enthusiasm and energy shown by the business community has been really excellent as has been the level of take up from the Universities based within the region. We are absolutely delighted with the response that the centre has already had and I know that this will grow to be a real asset within the business landscape.’ Mandy Haeburn-Little,CEO BRIM who is working with Alison on the setup of the Centre."
