Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates
With over 20 years of global leadership experience building, transforming, and scaling enterprise cyber defence programs across Banking, FinTech, Energy, Telecom, Technology, and Manufacturing sectors. I am a Cybersecurity Executive and my career has been dedicated to protecting critical business ecosystems by aligning cybersecurity strategy with business growth, regulatory compliance, and digital trust.I specialize in building cybersecurity functions from ground zero, maturing SOC and CSIRT operations, and strengthening resilience across complex IT and OT environments. My leadership spans cloud security, zero trust architecture, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, incident response, and regulatory frameworks including ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, NIST, GDPR, and UAE-NESA. As Head of Cyber Security at WIO Bank in UAE, I lead a 24/7 cyber defence team delivering zero critical incidents, a 97% Microsoft Secure Score, and enterprise-wide compliance through automation, governance, and high-performance team leadership. I have consistently built world-class security teams with 100% retention through mentoring, structured development, and performance-driven cultures.Previously, I led global cybersecurity and threat intelligence operations and project teams at Nubank, Raízen/COSAN, IBM, and AB InBev, where I dismantled large-scale criminal infrastructures, embedded intelligence into fraud prevention, secured over 120+ industrial plants, reduced phishing exposure by 90%, eliminated data leakage incidents entirely, and established multiple global SOC / CSIRT functions. What defines my leadership is the ability to translate cyber risk into business language for boards and executives while driving deep technical execution across all cybersecurity capabilities. I lead with accountability, resilience, and measurable outcomes, reducing enterprise risk whileenabling digital transformation at scale. Skills:- Project, Budget, and Third Party Management- Strategic Cybersecurity Leadership- Risk Assessments and Mitigation- Incident Response Strategy- Compliance and Governance- Cybersecurity Frameworks- Data Privacy- Security Architecture Design- Continuous Security Improvement- Stakeholder Engagement- SOC AI and N8N automationI am eager to leverage my extensive experience in cybersecurity leadership to drive strategic initiatives that enhance organizational resilience. You can contact me directly at [email protected].
Building the company’s information security program from the ground up, designing and implementing a cloud-native environment with security embedded by design. Leading the full security lifecycle — from strategy to execution — across a global operation. • Architecting and deploying an enterprise-wide ISMS aligned to ISO 27001, establishing policies, controls, and governance structures. • Leading all security domains: Security Operations Center (SOC), GRC, endpoint and email security, and vulnerability & patch management. For IT and OT. • Driving cloud security posture across multi-cloud environments, ensuring compliance, resilience, and scalability.
Leading enterprise-wide cyber defence for a fast-growing digital bank, I built and transformed core cybersecurity functions across SOC, Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, Cloud Security, Endpoint, Security, Email Security, Vulnerability Management and Patch Management in alignment with NIST, ISO27001 and UAE-NESA. All using AI (artificial intelligence) with Open AI , Claude and automation with N8N. My leadership directly contributed to the bank achieving and sustaining a 97% Microsoft Secure Score with zero critical security incidents and zero data leak in a highly regulated environment. Through security automation, advanced playbooks, and analyst enablement, I reduced MTTR by 10% and executed continuous red team exercises that lowered the attack surface by 15%. I also led bank-wide governance, cyber risk assessments, and audit readiness, enabling successful ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications. I built and lead a 24/7 cybersecurity organization of 12 specialists, revamping over 150 SOC SOPs, launching phishing simulations, red-team exercises, and executive KPI dashboards. Through structured mentoring and career frameworks, I achieved 100% talent retention with zero attrition across three years. I delivered monthly cybersecurity performance reports to C-level executives, providing insights on SLA, MTTR, MTTD, Secure Score, Exposure Score, Compliance Score, and Cloud Security Posture, driving strategic security decisions.
I led the global threat intelligence function at one of the world’s largest digital banks, dismantling over 13,000 malicious digital assets using Intel 471 and Apura. This directly prevented large-scale fraud, financial loss, and customer account compromise across cloud, digital, and fintech platforms. I embedded more than 1,000 actionable intelligence insights into fraud prevention, cloud security, and enterprise risk programs, enabling proactive defense and measurable reduction in cyber-enabled financial crime. My work strengthened protection of both critical infrastructure and high-value customer ecosystems. I built and mentored a high-performance threat intelligence team of 7 analysts with 0% turnover, while delivering high-fidelity IOCs to the SOC that increased detection effectiveness by 5% and improved real-time response to emerging threats.
Built and scaled Cybersecurity Operations and Threat Intelligence teams, expanding services across multiple business units including Energy, Logistics, and Fintech, ensuring enterprise-wide security coverage. Implemented a NIST-based Incident Response framework and playbooks, reducing detection and containment times while improving overall operational efficiency. Established and managed a 24/7 global SOC/CSIRT, providing continuous monitoring, rapid incident response, and threat intelligence integration across the organization. Led the deployment of Cyber OT security solutions for industrial operations using Nozomi Networks, enhancing protection of critical infrastructure and operational systems. Designed and executed security strategies that integrated business, IT, and OT risk management, improving visibility into threats and mitigating risks. Fostered a culture of cybersecurity awareness, collaborating with multiple business units to ensure adoption of best practices and policies.
Directed 15+ global cybersecurity programs across Europe, USA, Africa, LatAm, and APAC, delivering consistent, enterprise-wide security improvements. Led deployment of OT Cybersecurity, Endpoint Security, and a Global SOC (India), while implementing global awareness campaigns, enhancing cyber resilience across all regions. Partnered with the CISO and regional leadership to optimize CAPEX/OPEX investments, aligning cybersecurity initiatives with business growth objectives. Collaborated with the SOC in India to transition projects, implement new security capabilities, develop SOPs, and provide training to SOC personnel, strengthening operational readiness. Spearheaded a Cyber OT initiative, deploying Claroty monitoring devices and Fortinet firewalls to secure 120+ plants and breweries, improving network segmentation and reducing cyber risk exposure. Managed and implemented a broad suite of security tools and platforms, including SIEM (Sumologic), EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne), Firewalls and Network (Fortinet, Proofpoint, Palo Alto), Threat Intelligence platforms (Digital Shadows), CASB, and OT monitoring solutions (Nozomi Networks, Claroty), ensuring comprehensive visibility and proactive defense across IT and OT environments. Established a strong governance and risk management framework across multiple regions, ensuring compliance, proactive threat mitigation, and alignment with corporate objectives.