Cyber readiness for health boards: prevention, response, rehearsal
7 min read
Executive advisory · Coaching · Facilitation
Clear advice for leaders in high-stakes systems.
Digital Tactics works with health, government and defence executives on strategy, cyber, coaching and independent ICT reviews, bringing the judgement of someone who has actually held the accountability.
Book a discovery callRead the briefs30+ yrsleading in defence, government & health
$1B+health systems led as CIO / CDO
Since 2020in full-time advisory practice
Board-levelengagements across Australia
Services
Three ways to engage
Built around the problems senior leaders actually bring: strategy under pressure, cyber risk, capability gaps, and programs that need an independent eye.
Advisory & Consulting
Strategy, cybersecurity advisory, digital health, and independent ICT program and project reviews for executives and boards.
ExploreExecutive Coaching
One-to-one coaching for senior executives navigating complexity, transition and the weight of the role.
ExploreLeadership & Facilitation
Leadership programs, board and executive offsites, and workshops designed to move teams, not just occupy a day.
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Engagement
How I work
Every engagement is led by me. You are not handed to a bench of juniors, and the person who scopes the work is the person who does it.
That is the point of a senior-led practice, and why I take on only a limited number of engagements at any one time.
Most engagements start the same way: a 30-minute discovery call. No deck. No pitch. Just a conversation to understand what you are facing and whether I am the right person to help. If I am not, I will say so and point you toward someone who is.
From there, the shape of the engagement follows the problem. That may be a focused independent review measured in weeks, an executive coaching relationship measured in months, a facilitated leadership session built on pre-interviews, or an interim CIO or CDO mandate while you secure a permanent appointment.
Because every engagement is delivered personally, clients are investing in experienced judgement and independent advice, not the overheads of a large consulting firm.
Who this is for
Boards and executives in health, government, and defence who are carrying genuine accountability. That may be a stalled program, a cyber risk the board cannot see clearly, a transformation generating more friction than progress, or the particular isolation that comes with the most senior leadership roles.
Who this is not for
Organisations looking for a large delivery team, a rubber-stamp review, or a report that will sit on a shelf. I work with leaders who want a straight answer and are prepared to act on it.
Commitment and review
Engagements range from a single focused review to multi-month advisory and coaching relationships. We agree scope, outcomes, and investment before any work begins. For longer engagements, we also agree a structured review point so that we can continue, conclude, or change focus based on evidence and results, not inertia.
Results
Engagement briefs, declassified.
My work is confidential, that's the point. Where clients permit, briefs are published in full; elsewhere identities are permanently withheld and the rest declassifies as you read.
ENGAGEMENT BRIEF · DT-2023-03 · PUBLIC RECORD · PUBLISHED IN FULL
CLIENT: COYOTE CRISIS COLLABORATIVE, ARIZONASECTOR: CIVIL-MILITARY PREPAREDNESS
ENGAGEMENT: LEAD FACILITATION · MASS CASUALTY READINESS FORUMDATE: MARCH 2023 · PHOENIX
FUNDED BY: ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICESCLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED · OPEN PROCEEDINGS
// SITUATION
Civilian and military responders too often meet for the first time on the worst day possible. Arizona's emergency community needed those conversations to happen before the sirens.
// ENGAGEMENT
Designed and lead-facilitated a one-day readiness forum bringing 78 leaders to one table, fire, law enforcement, hospitals, public health, tribal nations, emergency management, the National Guard and active-duty commands, through three escalating mass-casualty scenarios.
// OUTCOME
Working relationships and a shared understanding of military activation across sectors that had never planned together, with concrete interoperability gaps logged for follow-up.
OPEN-RECORD ENGAGEMENT. PUBLISHED IN FULL.
All engagement briefs →
Why Digital Tactics
Most advisors have read about the pressure. I've carried it.
- Operator credibilityCIO and CDO of billion-dollar health systems. I know what board papers, budget cycles and 2am incidents actually feel like.
- Military discipline30 years of military leadership: clarity under pressure, mission focus, and teams that perform when it counts.
- Cyber and digital fluencyCurrent, technical, and able to translate between the server room and the boardroom.
In their words
Dave took a room of 78 leaders from fire, law enforcement, hospitals, emergency management, tribal nations and the military, many of whom had never planned together, and had them working as one group within the hour. He carries credibility in both worlds, so nothing was lost in translation. The forum delivered exactly what it was designed for: shared understanding and working relationships in place before a disaster, not on the day of one.
Deb Roepke, Executive Director, Coyote Crisis Collaborative
Dave has a tremendous amount of experience in ICT and such a calm nature with extremely relevant advice. The current nature of my work and challenges is identical to what Dave has previously gone through, and managed to fix at multiple organisations. His guidance has already helped me improve both as an individual and the processes of our ICT function.
Reesen Pillai, Calvary
Dispatches
Thinking, in writing
Practical writing on leadership, digital health and cyber governance. Every dispatch opens with the bottom line up front.
Field Kit
Free tools and resources for the field.
Short interactive diagnostics built from real engagements, plus practical resources you can put to work the same day.
Field diagnostics
The 2am Drill, the Pre-Mortem and the Essential Eight Pulse. Minutes each, nothing recorded, and something worth a conversation at the end.
Open the diagnosticsField resources
Checklists, frameworks and self-assessment tools distilled from real engagements. Board-ready and free to use.
Open the resourcesStart with a conversation
A 30-minute discovery call. No deck, no pitch, a frank discussion about what you're facing.
Book a discovery call