North East Venture Fund

Marketing expert joins cyber firm to lead growth after latest investment

Melius Cyber, the Newcastle-based cybersecurity specialist, has appointed Paul Cairney as Head of Marketing to help lead the company’s growth following its latest investment round.

Paul (pictured right) joins from Newcastle Building Society where he held the same position. He has extensive experience in marketing and brand building, having started his career at Royal Bank of Scotland and MBNA, and held senior roles at The Co-operative Bank, United Utilities and Sage. He is also a board member of Darlington Credit Union.

Melius’s CyberSafe platform enables SMEs to safeguard their operation by monitoring their IT network,  website and mobile apps around the clock. Paul’s appointment follows the company’s success in raising a further £500,000 from the North East Venture Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia Ventures, to enable it to launch a new version of the platform and boost its marketing activities.

Paul Cairney commented: “With businesses facing more frequent and sophisticated threats, cybersecurity is more important than ever. It is great to be joining Melius Cyber at such an exciting point in the company’s journey and I look forward to helping it to achieve the next phase of its growth.”

Richard Brown, CEO of Melius said: “The support from Mercia and the NEVF has enabled us to speed up product development and grow our marketing capability. We have been really fortunate to attract Paul, who is a respected marketeer with a strong track record. His appointment will help us to accelerate our brand recognition and growth in 2025 and beyond.”

Ian Wilson, Fund Principal at Mercia Ventures, added: “Having backed Melius from an early stage, it’s great to see it progress further with each funding round. Paul’s appointment comes as it seeks to build its marketing function and strengthen its management team as it prepares to scale the business.”

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