Sharp Europe sells electronic devices, appliances and equiment both to people at home and to businesses. Its business offerings have now expanded with managed services and IT support services. Matt Riley is the company’s data protection and information security officer. He has responsibilities both in the security of Sharp internally, and commercial opportunities.
Within the European business, Riley has a two-part role. The first is a more traditional data protection officer type role, which overlaps into that world of information security and ensures that the business operates in a way where it considers not only data protection risks but also information security risks.
The other part of his role within the UK business is looking at potential opportunities and threats. This covers Sharp internally, helping its business customers navigate complex issues around regulations and technology.
For instance, when the UK left the European Union, it adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in full, which, as Riley points out, has meant businesses could continue to operate with data flows to and from the EU without too much change.
But, he says: “The UK will likely
