Accenture’s Donal Óg McCarthy on Building Resilient Cybersecurity Teams in a High-Stakes Era

In the ever-shifting battlefield of cybersecurity, few leaders embody the blend of technical mastery and human-centric leadership as Donal Óg McCarthy, Accenture’s cybersecurity lead in Ireland. With a career spanning global roles and a deep commitment to team empowerment, McCarthy offers a rare glimpse into how the industry can navigate escalating threats while fostering innovation and wellbeing.

A Builder at Heart: Leading with Vision and Adaptability

McCarthy describes his role as that of a “builder,” one who weaves together knowledge from across Accenture and its ecosystem partners to solve clients’ most complex security challenges. “I really enjoy that variety,” he explains, “and given the global nature of today’s threat landscape for Irish clients, I believe this external perspective is critical.”

His leadership journey began at Nortel Networks in Galway, where he learned early on the value of engaging directly with customers—a skill that has shaped his entire career. Since then, McCarthy has thrived in dynamic environments, from the UK to Australia and the US, before returning to Ireland to focus on building new businesses within Accenture. “Once I hear an interesting idea or an opportunity, I am happy to just jump right in and figure out the details along the way,” he says, embracing the pressure that comes with constant change.

Investing in People: The Key to a Skilled and Excited Workforce

For McCarthy, career development is not a checkbox—it’s a relentless focus on both learning and excitement. “I don’t believe you can have a highly skilled workforce without a relentless focus on both learning and excitement,” he asserts. At Accenture, this means crafting personalized learning pathways, leveraging platforms like Udacity, and offering foundational “technology quotient” modules on emerging topics from agentic AI to quantum computing.

The emphasis is on choice and relevance: “Extra learning has to make sense for you as an individual and what you want to achieve.” This approach ensures that teams are not only technically proficient but also personally invested in their growth.

Navigating the Pressures of Cybersecurity: Burnout and Beyond

A career in cybersecurity is as rewarding as it is demanding. Skills shortages have placed immense pressure on existing teams, leading to heavy workloads and heightened risk of burnout—especially in high-stakes areas like incident response. McCarthy stresses the importance of structure and support: “Clear on-call rotas and escalation models are critical. Too often the same individuals end up getting the call.”

He advocates for rotation, shared responsibility, and senior leadership support, particularly in the wake of cyberattacks. “Many incidents can go on for a longer period of time than first anticipated, so this planning means that when an incident does occur, we have a very structured response that includes prioritising teams’ wellbeing and recovery.”

Facing the Modern Threat Landscape: Strategy and Collaboration

The cybersecurity landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by geopolitical instability and the rise of AI-powered attacks. McCarthy highlights the importance of staying close to partners who understand your business and maintaining strong engagement across the security community. “In a connected supply chain, we are all dependent on each other so these relationships will and do really matter.”

He advises focusing on the highest-priority threats and leveraging industry-specific insights, especially for organizations managing critical national infrastructure.

Shaping the Future: Leadership, Innovation, and Career Paths

Sector leaders have a pivotal role in shaping the future of cybersecurity, according to McCarthy. This means intentional leadership across people, culture, and ways of working. “In today’s cybersecurity world, there are many career paths and it is important that we provide opportunities to our teams ensuring they can progress, specialise, or broaden their experience.”

The security practice of tomorrow will be one focused on enterprise transformation, capable of adapting to the changing needs of the business.

Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond

McCarthy’s outlook for 2026 is sobering yet proactive. “Unfortunately, we can expect to see a continued rise in AI powered attacks across industry in 2026.” Geopolitical tensions will drive threats in Europe and Ireland, with the country’s upcoming EU presidency potentially focusing efforts on organizations managing critical national infrastructure.

However, there is cause for optimism. “Cybersecurity has never been a greater priority for Ireland Inc, or for organizations operating here.” With increased investment in cyber modernisation and security, the focus must be on simplifying the security landscape to understand assets, identify threats early, and strengthen modern security capabilities.

“Every one of us in cybersecurity plays a part in Ireland’s national cyber resilience and that responsibility has never been more important.”

Tags: cybersecurity, leadership, team building, incident response, AI-powered attacks, skills shortage, career development, learning and development, technology quotient, enterprise transformation, cyber resilience, national infrastructure, geopolitical instability, Accenture, Donal Óg McCarthy

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