Dubai Financial Services AuthorityHead Of Information Technology and Administration
Jul. 2005 - Aug. 2020Dubai, United Arab Emirates · On-site- Founding Team Member: Successfully tasked with direct responsibility to set up the Technology and Operations Teams for the Dubai Financial Services Authority, a Dubai Government entity, overseeing and executing IT Strategy, IT Governance, Compliance and Digital Transformation initiatives. Created the independence of the Regulator from the DIFC Authority during the inception and set up of a Financial Centre that now makes up over 12% of Dubai’s GDP.
- Team Leadership: Built and led high-performing IT teams, driving innovation and ensuring adherence to international Governance standards and compliance, reporting to C-Level and Board. Coached and advised C-Level Executive on Technology and Cybersecurity trends.
- Strategic Planning: Developed and implemented IT Strategy and Business Planning process, providing advanced insight into business requirements and emerging technologies. This resulted in a smooth partnership between Business and IT and over 150 successfully completed Projects.
- Digital Transformation: Led strategic vision on Digital Transformation, introducing organization-wide efficiencies through Agile, Scrum Project Management and Prince2 methodologies. These projects resulted in automated processes and operational efficiencies across the organisation, including data collection from regulated firms and annual Man Day savings of over 25%.
- Cybersecurity: Spearheaded cybersecurity strategy, implementing cutting-edge security solutions utilising Artificial Intelligence, and multi-layered approaches resulting in clean audit reports for 15 years with Deloitte and PWC audit teams following ISO27003 guidelines.
- Budget and Infrastructure Management: Effectively managed Capex and Opex budgets for IT and Admin expenditure of up to USD 6 million per year. Directed Data Centre and Infrastructure management, overseeing on-premise and cloud platforms and vendor relationships. Built Tier 4 resilience and successfully audited compliance with ISO 27001 Standards.