Member Profile- Nick Holyome
In this 23rd episode of the Treble Victor podcast, the podcast especially for Treble Victor members and prospective members, Rupert Whiting talks to BC Chapter member and Invictus Games participant, Nick Holyome. In the conversation Nick tells us about his experience of participating in two consecutive Invictus Games (albeit one that was severely curtailed for reasons that you will discover).
You can find out more about applying to participate in or volunteer for the Invictus Games when they come to Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025 by visiting https://invictusgames2025.ca.
https://sites.libsyn.com/467586/nick-holyome-and-the-invictus-experience
Working Towards a Second Purple Patch in His Career
Outside of November 11th it is pretty rare to find a group of individuals that together have served in all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces. Finding one person who has worked in all three uniforms is exceptionally rare. Nick Holyome has done this and, as such, has one of the most diverse military records of any of our members. He is looking to bring his background to bear for the benefit of clients everywhere.
Initially a MARS (Naval warfare) officer in the Canadian Navy, Nick then moved to Human Intelligence and partook in four multi-service, multi-national intelligence operations across the globe. “As a tri-service effort, being neither predominantly Light Blue, Dark Blue nor Green, we called it ‘Purple Work’. Dealing with challenging, high impact events like the Arab Spring and kidnap for ransom cases or planning intelligence support to special operations missions; it was like Christmas every day for me!” he recalls. He thrived in the flat hierarchy that required and valued multiple perspectives from all ranks and backgrounds as they built the picture of what was happening on the ground and formed plans to unpick networks or destroy specific targets. “It was highly complex, fast moving and meaningful. You had a thousand points of light coming at you from which we, together, had to make a coherent picture and form an action plan.” That was when the joy of working with highly capable, motivated, smart people really struck Nick. “Everyone was preselected to be the kind of person who was tuned in and upon whom you could rely. I loved it.”
He loved it up to a point. Eventually the multiple, protracted deployments, exposure to so many harrowing situations and a body-breaking lifestyle came to a head and the then Army Intelligence Major went to live with his growing family close to 19 Wing Comox as a Flight Lieutenant in the Air Force Intelligence department for his last few years of service. Nick’s final day in uniform was in 2019.
Having worked as a Cybersecurity consultant since he left, Nick says that his ideal next role is going to allow him to teach and train teams on the importance of having a considered, consistent and sustainable cybersecurity plan. “People’s reputations, assets and futures are truly on the line. Most people don’t appreciate how bad the bad guys are, nor how many of them there are out there looking for chinks in anyone’s armour. If a person gets it wrong in their personal life, they can expose their employers to risk that the employer can’t see coming. For instance, China built a complete F-35 fighter from plans stolen over years from companies in the States. None of the companies knew that they were leaking this data or they would have stopped it.”
Who is responsible for your company’s cybersecurity on the frontlines (e.g. the employees PCs and mobile phones)? Maybe they should have a talk with Nick about how to make that line of defence stronger. “Strength in depth is a military term but it certainly applies to civilian cybersecurity.” Nick says.
Also a huge advocate for mental health awareness, Nick recently represented Canada at the Invictus Games and looks forward to the games in BC when they next run in 2025. “For me, the act of getting into exercise again was transformational and I want to promote recovery through sports and activity. It’s hard to believe when you are in a dark place but, for me, it was the way back to health.” Ask Nick about his Invictus experience and how you could support or take part next time around.