Insights with Cyber Leaders with Saqib Chaudhry CISO Cleveland Clinic

Amar Singh, CEO and founder of Cyber Management talked in length to Saqib Chaudry, CISO at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi on a range of topics including his early career in consulting, security certifications, whether the ability to hack is a step up to a security job, and the importance of threat intelligence. Starting out as an Helpdesk analyst; moving into systems and engineering, all as a consultant, allowed Saqib to choose projects to work on in between being a student. Saqib highly recommends starting a career in consulting, enabling you to gain experience in different technologies and business continuity. The role of CISO, to Saqib, is less with technology and more with understanding the processes, end to end, for an organisation. “Consulting firms already have a set list of clients across various industries which gives you a broad spectrum of what’s out there – makes your decision easier for the major you will work on.” From a personal development perspective, elaborates Saqib, is to focus on developing you as a person. Within a consulting firm, you can learn a range of different skills; from sales to dealing with executives, proposal writing, different cultures and how to market yourself. “You have 7 seconds to hold your senior executive’s attention so, when they ask you a question, answer it with a yes, no or I don’t know, before you launch into your explanation.”