Phil ‘Mr Cyber’ Jackman retires as Founder and CEO at CyberNorth as Danielle Phillips takes over

Phil Jackman, also known as ‘Mr Cyber’, has retired from his role as Founder and CEO at CyberNorth after eight years.

Phil Jackman and Danielle Phillips

An integral part of the success of the organization, Jackman played a pivotal role in raising awareness through CyberNorth on a national and international level. 

Founded in 2018, CyberNorth has promoted England’s North East as an attractive location for cybersecurity services, investment and education. 

Since its launch, CyberNorth has supported 100 businesses and more than 2,000 professionals, while developing close relationships with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. 

CyberNorth also recently launched CyberFest and was a founding member of the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) and launched two innovation centres. 

Prior to launching CyberNorth, Jackman had more than 30 years of experience in IT management across private and public sectors. In honor of his legacy, CyberNorth has launched The Jackman Fund, raising money for people looking to get into the cybersecurity sector.

Succeeding Jackman as CEO is Danielle Phillips who joined CyberNorth in 2022. Phillips says: “Phil's legacy is one we want to remember and as such, we've created The Jackman Fund, a fund that will administer small grants to young people, career changers, veterans and career returners looking to get into cyber security.

“This fund will be used to give small bursaries to people, whether that be funding certifications or helping to buy a suit for an interview, it's really about giving people their first leg up into the world of cyber security, and this is something very close to Phil’s heart.”