Five Islands Capital Limited appoints ex Commander of the City of London Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy graduate, to its board, where, as SIRO, he will play a key role in its European & MENA region expansion strategy.

Prior to Stephen’s appointment as the company’s Senior Information Risk Officer, he enjoyed a career spanning 15 years with the City of London Police achieving the rank of Commander and having been the first police officer appointed with national responsibility for coordinating the country’s combined approach to combatting Economic Crime. During this time, he became internationally recognised as one of the world’s leaders in this field.

Stephen was instrumental in building up the UK’s understanding of the true impact of cyber-technology on crime, bringing a depth of operational experience in fraud, Cyber-Crime, Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Corruption to bear, in transforming national policy and creating the first UK cross-sector strategy for the prevention of economic crime; in addition to routinely advising government, heads of policing and other security agencies across the UK and abroad.

This led to the creation and management of the first specialist Intellectual Property Crime unit, a joint team with policing, private sector partners, UK government and international technology companies where Stephen fulfilled the role of the UK’s first ever EU SPoC(Single Point of Contact) for European Union related fraud and economic crimes.

Stephen is also acknowledged for having established UK policing’s most extensive network of national and international policing experts, including expertise in physical security protection, anti-corruption, anti-money-laundering and counter-fraud practitioners, along with other subject-matter experts through his role as National Coordinator.

He created the UK’s first formally recognised Economic Crime Protect and Prevent network to coordinate cybercrime and crime-prevention activities across policing, government agencies, national regulators, and many private sector organisations.

Most recently,as Chief Security Officer at Virgin Money, Stephen had responsibility for all Cyber and information, Physical, Executive and Intellectual Property Security. Stephen can be credited for the development and implementation of Virgin Money's first fully integrated Security Strategy, approved by the board in 2017, along with a rolling three-year investment and technical plan to modernise and strengthen the Bank's combined security defences.

Peter McNulty, Five Island’s CEO and former CEO of Sberbank Switzerland said: “The company cannot over-emphasize the importance of cybersecurity in all aspects of fintech environments and Stephen’s appointment demonstrates that these elements are at the heart of our strategy. We are delighted to welcome Stephen, who’s appointment to our Board amplifies the very DNA of Five Islands Capital”

Richard S. Oliver OBE, Chairman of Five Islands Capital Limited and former Vice Chairman at HSBC (Middle East), commented: “In building a team able to propose credible innovation in the blockchain technology sector, it is critically important to establish a culture of diligence and awareness of cybersecurity from inception. Stephen’s career was built on the foundations of security at the highest of levels. We are excited to have him on our board and believe it further enhances our ability to deliver innovative and robust technology solutions.”