Scotland’s primary support organisation combatting cyber and fraud crimes, the Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland, has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of four trustees: Bex Smith, Bruce Harrison, Gerry Magee, and Sophie Hodgson.

Police Scotland deputy chief constable Bex Smith, whose background encompasses over two decades of policing experience, with a focus on public protection, major crime, local crime, and serious and organised crime, brings insight into law enforcement strategies and tactics.

Bruce Harrison, former managing director at BlackRock, joins the board, leveraging his expertise in portfolio risk management tools. He has previous experience navigating the complexities of one of the world’s largest investment managers, which had $10 trillion (~£8tn) in assets under management as of last year.

Gerry Magee has over 25 years of brand and marketing leadership across a number of sectors, adding a unique dimension to the board. Currently serving as UK brand and marketing director for Betfred, Magee’s expertise in brand-building and strategic marketing planning could bring innovative approaches to tackling cyber and fraud threats.

Sophie Hodgson, director of corporate communications at Secureworks, rounds out the quartet of new trustees, bringing with her global experience in corporate communications and PR within the technology sector. Hodgson’s tenure with technology giants underscores her proficiency in strategic communications.

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“We are thrilled to welcome our four new trustees to our board. Everyone at the Cyber and Fraud Centre is looking forward to working with them and our existing board members to support our business community in the fight against cyber and fraud crime,” said Jude McCorry, CEO of the Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland

“The threat of cyber and fraud crime is increasing with calls to our Incident Response Helpline more than doubling in a year. Our new trustees bring significant connections and contacts as well as expertise of working across policing and technology and commercial sectors, which will help us to address this by bringing fresh thinking to our organisation and creating opportunities to realise our vision where Scottish organisations are as resilient as they can be against cyber and fraud crime.”