Gert Jan Schenk
President of EMEA Gert-Jan Schenk is President of EMEA at McAfee with 20 years of experience in global sales and ...
Earlier this month, I was very excited to learn that the McAfee Cork office was recognised as a ‘Great Place to Work’ in the Irish Times’ Best Workplaces Ireland 2013 list. This accolade reflects the ‘P’ of one of our EMEA 2013 core themes – PACT (People, Activity, Commitment, Teamwork). I often say that, as a company McAfee is first and foremost in the business of people. It’s talented and driven individuals that truly make a difference in this world, and McAfee is committed to hiring, nurturing and rewarding top talent.
This was actually the first time that McAfee Ireland was involved in the ‘Great Places to Work’ assessment process and it’s great to see the company being included in the list the first time around. Not only is this accolade a fantastic reward for the managers in the Cork office, it’s also a testament to the cohesive teamwork being nurtured, which of course reflects the ‘T’ of our PACT mantra. Being seen as a great place to work is not a goal in itself, but a constant journey that we at McAfee are all making together. Although, I have to say – being included in such a prestigious list is surely a sign that we are on track!
I spotted the news about the Cork office when returning to Amsterdam from a trip to the United Arab Emirates. I was in the region visiting some of our Abu Dhabi and Dubai based customers and was impressed by the general buzz and energy of the region towards innovation and nurturing talent. I was particularly impressed with one of our larger customers in Abu Dhabi – the incredible knowledge and awareness its team had of our company and portfolio was amazing, and they are doing a fantastic job of telling McAfee’s Security Connected story, as the threat of cybercrime increases in that region.
In between trips to customers, I was able to visit one of the sites of our future Cyber Defence Centre (CDC) in Dubai, which is still under construction. It will be the first forensic cyber centre able to monitor and detect cyber threats in the Middle East. The CDC in Dubai will support customers in the Middle east and Africa, with a prime focus on critical infrastructures, Oil & Gas and Financial Services customers.
While yet unfinished, I’m very proud of our progress with this centre so far – we’ve hired some of the best people in the industry to run this establishment, in anticipation of the need and demand for further customer support in this region. The CDC will be a big differentiator for our team, and with a first-class workforce to power it, the future of this centre is looking bright!
And so I returned from the Middle East, only to set off straight away to South Africa, which is where I’m writing this blog post from right now. More news to follow when I return from this part of the world, so stay tuned!
Tags: Abu Dhabi, CDC, Cork, critical infrastructure, Cyber Defence, Cyber Defence Center, Cybercrime, Dubai, Financial Services, forensic, Great Place to Work; Best Workplaces Ireland 2013, Ireland, McAfee, Oil & Gas, PACT, People, Security Connected, United Arab Emirates
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