Macquarie Government has appointed Dr Chris Peiris as its Microsoft Security and Azure Lead, as the company seeks to expand its work with federal and state government customers.
The company said Peiris brings more than 20 years’ cybersecurity experience and a background spanning government and industry roles, including work with the Australian Defence Force, Microsoft, AWS and Avanade.
Macquarie Government said Peiris previously worked as a Cybersecurity Advisor to the Department of Defence, providing IRAP compliance support and Azure/SAP security architecture for major ADF projects. The company also noted his academic role as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra.
“I’m thrilled to join a team that shares my belief that security and cloud innovation aren’t separate, competing priorities. They’re the same priority,” said Dr Peiris. “Australia is at a pivotal moment in its digital transformation journey, particularly within government, and Macquarie Government is actively helping organisations navigate that complexity with confidence, clarity, and world-class security capabilities infused with industry leading Artificial Intelligence innovations.”
According to the announcement, Peiris spent more than a decade at Microsoft as APJ Cybersecurity Lead and most recently was APJ Head of Microsoft Workloads at AWS, overseeing migration and modernisation for public sector. He also served as National Security Lead at Avanade, where the company said he built a cyber fusion centre based on Microsoft Sentinel.
“Having spent years working alongside Defence, National Security and Intelligence agencies, I’ve seen firsthand how the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to securing sensitive workloads and navigating complex frameworks like IRAP and the Essential Eight,” said Dr Peiris. “That’s exactly what drives our work at Macquarie Government, and I’m genuinely excited to bring my experience to the company. I’m not interested in just helping agencies check compliance boxes. I want to help them build resilient, future-ready cloud environments they can stake their reputations on.”
Macquarie Government said Peiris has written 12 books, including Threat Hunting in the Cloud: Defending AWS, Azure and Other Cloud Platforms Against Cyberattacks, published by John Wiley & Sons.
“We’re delighted to welcome Chris to the team. His combination of hands-on experience, expert knowledge, strategic sales methodology, and proven success is extremely rare,” said Aidan Tudehope, Managing Director, Macquarie Government. “It is exactly what our customers need as they navigate an increasingly complex AI-driven security and compliance landscape. This appointment reflects our commitment to our clients and our people, and we’re confident Chris’ expertise will support our customers’ AI-powered digital transformation goals.”
