GO PHISH
WE ‘GO PHISHING’ WITH SCOTT MANSON – MD,
MIDDLE EAST AND TURKEY AT MCAFEE, WHO
TELLS US ABOUT LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICE.
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
While being appointed Managing Director,
Middle East and Turkey, for McAfee tops
a long list of career achievements, my
most memorable achievement is (and will
always be) playing rugby for my beloved
country, Scotland.
I played in the 1998/99 season for
Scotland Under 21s and it was a
dream come true to wear the Scottish
Thistle. I also played several seasons
in the first division from 1998 to 2002.
Unfortunately, injury got in the way and
I eventually traded in my boots for a
laptop bag!
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
After finishing university and rugby,
I wanted to be challenged and I saw
I am most excited
about all the
applications of
Artificial Intelligence
(AI) and Machine
Learning (ML).
sales as a perfect fit to my competitive
nature. At the time in the UK,
telecommunications
was being
deregulated and
companies were
coming to the
market to challenge
the incumbency of
British Telecom.
I saw this
technology trend
as a great entry
into the market. After a couple
more forays with dotcoms and Internet
service provision and hosted services, I
finally found my sweet-spot in software.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with
your current position?
When it comes to management style,
I aim, every day, to be what Robert
Greenleaf called a servant leader. I truly
believe my goal as a leader is to work
for my employees, rather than having
them work for me. My mantra is to guide,
coach and eradicate barriers for them to
be successful.
Also, we spend so much of our lives at
work, that I believe it’s important we not
only love what we do but love the people
we do it with. So, I do focus on fostering
a work environment where everyone
feels valued.
What do you
think is the
current hot
technology talking point?
I am most excited about all the
applications of Artificial Intelligence
(AI) and Machine Learning (ML). From
autonomous vehicles to cybersecurity,
we are already seeing some amazing
use cases for these technologies and
I fully expect the list to expand as the
technologies mature. That being said,
AI and ML do raise some interesting
ethical questions and we must be
sure that we keep control of certain
aspects, and have a governing body to
regulate the extent and the use cases
we are involved in, so we do not misuse
these technologies.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside the office?
I find it hard to switch off so I make
it a point to exercise regularly as it
www.intelligentciso.com | Issue 26
71