Meet the Board
Here are some of the individuals you may speak with so you can put a friendly face to a name.
Alex Hambro
Non-Executive Chairman, Falanx Cyber Security
Alex has been active in the investment sector both in the UK and the USA for some 30 years, during which time he has acted as a principal investor, manager and sponsor of private equity and venture capital management teams.
As well as his responsibilities at Falanx, Alex is a founder and Chairman of Judges Scientific plc, a group of scientific instrumentation companies. In addition to his two AIM company responsibilities, Alex is also Chairman of Crescent Capital Ltd and Bapco Closures Holdings Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of Octopus Apollo VCT plc, Hertsford Capital plc, and Whitley Asset Management Ltd.
Alex is currently a principal at Welbeck Capital Partners, a specialist in the creation of secured convertible loan notes and other hybrid equity solutions to finance growth opportunities for small-cap AIM companies and which has supported Falanx during recent fundraisings.
Emma Shaw
Non-Executive Director, Falanx Cyber Security
Emma is the Managing Director of Esoteric Ltd, an Electronic Sweeping, Counter-Espionage and Intelligence gathering company based in Woking, Surrey. The company is accredited by the National Security Inspectorate and provides a solution-based approach to countering espionage activity and electronic countermeasures to both commercial and non-commercial organisations internationally. An MBA graduate, and a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP) Emma’s early career was spent with the Royal Military Police, followed by a career in the Ministry of Defence. Emma founded Esoteric Ltd in 1998. Emma is also the Chairman and Fellow of the Security Institute; a Board member of the Defence Industry Security Association (DISA); a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a member of the Advisory Council for CSARN. Emma is also the 2012 recipient of the “Security Consultant of the Year Award” awarded by the Security Excellence Awards in October 2012.
Ian Selby
CFO, Falanx Cyber Security
Ian is a Chartered Accountant with significant experience in the software, technology and business services sectors. He was previously CFO of AIM listed Corero plc, Turnaround CFO at Zenith Hygiene Group plc, and most recently was CFO of Westminster Group plc. His earlier career included roles in NASDAQ and UK listed software companies. He has acted as a consultant to several businesses, including a buy and build MBI team operating in the business services sector where he supported the due diligence and deal structuring process. He has extensive capital markets experience (equity, debt and mezzanine), acquisition structuring, due diligence, acquisition integration as well as commercial support to the business and operational financial management.
Mike Read
CEO, Falanx Cyber Security
Mike has held board and senior management level positions within a number of organisations both within the US and UK. He served as Board member and CEO of AIM listed Pipex Communications Plc and President and Board member of Onemain.com, a NASDAQ listed company. He has specific expertise of creating shareholder value by executing large scale build and buy ‘Roll Up’ strategies. He built Onemain to be the 4th largest independent US ISP with 1 million customers. Using the same strategy, he built Pipex (broadband) to over 1 million customers and significantly increased the value of Host Europe, the Data Centre and managed services business.
William Kilmer
Non-Executive Director, Falanx Cyber Security
William Kilmer is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and author who has helped found and invest in dozens of companies around the world over his twenty-five-year career in the technology industry. He is currently a senior advisor for investments and company building at Gallos, an investor in the security technology sector. He was previously the managing partner of C5 Capital, a specialist venture capital fund investing in cyber security, cloud infrastructure, applied data analytics, and space economy companies until March 2022. He has been founder and CEO of several cybersecurity and data analytics companies, formed a wireless operator in the UK, and has served on the board of several technology companies and other organizations. William previously served as the managing director of Intel Capital, a corporate venture capital fund where he managed European investments and formed a targeted venture fund to invest in the Middle East and North Africa. William will chair Falanx’s audit committee.
Rick Flood
Executive Director (& Managing Director of Falanx Cyber Defence Limited)
Rick Flood has been with Falanx Cyber for just over 5 years, becoming its Managing Director in 2019. Since taking responsibility for this division, Rick has been instrumental in driving the transformation from old to new technologies, the division’s subsequent return to profitability in H1 FY22, and the current investment in growth. He is a veteran of the software and technology space and an advocate of SaaS/Cloud adoption for 15+ years. Rick initially trained as an accountant in industry with CIMA and soon switched to the software sector and ultimately to sales and marketing, spanning more than 30 years and a variety of roles including executive positions in both private and public companies. Rick has worked extensively with high growth and early-stage enterprises, predominantly in the software sector. He has also worked with stakeholders in various corporate recovery roles with undertakings in distress and turnaround situations. His previous AIM experience was with Earthport, Host Europe and Pipex, where he first worked with Mike Read.