Murdoch Webster appoints former CyberCX COO as CEO

Melbourne technology services company Murdoch Webster has appointed Tom Allan as its chief executive officer, as the company marks its 20th year in business.

Chris Mearns remains involved as founder and executive director, continuing to work with customers, technology partners and staff, while Allan will lead Murdoch Webster through its next stage of growth.

Allan founded Basis Networks, which was subsequently acquired by CyberCX, before serving as COO of that company. More recently, he operated advisory firm Allanex, working with technology businesses and investors.

The appointment follows a year of significant change at the company, which has restructured its managed services around an integrated network, infrastructure and cybersecurity offering.

The expanded services include managed detection and response, cyber resilience and recovery, vulnerability management, and AI security - the latter covering visibility into shadow AI, or employees' use of AI tools outside an organisation's approved systems.

Murdoch Webster has also developed Assure, a managed services intelligence portal that provides customers with real-time visibility across service tickets, incidents, security threats and performance data, alongside custom reporting.

"I wanted to lead a business where I could spend time with customers, work alongside the engineers and see the difference our decisions make," Allan said.

"Murdoch Webster has customers who have trusted the team for almost 20 years. That tells you something about how people here work. There's a lot we can build on, and I want to help the team do that while keeping the personal service customers know us for."

"Tom understands what it takes to build a strong technology services business and shares that commitment," Mearns said.

"He'll lead the business as CEO, and I'll stay closely involved with our customers, technology and partners."

Based in Victoria, Murdoch Webster supports more than 90 organisations across local government, education, healthcare and business. The company will mark its 20th anniversary at an event in Melbourne in November.