60 SECONDS WITH DARREN STRICKETT

Every Month on Exchange Extra, we take sixty seconds out to get to know our team. Follow us on our journey to connect all members of our network.

This month we introduce you to Darren Strickett!

Name: Darren Strickett

Job title: Information security manager

Location: Palestra

Hi Darren! Please sum up your role in one sentence

With the increasingly evolving world of cybercrime, it is my job to fortify ARL’s IT estate using policy, process, training, and IT security tools to protect our data from cyber criminals.

Tell us about your journey to ARL…

I walk to the tube station, get on the District line to West Ham change for the Jubilee line then pop out at Southwark (sorry, looking for the Dad Joke of the Year award). I started in IT as a service desk engineer at a young age, working my way up through various disciplines, from support to infrastructure and management. Now, I am discovering my true passion and talent for IT security. I have only been with ARL for a short time, but with 26 years of experience in IT and six dedicated to InfoSec, I’m looking forward to my journey at ARL.

What do you enjoy about working at ARL?

At this early stage, I would have to say the people. Everyone I’ve met and worked with so far has been incredibly welcoming and has gone the extra mile to help me settle and become active in my role.

So far, what are you most proud of in your career?

Previously, I was the IT manager at the Fashion Retail Academy, supporting 450 students a year to achieve their fashion retail accreditations and helping them step into careers within the fashion retail sector quickly. The job satisfaction of seeing the students graduate, the thanks for our help and support, and watching students mature into adults in the working world was incredible.

Tell us about your most memorable railway trip…

The one where I took my car on the Eurostar for the first leg of a road trip to the Nürburgring where after many attempts I managed a lap time of 10 minutes 15 seconds around the legendary track.

Where would you go if you could book a ticket to any destination?

The obvious answer would be to return to the Nürburgring to better my lap time. A round trip to all the Formula 1 tracks would also be on the list, but I think my answer must be to Lake Como in Italy. I’ve always loved Italy but never managed to go. I have recently found out that through ancestry research I have a slight Italian heritage so I now have more motivation to visit.