About

Chika Amadi

Cybersecurity leader. AI governance adviser. Founder and CEO, M516 Cyber Solutions Ltd. CISSP, CCSP.

Ten years at the Bank of England as a Senior Cyber Security Consultant, advising on cyber risk, digital resilience and security, and a member of the Bank's AI Task Force on the responsible adoption and governance of AI.

With over 15 years' experience across cybersecurity, digital risk and financial services, my work spans security operations, supply chain and third-party cyber risk, cloud security, data and privacy, regulatory compliance, vulnerability management, operational resilience and AI governance.

My focus now is building M516 Cyber Solutions and contributing to secure, resilient and trusted digital ecosystems across Africa.

I am also a speaker, mentor, columnist for The Whistler and a contributing author to Digital Defence Diaries, due for publication in November 2026.

Get in touch Speaker pack (PDF)

Expertise

Areas of work

Third-party cyber risk management
Digital supply chain cyber risk
Cyber security governance, risk and compliance
Cloud security and architecture assurance
AI governance and emerging technology risk
Vulnerability management and security operations
Data and privacy protection
Operational resilience
Technology obsolescence and legacy risk

Selected achievements

Work that mattered

35+ platforms

Led the migration of a Tier 1 UK bank's Security Operations Centre, covering more than 35 platforms and mainframes, and trained over 30 offshore contractors.

Supply chain

Led the transformation of supply chain and third-party cyber risk governance and control assurance across a top-tier UK regulatory environment.

AI governance

Directed AI governance and emerging technology risk oversight, supporting the responsible and secure adoption of AI.

23 legal firms

Led a high-level cybersecurity posture review across 23 UK legal firms and chambers, focused on secure data exchange.

Central banking

Provided technical advisory to an EU central bank during a period of heightened risk.

National infrastructure

Implemented vulnerability management across critical national infrastructure, online banking and mobile environments for a UK bank.

Career

15+ years in security

Sectors: financial services, central banking, government, legal and critical national infrastructure. Other engagements include Defra, the UK Home Office and Ecovert FM.

2026
M516 Cyber Solutions Ltd
Founder and CEO. Digital supply chain cyber risk advisory, governance and assurance, operational resilience.
2016 to 2026
Bank of England
Senior Cyber Security Consultant. Joined as Technical Assurance Consultant, progressed through Technical Security Consultant. Member of the AI Task Force.
2015 to 2016
TSB
Expert security advisory following separation from Lloyds Banking Group.
2009 to 2015
Lloyds Banking Group
Five roles across IT Security, from Monitoring Administrator to Security Operations Lead.
2008 to 2009
YMCA England
IT service delivery and user support for more than 400 users.

Education

MSc Information Technology Security, University of Westminster
MSc Oil and Gas Management, Plymouth University
Diploma in Management Studies, Greenwich School of Management
BSc (Hons) Computing and Information Technologies, University of Derby

Certifications

CISSP
CCSP
ISTQB Certified Tester
Ethical AI, University of Cambridge
AI and Data Protection, International Data Transfers, Data Protection Level 2, PDP Training
Computer Forensics, Cyber Academy and Napier University

Writing

Digital Defence Diaries

Contributing author. Due for publication November 2026.

Columnist for The Whistler, writing on cybersecurity.

Media and press