Woods College Faculty

David Wilkinson

Part-time Faculty

M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy & Governance Program

Profile

David has over 30 years of experience in cybersecurity, risk management, strategy development and operations. He is currently Senior Managing Partner at the Bellwether Group, Inc., an advisory firm that develops and implements security, risk management and resiliency strategies. Recently, David was Senior Director at Gartner, Inc. heading up Security and Risk Management for the Financial Services Industry in North America. He is an adjunct Professor in the Cybersecurity master’s degree program at Boston College and also a member of its Advisory Board. His professional experience ranges from corporate strategy development and private equity to direct profit and loss responsibility as chief executive.

At Bellwether, David advises clients on their security and preparedness strategies, policies, internal organization and reporting relationships. Operational resiliency includes: risk and vulnerability assessments; physical, information and network/cyber security; brand protection; incident response and business continuity. David has worked with over 85 major corporations in more than 17 industries in these contexts. He wrote a digital short on Security Operating Centers published by the Financial Times Press.

At Gartner, David was a Senior Director in its Security and Risk Management practice. In this capacity, David has developed cybersecurity strategies and implementation plans for several leading banks and financial institutions. He founded Gartner Consulting’s practices in Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Information Technology Risk Management (ITRM) and their Insider Threat Management program. He regularly helped companies identify and analyze cybersecurity metrics and design executive dashboards.

At Boston College, David helped found the Master’s Degree program for CyberSecurity, is a member of its Advisory Board and teaches in the graduate and certification programs. The graduate program has grown from launch to around 135 students and is a key source of qualified staff to the local cybersecurity industry.

As Senior Vice President of Capricorn Investors LP, a private equity fund, David was responsible for new investments. David spent eight years as a senior executive with City Investing Company and its subsidiaries and successor companies. City Investing was a $6 billion international company listed on the NYSE with operations in manufacturing, printing, lodging, food services, real estate, insurance, and financial services. He was appointed chief executive at three of its operating businesses.

After receiving his postgraduate degree, David joined The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a leading international strategy consulting firm. Prior to business school, he worked as a production manager for Unilever, Ltd. in the United Kingdom where he supervised 400 unionized employees and was selected for Unilever’s Company Management Development Scheme (UCMDS).

Throughout his career, David has acquired extensive international work experience in more than 25 countries including brief periods of residence in Central Europe, South Africa and Australia.

David earned his MSc in Business Administration from the London Business School, attended the University of Chicago’s Graduate (now the Booth) School of Business under the International Management Program and holds a BSc (with Honors) from the University of East Anglia