Huawei Technologies said on Tuesday that it has appointed IT security guru John Suffolk as its first global cyber security officer.
Before joining Huawei Suffolk was the chief information officer for the UK government, responsible for the development and implementation of the British government’s technology strategies.
He has also been an adviser to the World Bank high-level experts group, the director general of the UK criminal justice transformation program, and managing director of the Britannia Building Society.
Suffolk will assume his new role on October 1, and reports to Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfui. He will be charged with developing the Chinese vendor’s cyber security assurance strategy and systems, to be adopted across the business.
He will also be responsible for refining Huawei’s cyber security assurance system through communication with customers, partners, employees, and other stakeholders, the company said in a statement.
Huawei has been struggling to overturn political resistance in markets such as the UK, the US and India, based on concerns over the security of its gear due to alleged links between the company and the Chinese military and government – links which the company has repeatedly denied exist.
The appointment follows the opening of Huawei’s Cyber Security Evaluation Center in UK at the end of last year.