Gary Blair’s interests are focused on building trust and confidence in the global adoption of digital technologies and promoting the evolution of the multi-stakeholder model for Internet governance such that citizens of all countries can fully benefit from the Internet’s transformative socio-economic, environmental and cultural influences. A key area of his focus has been on working with both government and private sector stakeholders to establish the frameworks for effective public/private partnerships and capacity building to address Australian and international strategic needs in the critical domains of cybersecurity, trusted identity and privacy.
Gary holds the position of adjunct professor at Edith Cowan University’s Security Research Institute and is chairman of the Institute’s Advisory Board. Currently, he is one of six international principal investigators in ‘Strategy and Statecraft in Cyberspace’, a research program led by the National Security College, Australian National University. He also holds the position of Oxford Martin Associate in which capacity he contributes to the UK Government’s ‘Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre’ led by the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
As an International Fellow at the Ausralian International Policy Institute, Gary has contributed to the cyber policy debate both in Australia and internationally, including in a recent ASEAN regional forum event and in bi-lateral track 2 discussions with policy institutes in China.
Gary is the CEO and a director of the Australian Cyber Security Research Institute, a newly formed collaborative research initiative with partners across government, academia and industry. Among its goals, the institute aims to create around 40 industry-based PhD opportunities in cyber over the next eight to ten years.
Gary has more than twenty-five years’ experience in information technology within the banking and finance sector as well as other technologically intensive industries in which cyber resilience is essential. His roles have included CISO at Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia as well as CTO at National Australia Bank. He also has experience in successfully founding and leading early and mid-stage technology ventures and in his earlier career as a management consultant, delivered technology and risk management advice and solutions to government and corporate clients across the Asia Pacific region.
Gary is a member of the Cybersecurity Advisory Panel of the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre. For more information visit: http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/cybersecurity.