Highly regarded forensic expert managing and solving sensitive and complex technology issues.

Blare is a technology and cyber professional who regularly manages highly sensitive engagements involving internal and external stakeholders, financial institutions and regulators.

Leading the McGrathNicol Cyber practice in Melbourne, Blare has a passion for breaking through the hype and jargon of the technology industry to help his clients achieve their goals. He specialises in understanding business processes, risk and regulatory frameworks and jurisdictional requirements to provide practical solutions to business and technological issues. With a background in IT advisory and implementation, Blare has almost three decades of experience in technology advisory, cyber risk and resilience and crisis management.

Blare’s career highlights include leading the crisis management and incident response relating to ransomware incidents across various clients in the health, finance, technology, automotive and retail sectors, including tertiary level hospitals in both Australia and New Zealand.

He has also conducted numerous cyber resilience uplift programs for local and international clients, assessing their maturity against the NIST cyber security framework and subsequently designing and implementing a program of work to mitigate significant risks. Blare has led the technology and cyber due diligence for acquisitions across numerous sectors and has assisted a major client in the renewables sector meet the requirements of the Foreign Investment Review Board by uplifting its cyber resilience to Security Profile 1 of the Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework.

Blare’s broad experience includes seven years as the CTO at one of Australia's leading software vendors in the legal technology industry working with clients such as the US Department of Justice, the British Columbia Securities Commission, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority. In addition to nine years managing the information systems of leading Australian and International retailers, and over a decade of ‘Big 4’ and professional services consulting experience.

"I have a passion for breaking through the hype and jargon of the technology to help my clients achieve their goals."

Blare Sutton

Qualifications & memberships

  • Associate Member, Australian Computer Society

  • High Technology Crime Investigation Association

  • Member, AISA

  • Certificate III Investigative Services

  • International Information System Security Consortium (ISC)2

  • Post Graduate Certificate in

    e-Crime Investigation, Melbourne University