I don’t have a ‘big brand’ or massive marketing budget to bring clients to my door.

My business development strategy is quite simple:

I focus on delivering great outcomes for my clients, so they’re delighted to refer me to their network.

I’ve been doing this since 2012, and the strategy continues to work:

Every year, over 90% of my new clients were referred to me by my existing clients.

I worked for 15 years in various parts of Bank of Ireland, primarily in their Investment Management business (BIAM, now part of SSgA) and their Life and Pensions business (New Ireland). My roles were primarily in IT Management and Customer Service Management (engaging with external clients and internal Operations, Reporting, Finance, Compliance, and Risk teams).

I founded Code in Motion in 2012 ( and adopted the trading name ‘Secure And Assure‘ in 2025) to provide independent and pragmatic security and compliance guidance to businesses operating within the regulated financial services world.

In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t employ other consultants. This is an intentional decision, as it allows me to focus on client success rather than staff management. If and when appropriate, I work with a small and trusted group of experienced partners and associates.

Supported by this rock-solid expert panel, I help organisations to:

• Comply with regulatory obligations and regulators’ expectations (e.g. DORA, Central Bank Guidance / Dear CEO Communications / Risk Mitigation Programmes, NIS2 Directive).
• Implement pragmatic information security risk management practices (including I and cyber security risk).
• Implement effective third party risk management / vendor management processes.
• Align to the requirements of ISO 27001, the global standard for Information Security Management.
• Prepare for ISO 27001 certification.
• Align to internationally-recognised frameworks like NIST CSF (Cybersecurity Framework).

I help organisations that need to improve and prove that they have appropriate security in place, but:

• Don’t know where to start.
• Tried to start but quickly realised the ‘day job‘ keeps getting in the way.
• Need to get this done faster.
• Need the focus and expertise of someone who has done this before.

Most of my clients are:

• Regulated financial services firms,
• Professional services providers (e.g. IT; HR / payroll; accountants; business consultants) who serve regulated or large clients,
• Forward-thinking charities and non-profits.

I am a great fit for you when:

• You don’t have the time or in-house know-how to do this alone.
• You know you need outside help but you also don’t want to flood the place with consultants.
• You want someone you can work with, who can either lead or support you through this.
• You want someone who can solve the problem, rather than just explaining the problem to you in more detail.

You value Progress more than Perfection.

Perfect solutions take too long, cost too much, and are impossible to sustain.

My guidance is pragmatic and realistic, and driven by your capabilities, constraints, and risk appetite.

You value Plain English more than PowerPoint.

You don’t want to be wowed by fancy PowerPoint slides.

You just want Plain English, actionable guidance to get you to the chosen destination.

You value Skill more than Scale.

I do not have employees. This is intentional. It enables me to work directly with my clients.

Where I need complementary skills, I have a small network of trusted partners that I can call on.

PS In case it’s important, I also have a few qualifications:

• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) – ISACA
• Certified Data Protection Officer (CDPO) – Compliance Institute / UCD
• Certified Information Privacy Professional / Europe (CIPP/E)- IAPP
• Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) – IAPP
• ISO 27001:2022 Auditor – PECB
• MSc Technology Management – UCC / UL
• BSc Computer Science and Information Systems – UL