Marika Nicols
I'm an researcher, and adviser specialising in cyber risk and corporate governance. Over a 25-year career, I've advised and supported some of the world's largest Fortune 500 organisations across the United States, Europe, and the UK.
During my consulting tenure at IBM, Accenture, and DXC Technology, I designed and built cyber architecture and risk quantification frameworks for major financial institutions, including leading global banking and financial services clients.
Today, I work with organisations to move beyond generic risk scoring — translating cyber exposure into board-ready financial terms, so boards and executive teams can make evidence-based decisions on security investment, insurance, and governance.
If your organisation is ready to price cyber exposure with confidence, let's talk.
Philosophy
Beyond Heathmaps
With regulatory pressure mounting worldwide, geopolitical unrest, and AI disruption, boards are more than ever in need of clear cyber risk valuation to govern effectively. However, 90% of non-executive directors lack confidence in the value of their cybersecurity investment — lacking the capital translation layer needed to make sound decisions.
Drawing on two decades advising Fortune 500 companies internationally, I help organisations make cyber risk decisions grounded in real-world data — combining Open FAIR and actuarial methodology, applied to the firm's own cyber posture, to arrive at a figure the board can stand behind.
Marika Nicols
— Principal Consultant
Credentials and Affiliations
CISSP
CRISC
QTE
QRE-T
ISC2
ISACA
Institute of Directors
DCRO
Professional Journey
Founded to bring actuarial-grade cyber risk quantification to boards and executive leadership teams in regulated industries.
Built the board-level cyber risk programme — models, governance, and financial exposure framework — from the ground up.
Led the security workstream of the $3.2B Credit Suisse acquisition — including the Cyber VaR assessment that directly informed board-level capital decisions.
Reduced quantified cyber risk exposure from $11B to $1.5M for the organisation underpinning 95% of the UK insurance market.
One or two sentences on scope and impact.
