The Cyber Strategists Summit & Awards 2025, hosted by CXO Insight Middle East and Insight Media & Publishing, concluded on a high note in Dubai, celebrating the region’s most influential cybersecurity leaders and solution providers.
Taking place against the backdrop of GISEC GLOBAL, the event served as a timely platform for strategic dialogue on cyber resilience, intelligence, and innovation at a time when digital risk is intensifying across every industry.
The Cyber Strategists Summit & Awards 2025 brought together CISOs, InfoSec leaders, technology strategists, and innovators who are reshaping cybersecurity across the Middle East.
The event began with a compelling keynote address by Mohammed H. AlAbbadi, Group CISO at Fertiglobe, who spoke about the evolution of cybersecurity in the age of AI, the expanding role of security teams, and the importance of building long-term resilience amid the accelerating proliferation of AI-driven threats and digital risk.
This was followed by a focused presentation from Osama AlZoubi, Vice President, Phosphorus Cybersecurity, titled “The New Cyber Arms Race: AI vs AI on xIoT Devices,” in which he examined the emerging threats targeting unmanaged connected devices and the implications of AI-powered cyber warfare.
Another key highlight of the evening was the engaging panel discussion titled “The Predictive Edge: The Evolution of Threat Intelligence,” which explored how organisations can move beyond reactive security models to build proactive, intelligence-driven defences. The discussion focused on leveraging real-time telemetry, behavioural analytics, AI-powered threat detection, and cross-sector collaboration to anticipate and mitigate evolving cyber risks. The session was expertly moderated by Anoop Paudval, Head of Information Security and GRC at Al Nisr Publishing, and featured an impressive panel of experts including Meriam ElOuazzani, Regional Sales Director – META, SentinelOne; Daljeet Singh, Co-Founder & Director of Business Development, iConnect; Aliasgar Dohadwala, Founder and CEO, Visiontech; Ram Narayanan, Country Manager – Middle East, Check Point Software Technologies; and Huda AlBloushi, Chief Information Security Officer, Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation. Together, they shared perspectives on the shift from static indicators to adaptive threat intelligence, and discussed the organisational and cultural shifts required to operationalise predictive cybersecurity at scale. Their insights provided attendees with actionable takeaways on staying ahead in a dynamic and AI-influenced threat landscape.
VENDOR AWARDS WINNERS
The Vendor Awards segment celebrated the most impactful cybersecurity solution providers in the region:
- Best Threat Prevention Vendor of the Year – Check Point
- Best Integrated Security Platform Vendor of the Year – Cisco
- OT Security Leader of the Year – Fortinet
- Best Hybrid Infrastructure Security Vendor of the Year – Infoblox
- Cybersecurity Innovator of the Year – Kaspersky
- Best xIoT Security Vendor of the Year – Phosphorus Cybersecurity
- Best Cybersecurity Training Provider of the Year – SANS Institute
- Best AI-Powered Security Vendor of the Year – SentinelOne
- Best Intelligent Backup Vendor of the Year – Veeam
A Special Recognition Award was presented to Saket Narula, Group Head IT, National Holding, for his commitment to advancing cyber resilience across his organisation, earning him the title Cyber Strategy Leader.
CYBER STRATEGISTS OF THE YEAR
The highlight of the night was the recognition of outstanding individual leaders shaping the region’s cybersecurity future:
- Husam Mahmoud – Abu Dhabi National Hotels
- Jeevan Badigari – Arada
- Binoy Balakrishnan – AW Rostamani
- Divin Santhajan – Danube Group
- Mohammed Azam – Emsteel
- Huda AlBloushi – Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation
- Anand Nataraj – Emaar
- Mohammed H. AlAbbadi – Fertiglobe
- Mohamed Anish – Lulu Retail Holding
- Tarek El Araby – Nema Holding
- Kanesan Pandi – Galadari Brothers
- Marwan Ahmad Bukarrood – PCFC
- Munish Jain – Sobha Realty
- Kausar Mukeri – GEMS Education
- Anoop Kumar – Gulf News
- Muhammed Munassir TK – Leams Education
- Tarun Gupta – G42 Healthcare
- Husam Aldhuhoori – Mashreq Bank
- Nasser Al Neyadi – Ministry of Interior
- Budoor Buhannad – Dubai Health Authority
- Mohammad Sayeed – OFZA
- Mohammed Aijaz Ahmed – RAK Ports
- Mohamed Rifkaan – Canadian University Dubai
- Ramesh Arly – Sharjah Asset Management
- Waqar Anjum – SHUAA Capital
- Yanal Al Khasoneh – Abu Dhabi Customs
- Mohammad Al Suwaidi – DANS
- Jaya Mohan – NBQ
- Anas Eltahir – Dubai Government Legal Affairs Dept
- Aslam Ali Kherawala – Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group
- Zaheer Shaikh – Mbank
- Baz Ahmed – Dubai Islamic Bank
- Mohammed Rizwan – GFG Alliance
- Nisha Rani – MMI ELR
- Adhithyan Sudhaghar – TÜV Rheinland Group
- Temitope Ogundare – NBF
- Nitin Shingari – Wusoom
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