Regional Head of Security Operations

Adhithyan
Sudhaghar.

15+ years building and scaling Managed Security Services, Managed Detection & Response, and AI-driven SOC operations across the GCC — from detection engineering to executive escalation.

● operating UAE KSA Kuwait Oman Qatar
Based
Dubai, UAE
Coverage
GCC + IMEA
Domain
MSS · MDR · SOC
subj_0001 · scan_complete
01 / Summary

A cybersecurity leader who has built multi-tenant SOCs from the ground up — and runs them at scale.

I lead the design, operation, and growth of Managed Security Services and Managed Detection & Response programs across the Gulf — owning everything from SOC architecture and detection engineering to P&L, RFP strategy, and CXO escalation.

My focus over the last five years has been the AI-driven SOC: bringing ML-based anomaly detection, UEBA, and SOAR automation together into a multi-tenant platform that holds the line on MTTD and MTTR while keeping analyst cost contained.

I’ve lived and delivered in UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar, with services extending into KSA and Oman. That on-the-ground experience makes regional compliance — NESA, ADHICS, NCA ECC, SAMA CSF, PDPL, Qatar CSF, VARA, DFSA — second nature.

15+
Years in security
40+
Client environments
5
GCC countries served
24×7
SOC accountability
02 / Core competencies

What I actually do.

a. SOC strategy & operations

Designing and running multi-tenant SOCs at GCC scale.

  • SOC Transformation
  • MSS / MDR Service Ownership
  • Multi-Country Operations
  • Multi-Tenant Architecture
  • SOC-CMM Maturity
  • 24×7 Delivery
  • Customer Onboarding
  • SLA / KPI Governance
  • MTTD · MTTR
b. AI/ML detection & engineering

Turning telemetry into automated, high-fidelity detection.

  • Detection Engineering
  • AI/ML-Driven Detection
  • UEBA / Anomaly Detection
  • SOAR Orchestration
  • L1 / L2 Automation
  • Correlation Rule Tuning
  • Use Case Lifecycle
  • Threat Hunting
  • Threat Intelligence · OSINT
  • MITRE ATT&CK
c. Platform leadership

Owning the SOC technology stack end-to-end.

  • SIEM
  • SOAR
  • XDR / EDR
  • TIP
  • NDR
  • DRP
  • ASM
  • Vulnerability Management
  • DSPM
  • IDAM
  • BAS
  • Forensics
d. Governance & commercial

Translating cyber risk into business outcomes.

  • NIST CSF
  • ISO 27001 / 27701 / 22301 / 42001
  • PCI DSS
  • SOC 2
  • P1 Escalation Management
  • QBRs & Service Reviews
  • RFP & Pricing Strategy
  • Vendor Management
  • ITIL
  • Talent Development
03 / Trajectory

A career built in the SOC trenches — across five GCC countries.

2025 — Present
Current

Head of Cyber Security Division

Dubai, UAE GCC coverage P&L ownership

Full ownership of strategy, P&L, service delivery, and growth across UAE, KSA, Kuwait, and Oman — spanning MSS, MDR, GRC consulting, and identity services.

  • Engineered an AI-powered multi-tenant SOC integrating next-gen SIEM, SOAR, XDR, TIP, NDR, DRP, and ASM.
  • Drove AI/ML for detection and anomaly identification; automated L1/L2 via SOAR to reduce MTTD & MTTR.
  • Built governance aligned to NIST CSF, ISO 27001, MITRE ATT&CK, and SOC-CMM — playbooks, runbooks, UEBA, use-case lifecycle.
  • Lead QBRs, P1 escalations, and vendor strategy across the regional security stack.
2021 — 2025

Regional Head of Managed Security Services — IMEA

UAE 40+ client environments Multi-country P&L

Led MSS delivery across the IMEA region with full UAE P&L ownership — service quality, SLA performance, customer satisfaction, and team performance across 40+ enterprise clients.

  • Scaled SOC, AI Consulting, and Security Assessment teams; evolved Managed SOC with MITRE-aligned detection engineering, SIEM content lifecycle, SOAR, UEBA, and threat hunting.
  • Designed cybersecurity & AI security service catalogues — service definition, SLAs, pricing, GTM — deployed across UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and KSA.
  • Delivered enterprise security architecture & Zero Trust cloud strategy on Azure and AWS for BFSI, retail, oil & gas, utilities, and government.
2019 — 2021

Delivery Manager — SOC & Assessment Services

UAE Finance · Retail · Healthcare

Owned MSS delivery for enterprise customers — SLA compliance, customer satisfaction, and the operational efficiency of the multi-tenant SOC function.

  • Ran 24×7 threat detection, incident response, vulnerability management, and compliance reporting.
  • Conducted SOC maturity assessments and roadmap design for clients across BFSI & healthcare.
  • Standardized playbooks, automation, and process improvement across the MSSP.
2016 — 2019

Senior SOC Consultant — Banking Sector

Doha, Qatar Embedded · On-site Qatar CSF

Embedded on-site at a leading Qatari bank — lived GCC banking-sector experience, aligned to Qatar CSF and regional regulatory requirements.

  • Led incident response, forensic investigation, and SOC technology deployments — SIEM, EDR, FIM, VM, SOAR, BAS.
  • Developed security policies and mentored junior analysts.
2015 — 2016

Senior Security Consultant — Banking

Kuwait City, Kuwait Team of 6 SOC analysts

Primary security advisor for one of the region’s largest banks — owned the full SIEM implementation lifecycle and led a team of six SOC analysts.

  • Managed end-to-end SOC program delivery, supply chain coordination, and forensics (FireEye Redline).
  • Established malware analysis and operational best practices for the in-house SOC.
2012 — 2015

Early Career — Risk Advisory & Security Analyst

India IT Risk · Security Operations

Foundations in IT risk advisory and security analysis — where the habits of detection, documentation, and structured response were learned.

04 / Technology stack

The platforms I’ve built on, integrated, and run in production.

SIEM
Security Information & Event Management
SOAR
Security Orchestration, Automation & Response
XDR
Extended Detection & Response
EDR
Endpoint Detection & Response
NDR
Network Detection & Response
TIP
Threat Intelligence Platform
DRP
Digital Risk Protection
ASM
Attack Surface Management
VM
Vulnerability Management
DSPM
Data Security Posture Management
IDAM
Identity & Access Management
UEBA
User & Entity Behavior Analytics
05 / Regional compliance

Programs aligned to the frameworks that actually matter in the GCC.

United Arab Emirates
NESA  ·  ADHICS  ·  PDPL  ·  VARA  ·  DFSA
Saudi Arabia
NCA ECC  ·  SAMA CSF
Qatar
Qatar CSF  ·  Banking sector controls
International
NIST CSF  ·  ISO 27001  ·  PCI DSS  ·  SOC 2
06 / Credentials

Certifications & education.

CCSK
CCSE
Cisco CCNA CyberOps
ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
ISO 42001 AIMS Lead Auditor
Education Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
07 / Get in touch

Building an MSS, scaling an MDR, or rethinking your SOC?
Let’s talk.

Based in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Open to
Leadership · Advisory · Speaking