FOCUS FEATURE MADELINE CHEAH


From company servers to future self-driving vehicles, cyber threats are a constant menace lurking around every corner. The hackers behind the cyber-attacks that have potential to cause


mayhem could be based anywhere in the world and from any ethnic, gender or socio-economic background. “So if attackers come from all walks of life, we must make sure the


defenders are too,” says Madeline Cheah, the cyber security lead at automotive technology consultancy HORIBA MIRA. “In cyber security, there’s a bit of a cat and mouse game that happens


between attackers and defenders, but hackers don’t need to care for the law so they can move a lot faster. “One of the ways we can protect ourselves against them is to cover


every angle possible, and a lot of that comes from having a diversity of perspectives.”


‘Cyber security touches every part of our lives so it’s actually a social problem’


Born in Malaysia, Madeline recalls her passion for computers being


fired while at a British school in Indonesia. Her career has been built on a combination of experience in academia


– she studied a PhD in automotive cyber security at Coventry University – and business. With the future of cars underpinned by three megatrends – self-


driving systems, electrification and safety – there’s a key role to play for cyber security in order to protect the connected systems involved. Throughout her learning, Madeline has noticed a great gender divide, reflecting: “When I lectured at university eight or nine years ago, there


LINDSEY WILLIAMS


Lindsey Williams still remembers the “oh my goodness, I can’t do this” feeling that preoccupied her mind following her appointment as a housing association director aged 29. The doubts crept back just under a


decade later when she became chief executive of Amber Valley Housing in 2003, lasting many months into the role. Little did she realise her responsibilities


would only grow as the organisation doubled headcount to a current 375 people as its evolved into Futures Housing Group, which now owns and manages more than 10,000 homes across the East Midlands. But she soon realised confidence was the key to success.


‘What businesses need isn’t just a mantra of diversity for the sake of it, but they need a diversity of thinking around the table’


“The biggest challenges I’ve faced have been around belief in myself,” says Lindsey, who is vice-president of the Chamber. “When I first got the job at Amber Valley Housing, I was absolutely petrified and thought I needed to stay one step ahead by reading absolutely everything. “But that’s exhausting so over time I


realised there were skills in listening, questioning and moving things forward that didn’t require me to be the expert. Once I relaxed, I became a much better leader.” Lindsey admits there was no grand plan


to reaching her current position, having “fell into” housing after leaving college to join a management traineeship at Birmingham City Council in which she learned about the sector.


64 business network March 2021 Her appointment as director of


operations at Droitwich Spa and Rural Housing before turning 30 made her one of the youngest directors in a UK housing association, while another role as HomeZone Housing’s director of housing services preceded her move to Amber Valley Housing. “I’ve moved jobs when I’ve felt like I’ve


finished what I was there to do or when it was no longer challenging and inspiring, rather than following any set career path,” says Lindsey. “But the variety has given me a great grounding in housing. “As a chief executive, it’s important to


me that I’ve been out with repair teams, done a housing officer’s job and been involved with joint ventures – so I can appreciate the roles within our organisation.” It’s now approaching two decades in the


same job, despite the different guises of Futures Housing Group – the name it adopted in 2007 after acquiring Daventry and District Housing – and its “progressive” evolution has kept her motivated. There have been other ventures too, including buying a stake in Access Training and launching a grounds maintenance social enterprise Futures Greenscape, which last year merged into the wider group. Lindsey has been one of the biggest


drivers of progression, working to increase female representation on boards and developing an internal leadership programme that’s open to every member of staff. “It’s important to support women, and all


emerging leaders, to recognise the influence, skills and experience they’ve got is valuable,” she adds. “Then we’ll see some progress because


what businesses need isn’t just a mantra of diversity for the sake of it, but they need a diversity of thinking around the table.”


was maybe one out of 100 students who was a woman. “While diversity is


improving, there’s still a long way to go – not just in gender but across all attributes of diversity.” Madeline now heads up a team


of six PhD students as cyber security innovation lead at HORIBA MIRA, an independent consultancy founded in 1946 that provides services including research, testing and certification to the motor industry. It’s one of several partners, also including Leicester and Leicestershire


Local Enterprise Partnership, in the MIRA Technology Institute – a bespoke automotive skills centre that it neighbours at the MIRA Technology Park, an enterprise zone in Nuneaton. While Madeline owes much for her position at the forefront of creating


secure connected and autonomous vehicles to a lifelong devotion to STEM subjects, she believes the acronym is missing an “A” for arts – which has a key role to play in photographic technology and understanding human behaviours. She adds: “Cyber security touches every part of our lives so it’s


actually a social problem in which some of the solutions are technical, but some are social. If we can reframe STEM subjects more holistically – how they will help humans, such as autonomous vehicles making driving accessible to vulnerable people – they’ll become less intimidating and more open to everyone.”


ENTERPRISING WOMEN


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