ncluded in the Top 100 Women in Cybersecurity in Europe, Dr. Valerie Lyons is Executive Director and COO at BH Consulting, where she advises boards and executive leaders on cybersecurity, AI governance, and data protection strategy. She has almost three decades of leadership experience, including 13 years building and leading cybersecurity risk at KBC Bank. Valerie holds an award-winning PhD in Privacy and Ethics and is currently undertaking the Chartered Director programme, further strengthening her board-level governance expertise. She is the author of The Privacy Leader Compass: A Comprehensive Business-Oriented Roadmap for Building and Leading Practical Privacy Programs (2024), recognised as a significant contribution to modern privacy leadership practice. A faculty lead on the Institute of Directors Cybersecurity Programme, Valerie holds CISSP, CDSE, and CIPP/E certifications. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Irish Information Security Forum and serves on advisory and policy initiatives including CeADAR (Ireland’s National Centre for AI), Cyber Ireland, and the UN Internet Governance Forum.
Valerie has spoken and keynoted at several major international conferences and was the first woman in Ireland selected to present at RSA Conference. She is a passionate advocate for advancing women’s leadership in cybersecurity and for strengthening industry resilience through principled, governance-driven innovation.