Sep 2024 – Present · 1 yr 9 mos

• As the Head of Security, Privacy & IT at Stenn, I lead the integration of global security strategies, privacy compliance, and IT support to ensure operational resilience, compliance, and efficiency. I provide strategic guidance to the Executive Leadership Team, aligning security and privacy with business goals, while managing risk and supporting a seamless IT infrastructure across our global operations.
• Security:
• I drive the company’s cybersecurity strategy, ensuring robust protection of Stenn’s assets and data. This includes overseeing the software development lifecycle (SDLC), where we rigorously review system architecture and code for security compliance. I lead the implementation of our Risk Management framework, aligning practices with NIST and ISO 27001 standards. Through continuous security awareness programs, I empower teams to strengthen our security posture. I work closely with leadership to develop measurable security goals, manage budgets, and track progress, ensuring our systems remain resilient against evolving threats.
• Privacy:
• I lead Stenn’s Privacy Program, ensuring compliance with global privacy regulations, including GDPR, CCPA, and China’s Privacy Laws. I navigate the complex landscape of privacy regulations to embed data protection by design across first- and third-party applications. In addition to managing data subject requests, ensuring transparent and compliant data handling practices.
• Corporate IT & Support:
• In addition to security and privacy, I oversee the global IT support function, ensuring smooth operations across diverse regions. I lead a team that provides timely and effective support to employees, optimizing IT processes and ensuring IT solutions align with business needs and growth. By integrating security and privacy into our IT practices, I help create a secure, scalable, and efficient infrastructure that supports Stenn’s growth and global operations.

Aug 2023 – Sep 2024 · 1 yr 1 mo

• Stenn is one of the leading FinTechs in Europe and a category leader in the verticals and markets it operates in. Founded in 2015, Stenn's purpose is to connect international SMEs to the global financial system, helping to bridge a reported $3.6 trillion (USD) financing gap through a fast, simple online platform.
• As a Head of Cybersecurity, I drive the implementation of a robust security strategy across our organization. I provide strategic guidance to Executive and Senior Leadership, seamlessly integrating security best practices into our strategic and operational processes. I establish and maintain a dynamic Risk Management framework while aligning our Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) practices with recognized NIST and ISO 27001 standards.
• I ensure the security of our software development life cycle (SDLC) by meticulously reviewing system architecture and code. Additionally, I champion a culture of security awareness through a structured program, empowering our teams to make informed decisions and strengthen our collective commitment to safeguarding our systems and data. I collaborate closely with internal stakeholders to enhance our security readiness, maintaining measurable security plans, budgets, and targets.
• In addition to leading our cybersecurity efforts, I also spearhead our IT support team, ensuring the seamless operation of our organization's technological infrastructure. This includes overseeing a dedicated team focused on providing timely and effective support to all departments. My role involves optimizing IT processes, implementing innovative solutions, and guaranteeing that our systems and technologies align with our overall business objectives. This dual responsibility allows me to foster a holistic approach to technology management, ensuring both security and operational excellence across the board.
• Tech Stack: Azure, AWS, C#, Python, Terraform, Kubernetes, Generative AI, Kafka, Elastic and many more

Jul 2023 – Present · 2 yrs 11 mos · Greater London, England, United Kingdom · Hybrid

• As a Part-Time Lead Instructor for the Cybersecurity Course, I guide the course, teach the content, engage with students, and encourage active learning through hands-on projects that bridge theory with real-world applications. My role includes assessing and providing constructive feedback on students' final projects and fostering their professional growth. I stay updated with industry trends to help ensure the information delivered is relevant and aligned with the dynamic cybersecurity landscape.
• My passion for cybersecurity and teaching drives me to nurture the next generation of professionals, equipping them to tackle challenges and contribute to a safer digital world.
• Throughout the course, I'll cover:
• Fundamentals of Security & Information Systems
• Identifying and Understanding Threats
• Mitigating Threats with Defenses
• Risk Management & Analysis
• Cybersecurity Planning & Strategy
• Incident Management & Response
• Cybersecurity and AI
• Hands-on Case Studies

Jun 2021 – Aug 2023 · 2 yrs 2 mos · Greater London, England, United Kingdom · On-site

• As an Application Security Manager at Meta, I support a diverse team of super-talented application and product security engineers working on securing Meta's family of products (Facebook app, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and many more).
• At Meta's application/product security team, we focus mainly on performing security reviews on the new and existing code base starting from security design review, thread modeling, and security code review.
• We are continuously on a mission to automate finding new vulnerabilities using our linters, static analysis, and dynamic analysis tools across the different stacks (web, Native, Android, and iOS).
• We also collaborate with security researchers through our white hat bug bounty program to ensure continuous security testing is in place.
• In addition to helping the team deliver impact, I also work on the team's career growth, and performance issues, and ensure a healthy team culture that motivates and enables innovation.
• Project(s): Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, Metaverse (Oculus, Horizon, Workrooms), Ads, Workplace, , and other confidential projects.

Jun 2020 – Jun 2021 · 1 yr

• As a CTO at chopcast, I am responsible for leading the development it's technical product, chopcast, which enables content creators and businesses to repurpose their content and redistribute it across all the social media channels with minimal effort. Chopcast is an intelligent cloud-based content repurposing tool that utilizes the power of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing to provide a seamless user experience for our users.
• Tech stack: Python, Restful API, Flask, MySQL, React, Typescript, HTML/CSS, Javascript, Google Cloud Platform, Docker, Kubernetes, Git.

Jun 2020 – Jun 2021 · 1 yr · Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Hybrid

• Pet With It is the biggest pet directory in the UAE where you can find and compare everything you need for your pets and explore all vets, pet stores, trainers, daycare, shelters, pet-friendly places, grooming services, relocation, and many more.
• As the CTO and Co-Founder at Pet With It, I wear multiple hats to drive our mission forward. I lead our technical strategy, overseeing the development of innovative solutions that enhance the pet care experience. From designing intuitive user interfaces to implementing robust backend systems, I ensure our technology aligns seamlessly with our vision. Additionally, I collaborate closely with our talented team to shape our product roadmap, utilizing cutting-edge tech to create meaningful connections between pets and their owners. Together, we're revolutionizing the way we care for our furry companions.

Jun 2018 – Sep 2020 · 2 yrs 3 mos · Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• dubizzle is an OLX company: OLX is the world's leading classifieds brand. The OLX network of companies operates in more than 50 growth markets in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe. Worldwide OLX gets more than 240 million unique users and generates more than 17 billion page views, per month.
• As the Engineering & Security Lead at Dubizzle, I manage three engineering teams of over 20 engineers, including two engineering managers, with a focus on enhancing the property vertical buyer and seller experience across all platforms (backend, Web, Android, and iOS).
• I also oversee the Quality Assurance department, ensuring product quality through both automated and manual testing.
• Additionally, I lead the Dubizzle Security Guild, working to ensure the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of our platforms, in close collaboration with the OLX global security team. I drive security awareness across the technical department, ensuring secure platform development and the writing of secure code.
• I work closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers, data analysts, DevOps, software architects, QA, and designers, to solve complex business problems using technology.
• Tech stack: Python, Restful API, Django, PostgreSQL, MySQL, JSON, JSON-HAL, Objective C, Swift, Java, Kotlin, React, HTML/CSS, Javascript, AWS, Docker, Jenkins, WordPress, Git, Kibana, Kubernetes.

Dec 2016 – Jun 2018 · 1 yr 6 mos · Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• BrandRipplr is an e-commerce platform that connect the best influencers in the middle east with brands from different kind of industries. The platform simplify and facilitate the process of the social campaigns starting from booking influencers, reviewing the content, monitor the campaign performance to the payment.
• As the CTO and Co-founder at brandripplr, I am responsible for creating the strategy and best practices for the company’s technical operations, including assessing and recommending technologies that support company needs. I also manage a team of six multicultural software engineers throughout the research, development,
• and quality assurance processes. I seek to build a productive, fun, educational, challenging environment for my team while protecting the confidentiality, integrity,
• and availability of the company’s data and servers. I also communicate the company’s technology strategy to investors, management, staff, partners, and stakeholders.
• We work closely with product manager, and designer where we all work on solving the business problems using technology.
• Tech stack: Python, Restful API, Django, PostgreSQL, JSON, JSON-HAL, Angular-JS, PHP, HTML/CSS, Javascript, AWS, Docker, Jenkins, MySQL, WordPress, Git.

Oct 2015 – Jun 2018 · 2 yrs 8 mos · United Arab Emirates

• As the CTO and Co-founder at insydo, I am responsible for creating the strategy and best practices for the company’s technical operations, including assessing and recommending technologies that support company needs. I also manage a team of six multicultural software engineers throughout the research, development, and quality assurance processes. I seek to build a productive, fun, educational,
• and challenging environment for my team while protecting confidentiality, integrity,
• and availability of the company’s data and servers.
• In addition, I continued to build and maintain the native Android application for insydo. I also communicate the company’s technology strategy to investors, management, staff, partners,
• and stakeholders.
• Tech stack: Java, Objective-C, SQLite, XML, JSON, JSON-HAL, Python, Restful API, Django, PostgreSQL, Angular-JS, Symfony2, PHP, HTML/CSS, Javascript, AWS, Docker, Jenkins, MySQL, WordPress, Git.

Dec 2014 – Oct 2015 · 10 mos · United Arab Emirates

• I moved to the UAE to work as a mobile engineer at insydo. For this role, I set the
• application design architecture and wrote all of the related technical documents
• as well as built and maintained the presentation, business, and data layers. In
• addition, I performed different kinds of testing and reverse engineering
• protections.
• Tech stack: Android framework, Java, XML, JSON, JSON-HAL, Restful API.

Jul 2013 – Dec 2014 · 1 yr 5 mos · Egypt

• At inmobly, I moved into the native mobile application domain, where I designed,
• developed, tested, deployed, maintained, and improved Android applications as well as wrote all of the related technical documents.
• Project(s): I worked on developing multiple Android applications such as inFootball, Buckeyes American football team, and many more.
• Tech stack: Android framework, Java, XML, JSON, JSON-HAL, Restful API.

Sep 2012 – May 2013 · 8 mos · Egypt

• In my first role as a software engineer, I designed, developed, tested, deployed,
• maintained, and improved desktop applications. I also designed, implemented,
• optimized, and tested the database as well as wrote all of the related technical
• documents.
• Project(s): I built an end to end software for private medical clinics to help them track their inventory, manage their financials and their patient's data.
• Tech stack: Java, MySQL.

Jun 2011 – Aug 2011 · 2 mos · Cairo, Egypt

• I interned at SoftMEMS as a quality assurance engineer, learning software
• design, control of source code, reviewing code, configuration management, change management, program testing, integration of software, and the release management process.