The Global Security Symposium UAE Edition 2025, organized by the Global CISO Forum, brought together leading cybersecurity executives, government officials, technology innovators, and industry experts for a full day of thought leadership, collaboration, and recognition at Kempinski Central Avenue Dubai.
The event began with a welcome keynote by Anushree Dixit, Chief Strategy Officer, GEC Media Group, followed by the opening keynote from Faisal Khan, Associate Director Information Security & Compliance at Dubai World Trade Centre and Ambassador of the Global CISO Forum, setting the tone for a high-impact day of knowledge sharing.
Ambassador Note
In his address, Faisal Khan, Ambassador of Global CISO Forum shared a thought-provoking message: “My journey has been from Zero Trust to Unlimited Trust — and that’s only possible with the right team and the power of AI. In cybersecurity, no individual stands alone; it’s teamwork that makes the difference.”
Key Highlights of the Symposium
- Expert Panel Discussions:
- The Evolving Threat Landscape explored emerging risks, AI in defense, and regulatory trends.
- AI & Threat Intelligence – A Game Changer? addressed real-time detection, automation vs. human expertise, and AI-driven strategies.
- The Future of SOCs – AI vs. Human Analysts debated AI-driven SOCs and the value of human intelligence.
- The Future of GRC – Balancing Risk, Compliance & Business Agility explored governance best practices, AI in risk management, and business agility.
- Crisis Response & BCM – Are You Ready for the Next Disruption? shared incident response best practices and resilience strategies.
- Keynote Insights: Rajeev Dutt (Swiss GRC) spoke on mastering risk and resilience, while Ahmed Al Zarouni, a leading IT strategy and cybersecurity expert, highlighted national-level cybersecurity imperatives.
- Awards & Recognitions:
- CISO Awards honored outstanding cybersecurity leaders across multiple sessions.
- Future Security Awards recognized vendors for innovative solutions and market impact.
- GRC & BCM Excellence Awards celebrated leadership in governance, compliance, and business continuity.
- OT Security Awards spotlighted excellence in critical infrastructure and OT security.
The symposium featured an impressive lineup of experts from top organizations including Mubadala, Aster DM Healthcare, Zand, GEMS Education, Instashop, RedSea International, Abu Dhabi Airports, and more, who collectively shaped forward-looking discussions on AI, resilience, and the future of digital security.
The event concluded with a networking session, providing delegates an excellent platform to exchange insights, foster collaborations, and strengthen the regional cybersecurity ecosystem.
| First Name | Last Name | Job Title | Company Name | Category |
| Kashif | Khan | Head of Information Security (CISO) | Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company | CISO Winners |
| Zaheer | Kazi | Information Security Senior Specialist | Ministry of Interior | CISO Winners |
| Padam Sundar | Kafle | HEAD of IT and Automations, Innovations | Aster Hospitals UAE | CISO Winners |
| Ahmed | Nabil Mahmoud | Head of Information Security Engineering | Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank | CISO Winners |
| Ahmed | Al Madani | Head of IT | Horizon Terminals Ltd | CISO Winners |
| Mohammed Nabeel | Zubair | Senior Cybersecurity & Risk Compliance Engineer | MAKITA GULF FZE | CISO Winners |
| Manoharan | M | CISO | Truebell Group Of Companies | CISO Winners |
| Chenthil | Kumar | Head of Information Security | Red Sea International | CISO Winners |
| Mona | Al Harmoodi | Chief Information Security Office | Dubai Media Incorporated | CISO Winners |
| Zahid | Altaf | Senior Manager, Data Protection and Security Awareness | RETAIL INDUSTRY | CISO Winners |
| Kanesan | Pandi | Head of Information Security | Galadari Group | CISO Winners |
| Mohamed | Riyasudeen | Chief Information Security Officer | Al Ain Ahlia Insurance Company PSC | CISO Winners |
| Sultan | Al Mansoori | Information Security Director | Abu Dhabi Media Network | CISO Winners |
| Ahmed | AlZarouni | FVP Head of IT ICD | Investment Corporation of Dubai | CISO Winners |
| Manish | Agarwal | CISO | MH ENTERPRISES LLC | CISO Winners |
| Tushar | Vartak | EVP & Head, Information and Cyber Security | RAKBank | CISO Winners |
| Jeevan | Badigari | Head of Cybersecurity | ARADA Group | CISO Winners |
| Karthik | Hemachandran | Group Information Security Manager | Albatha Holding | CISO Winners |
| Denis | Yakimov | Head of Information Security and Privacy | Equiti Group | CISO Winners |
| Binesh | Balan | Head of Information Security | Gulftainer Company Limited | CISO Winners |
| Kishore | Kumar | CISO | Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital | CISO Winners |
| Evita | Francis | Vice President, Business Resilience, Middle East & India | Marsh | CISO Winners |
| Saquib | Malik | Head of Cyber Security | Al Tamimi Co | CISO Winners |
| Tilak | Ratnayake | Group IT Security Manager | GAC Group Holdings Limited | CISO Winners |
| Briggette | Kangara | Cybersecurity Head | Atlantis Dubai | CISO Winners |
| Irshad | Mohammed | CISO | Burjeel Holdings | CISO Winners |
| Nicholas | Charnley | CISO | TAQA | CISO Winners |
| Waqas | Haider | Chief Information Security Officer | HBL Microfinance Bank | CISO Winners |
| Jasmita | Malik | Information Security Manager | Majid Al Futtaim | CISO Winners |
| Kausar | Mukeri | CISO | GEMS EDUCATION | CISO Winners |
| Vinoth | Inbasekaran | CISO | Dubai Government Entity | CISO Winners |
| Anoop | Kumar | Head of Information Security and GRC | Gulfnews | CISO Winners |
| Goutam | Pudota | Director – IT Security (CISO) | IFFCO | CISO Winners |
| Dr. Madan | Mohan | Director – Cyber Security & Data Privacy | BDO | CISO Winners |
| Talal | Albalas | CISO | MOC | CISO Winners |
| Mohammed | Azam | Manager Information Security Management | EMSTEEL GROUP | CISO Winners |
| Jinson | Pappachan | Head of Information Security & Enterprise ICT | Emirates Policy Center | CISO Winners |
| Luqman | Kondeth | Director Campus Technology Security Services | New York University Abu Dhabi | CISO Winners |
| Ehtesham | Bukhari | Head of Service and Security Operations – Group IT | Al Tayer Group | CISO Winners |
| Nisha | Rani | CISO | MMI ELR | CISO Winners |
| Vijay | Velayutham | Principal Information Security Officer | Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure | CISO Winners |
| Hussain | AlKhalsan | CISO | Zand Bank | CISO Winners |
| Ilias Spyridon | Efthymiopoulos | Chief Infomration Security Officer (CISO) | Instashop, Delivery Hero Group | CISO Winners |
| Zaher | El Ali | Regional Head of Information Security MEA | Nextcare Claims Management LLC Allianz Partners | CISO Winners |
| Anas | Eltahir | CISO | Dubai Government | CISO Winners |
| Mohammed Nadeem | Rais | Information Security Manager | NMC | CISO Winners |
| Santosh | Pathak | Head of Infra and Security | King’s College Hospital London | CISO Winners |
| Kiran | Kumar | CISO | Alpheya | CISO Winners |
| RajabAli | Wishiwala | Group Director – Information Security and Risk | Alshaya | CISO Winners |
| Talal Said Ali | Alasmi | CISO | Sultanate of Oman | CISO Winners |
| Yana | Li | Security Business Partner Director | WebBeds | CISO Winners |
| Arvind | Gaba | Head of IT | Sharaf DG | CISO Winners |
| Mohammed J | Abbas | Acting CISO & Head of Privacy and BCM | First Abu Dhabi Bank | CISO Winners |
| Varun | Vij | CISO | Neo Stack Academy | CISO Winners |
| Osama | Salah | Senior IT Security Architect | Government Entity | CISO Winners |
| Sarfaraz | Muneer | Vice President Cyber security | Mubadala Investment Company | CISO Winners |
| Dr Mohammed | Hunaidi | Manager – Cyber Information Security | AD Ports Group | CISO Winners |
| Vikalp | Shrivastava | Global CISO – VP Technology & Security | Kerzner International | CISO Winners |
| Munish | Jain | CISO | Sobha Realty | CISO Winners |
| Divin | Santhajan | Cyber Security Head | Danube Group | CISO Winners |
| Mukesh | Kumar | Head Information Security | Apparel Group | CISO Winners |
| Ali | Zaigham | Chief Information Security Officer | Arabian Power Company | CISO Winners |
| May El | Barachi | Director of Computer Science and IT | University of Wollongong in Dubai | CISO Winners |
| Imran | Yousuf | Head of Cybersecurity | EMIRATES WATER AND ELECTRICITY COMPANY PJSC | CISO Winners |
| John | Len | Director, Information Security | Al Dahra Holding | CISO Winners |
| Hend | Alshamsi | IT director / CISO | MPDA | CISO Winners |
| Shaikha | Ali Juma | Information Technology Security Manager | Dubai Culture Arts & Authority | CISO Winners |
| Sulaiman Salem | Al Harsi | Head Of Section – Information Security | Mohamed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment | CISO Winners |
| Amr | Bahgat | Head of Information Security | Banque Misr | CISO Winners |
| Yousuf | Dashqooni | Director of Information Technology and Intelligence Solutions | Wasl | CISO Winners |
| Mohan | Kumar | Head of Information Security at United Arab Bank (UAB) | United Arab Bank | CISO Winners |
| Prashant | Nair | Group CISO | Airtel | CISO Winners |
| Abdulwahab | Aljamhi | Senior Director Information Security | Miral Experiences | CISO Winners |
| First Name | Last Name | Job Title | Company Name | Category |
| Mohamad | Gholoom | Governance & Risk Expert | Emirates Drug Establishment | GRC&BCM |
| Ramesh | Dave | Head of Branch Compliance | Intesa Sanpaolo Abu Dhabi Branch | GRC&BCM |
| Carlo | Loveri | Head of Risk and BCM | Abu Dhabi Airports | GRC&BCM |
| Noaman | Saleem | Head – Business Excellence | Khalifa University | GRC&BCM |
| Bader Husni | Zyoud | Head Of IS Governance & Risk Managment | Abu Dhabi Media Network | GRC&BCM |
| Mohamad Youssef | Mohamad Alhammadi | Governance and Risk management executive | Ministry Of Health and Prevention | GRC&BCM |
| Annu | Chouraria | Director – Technology Governance and AI | Andersen | GRC&BCM |
| Navaneetha | Kannan | SENIOR MANAGER – INFORMATION SECURITY GRC | Sharjah Islamic Bank | GRC&BCM |
| Oma Martins | Okonkwo | Associate Director – IT Governance, Risks and Compliance | IHS Towers GCC | GRC&BCM |
| Sheikh Gulrez | Ahmed | Manager IT Security and Compliance | Engineering Office, (The Private Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum ) | GRC&BCM |
| Dhiraj | Lal | Executive Director | Continuity & Resilience | GRC&BCM |
| Ravikumar | Yogi | Risk and Compliance Specialist | ADNOC Global Trading | GRC&BCM |
| Fahd | Nizam | Head – Technology GRC & IT PMO | GEMS Education | GRC&BCM |
| Suzan | Alghanem | SECTION HEAD – ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY | Environment Agency Abu Dhabi | GRC&BCM |
| Ilidio | Pereira | BCM | IVARE | GRC&BCM |
| Madhubabu | Nadiminti | Lead Engineer Business Continuity | Arabian Power Company (ITM O&M) | GRC&BCM |
| Feroz | Patel | Information & Technolog Head | IMG Worlds of Adventure | GRC&BCM |
| Dr. Ebrahim | Al Alkeem | Director of national Risk and Policy | Excutive Office of AML & CTF | GRC&BCM |
| Mohammed | Al Ali | Director of Governance & Risk Department | Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) | GRC&BCM |
| Irshad | Syed | Senior Analyst- Digital Risk Management & Compliance | ADNOC | GRC&BCM |
| First Name | Last Name | Job Title | Company Name | Category |
| Al | Ratheesh R | OT Cybersecurity SME | Horizon Terminals Ltd | OT Cybersecurity Leaders Award 2025 |
| Sidney | Vanderloot | HEAD OF OT TAQA GLOBAL | TAQA | OT Cybersecurity Leaders Award 2025 |
| Qusai | AlRabei | Senior Global Leader-OT Cybersecurity | Schneider Electric | OT Cybersecurity Leaders Award 2025 |
| Prakash | Narayanan | Senior Regional Solutions Architect | General Electric | OT Cybersecurity Leaders Award 2025 |
| Zeeshan Hameed | Nizami | OT/ICS Cybersecurity Analyst | Dubai Electricity & Water Authority | OT Cybersecurity Leaders Award 2025 |
| Abdul | Azeem | IT Manager | Emirates Float Glass | OT Cybersecurity Leaders Award 2025 |
| First Name | Last Name | Job Title | Company Name | Award |
| Ankit | Satsangi | Field CISO | Simuphish | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Rajesh | Radhakrishnan | Co – Founder & CTO | F9 Infotech | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Denis | Eliseev | CEO | Cloud Networks Solutions DMCC | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Rahul | Shetty | CISO and Co-Founder | StarcSec Tech Ltd | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Dharmendra | Parmar | VP ‑ Marketing & Vendor Alliances | AmiViz | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Suhas | Varambally | Country Head UAE, Oman & Qatar | Paramount Computer Systems | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Barbara | Coumaros | PR Manager | Sophos | Future Security Leaders Awards |
| Soumya | Prajna | Senior Director-Strategy Innovation | Help AG | Future Security Leaders Awards |
