Harry McLaren

Executive Leadership

Growing and Scaling Enterprise Cybersecurity & Defensive Operations.

A cybersecurity leader specialising in growing and scaling engineering capabilities for enterprise threat detection, investigation, and response. Managing unified cyber defence across prevention, intelligence, and response domains, the focus remains on building engineering discipline, optimising multi-million-pound budgets, and creating high-performing teams rooted in psychological safety and well-being.

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Roles & Experience

Overview of my professional roles, key responsibilities, and achievements across enterprise and scale-up cybersecurity environments.

Head of Cyber Defence

Aug 2025 – Present
Tesco
  • ▹ Direct responsibility for the unified global cyber defence function across Prevention, Intelligence, Detection, and Incident Response, managing a global operational budget of £8 million and directing a team of 60 cybersecurity professionals.
  • ▹ Oversee the strategic shift from compliance-driven activities and busy work to intelligence-led, threat-focused cybersecurity outcomes.
  • ▹ Advise executive committees and risk forums on strategic technology roadmaps, balancing the deployment of automation and AI against the evolving enterprise threat landscape.

Head of Cybersecurity Engineering

Feb 2024 – Aug 2025
Tesco
  • ▹ Managed three global cybersecurity engineering squads (30 headcount) responsible for the design, efficacy, and monitoring of the global technology stack, including advanced SIEM/SOAR platforms.
  • ▹ Prepared and tested threat detection and response capabilities, leveraging industry-standard maturity models to assess current state and construct future-state roadmaps of change.
  • ▹ Challenged legacy vendor frameworks constructively, optimising the cost-effectiveness and ROI of third-party contracts.

Director, Product Management

Mar 2023 – Jan 2024
SenseOn
  • ▹ Led strategic initiatives for MITRE ATT&CK coverage. Managed the Security Engineering squad and SIRT. Developed outcome-driven OKRs and established product risk management.

Advisor (Freelance)

Jan 2023 – Jun 2023
Building Cyber Collective
  • ▹ Strategic advisor to cybersecurity founders on XDR, EDR, and SIEM product-market fit.

Senior Product Manager

Jan 2022 – Feb 2023
SenseOn
  • ▹ Defined strategy for multi-cloud detection (AWS/Azure/GCP). Coached detection engineers and collaborated on GTM messaging and competitive analysis.

Product Lead, Detection & Response

Nov 2019 – Jan 2022
Adarma Security
  • ▹ Directed product vision for 70% of company revenue. Designed SOC Transformation programmes and provided direct line management for software engineers.

Managing Consultant

Jan 2018 – Nov 2019
Adarma Security
  • ▹ Led Splunk enterprise deployments using CI/CD. Developed board-level business cases and mentored senior consultants. AWS Security certified.

Senior Security Consultant

Jan 2017 – Dec 2017
Adarma Security
  • ▹ Appointed Splunk Enablement Lead. Recognised in "Tech 100 for Scotland." Focused on TCO/ROI models and organisational governance.

Security Consultant

Sep 2014 – Dec 2016
Adarma Security
  • ▹ Hands-on SIEM engineering, SOC design, and ISO 27001 assessments for enterprise clients. Recognised as "Best New Cyber Talent" at the 2016 Scottish Cyber Awards for contributions to the field.

Senior Security Analyst

May 2013 – Aug 2014
Adarma Security
  • ▹ SOC analyst for a global bank. Built MI reporting packs and improved SLA accuracy for security alert triage.

Desktop Support Analyst

May 2011 – Dec 2012
BlackRock
  • ▹ Improved ticket resolution (SLA breaches down from 15% to 1.5%). Led Windows 7 rollout for 500+ users.

Senior Technician

Jul 2006 – Jul 2010
Hoylake Computer Centre
  • ▹ Managed store relocation. Handled hardware diagnostics, repairs, and SOHO network installations.