Description

I help organizations across the Middle East and Europe navigate cybersecurity compliance and regulatory complexity with clarity and confidence. With 20 years of experience, I’ve delivered high-impact frameworks and advisory across sectors like finance, oil & gas, healthcare, aviation, and cloud. I specialize in ISO 27001, NIST CSF, and sovereign cloud compliance, and have led initiatives that unlocked multi-billion AED markets while reducing audit risks and improving operational readiness. Whether you need a security audit, regulatory gap assessment, or help preparing for ISO certification, I bring the insight and strategy needed to move fast and stay compliant. Let's simplify your security roadmap.

Languages

English
Native or bilingual
French
Native or bilingual
Arabic
Fluent

Workplace preferences

Can work on-site

Dubai City (up to 50km), Abu Dhabi (up to 50km)

Amazon Web Services
Security Assurance Specialist
DIGITAL AND IT
October 2019 - May 2025 (5 years and 7 months)
Dubai - United Arab Emirates
•Managed two Senior Consultants, delivering scaled regulatory and assurance projects, including digital-sovereignty initiatives, reporting to the Senior Manager for MEA.
•Oversaw a 150K USD annual budget for customer training initiatives, coordination, translation, and external consulting needs.
•Launched a security-compliant cloud region, securing licensing from government authorities and supporting USD 2.5B in total addressable market, with USD 10M year-on-year revenue growth.
•Integrated data governance practices into cloud regulatory strategies, ensuring compliance with data quality, cataloguing, and stewardship requirements.
•Led the adoption of the AWS global cybersecurity programme in 5 MENA countries, establishing partnerships with national cybersecurity authorities.
•Designed a compliance-at-launch strategy, now a reusable framework for future region launches, reducing go-to-market time by 20%.
•Designed and delivered customer training programmes for 1,000+ government participants, improving cybersecurity capabilities across the region.
SOC 2 ISO 27001 Digital Sovereignty CISO Advisory Relationship Development
Freelance
Independent Consultant / Fractional CISO
DIGITAL AND IT
May 2025 - Today (1 year and 3 months)
Dubai City, United Arab Emirates
•Fractional CISO/GRC for SMEs and scale-ups; delivering ISO 27001 gap assessments, SoA, risk registers, risk treatment plans, and audit readiness packages.
•Translate EU and UK cybersecurity regulation into pragmatic control baselines and delivery roadmaps, including DORA (ICT risk, resilience testing, incident reporting, and third‑party oversight) and NIS2 / UK NIS Regulations
•Design and implement operational resilience and incident management capabilities (BCM/DR, crisis management, playbooks, reporting workflows) aligned to DORA and UK supervisory expectations for critical services.
•Establish third‑party and cloud security assurance for critical suppliers (due diligence, contract security schedules, evidence collection, and ongoing monitoring).
•Design data classification, retention, and privacy-by-design controls supporting GDPR / UK GDPR obligations and improved data stewardship.
•Stand up lightweight governance for cloud and AI use (policies, approval gates, oversight cadence), ensuring continuous alignment to emerging EU/UK requirements.
ISO 27001 Cloud Security (GCP) DORA AI Governance GDPR
IBM
Principal Cybersecurity Consultant
DIGITAL AND IT
September 2015 - October 2019 (4 years and 1 month)
Dubai - United Arab Emirates
•Managed a team of twenty consultants, overseeing hiring, training, performance evaluations, and project allocation, reporting to the Associate Partner for Security Services.
•Oversaw a 185K AED annual budget, prioritizing training and upskilling to improve team capabilities and delivery outcomes.
•Delivered the Emirates Airline MSAS implementation for 80,000 employees, increasing engagement by 50%, saving AED 735K annually in risk mitigation costs, and generating AED 1.85M in first-year revenue through regional adoption.
•Designed a cybersecurity risk management framework for a major telecommunications organization in UAE, improving threat response capabilities.
•Created cybersecurity strategies for industries across the UAE and KSA, ensuring protection against cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
•Developed a cybersecurity and data governance framework for a leading energy organization in the GCC, incorporating classification, profiling, and stewardship processes, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations and security practices.
Cybersecurity Strategy Security Awareness ISO 27001 Data Governance SOC 2