Marcus has extensive experience of working with governments, the military and companies in the UK and internationally. A Russian language graduate, Marcus worked at the UK’s Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ) for 33 years, rising to become the deputy head of the organisation.  He also held senior posts across the wider UK intelligence and security community.  He has a strong track record of strategic and operational leadership and is a trained coach, mentor and facilitator. 

Since leaving government service in 2018 Marcus has been a senior adviser to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a world-leading authority on global security, political risk, and military conflict.  Marcus also advises the International Committee of the Red Cross and about a dozen companies in the UK, US and elsewhere.  As a leading UK expert on cyber, Marcus is in demand as a public speaker and writer. His publications include a methodology for measuring the cyber power of states and an assessment of the cyber dimension of the Ukraine war.

Marcus has a love of and long association with orchestral music-making.  Having studied with some of the UK’s foremost double-bassists, Marcus has been a freelance professional player and teacher for over forty years.  He has performed in professional orchestras throughout the Midlands – for example, he is principal double bass for Longborough Festival Opera, the Regency Sinfonia and the New English Concert Orchestra.  He has taught double bass for schools throughout Gloucestershire, including Cheltenham Ladies’ college for over twenty years.  He is delighted to be on the board of the Orchestra of the Swan.