Ciaran Liam Martin, (born 19 September 1974), is a British professor and former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). In September 2020 he was appointed Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations at the

Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is the school of public policy of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The School was founded in 2010 following a £75 million donation from business magnate Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million fro ...

, University of Oxford.

Life

Martin was appointed as head of cyber security at the

Government Communications Headquarters Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primari ...

(GCHQ) in December 2013. He recommended the establishment of a UK National Cyber Security Centre within the intelligence and security agency. This was agreed by the Government and announced by the Chancellor

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

in November 2015. Martin became the first Chief Executive in February 2016, and it became operational in October of that year. On 14 February 2017, the NCSC's new headquarters in Victoria in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

were opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Prior to joining GCHQ, Martin was Constitution Director at the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

from 2011, helping to agree the framework for the Scottish independence referendum. From 2008 to 2011, he was Director of Security and Intelligence at the Cabinet Office. His public service career has also included a series of roles in elsewhere in the Cabinet Office and in

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

and the National Audit Office (NAO). He was a member of the GCHQ Board. He is a past pupil of

Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh The Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh is a state funded 11–18 boys grammar school in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the largest grammar school in Omagh. It is under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (NI) ...

, where he was very much seen as an all-rounder, being head-boy, a member of the

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winn ...

Gaelic football squad and keyboard player with indie rock outfit "Some Kind of Wonderful". He is a graduate of

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he studied History. Martin was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to international and global cyber security. Martin had planned on resigning in June 2020 but delayed his resignation until August because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was succeeded by Lindy Cameron. In December 2002, Martin was the 'phone a friend' for Declan Montague on an episode of the ITV gameshow ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ciaran 1974 births Living people Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Civil servants in the Cabinet Office GCHQ people GCHQ Civil servants in HM Treasury Civil servants in the National Audit Office (United Kingdom) Companions of the Order of the Bath