Mike Boutwell

Giving Practical guidance to help aspiring cyber professionals start a lucrative career in cybersecurity.

➤ Serving in the capacity of a CISO to deliver key security related business strategy
➤ Presented security management reports to C-Level and auditors to address findings and close gaps. 
➤ Defined security requirements for customer systems and implemented security policies and SOPs.
➤ Developed company wide security requirements and selected third party tools aligned to needs.
➤ Led hackathons creating opportunities for software development teams to collaborate on projects. 
➤ Networked and stakeholder management to secure new business opportunities and win contracts.

Key Achievements
➤ Secured work with public and private financial service companies with 1000+ staff across UK and Europe. 
➤ Consistently achieved and maintained technology compliance rates of over 95% in diverse enterprises.
➤ Oversaw security and risk assessment for a national clearing house managing assets valued at $27 trillion.

Senior Information Security Consultant

Euroclear

➤ Overseeing critical initiatives to assure delivery is in line with risk tolerance
➤ Conducting risk assessments for critical business applications and processes
➤ Collaborating with executive stakeholders to apply risk management strategy
➤ Development and management of board level KRIs

Senior Information Security Risk Manager 

➤ Conduct risk assessments for critical financial applications and documents weaknesses for review.
➤ Design and develop security requirements based on the outcome of business impact assessments. 
➤ Work in collaboration with the CISO to build and create security requirements in line with NIST CSF.
➤ Assess third party risk in business and cloud applications and make best practice recommendations.

Key Achievements
➤ Lead for cyber risk assessments on bots and artificial intelligence
➤ Risk assessment of a critical financial application vital to capital markets processing $1Q annually.
➤ Identification of critical risks resulting in RFP to seek a new vendor to remediate open vulnerabilities.

Principal Information Security Consultant - CISO IT Risk

Takeda

➤ Digital transformation project lead in the setup of a US client’s Innovation Capability Centre in Slovakia.
➤ Defined the baseline security standards, security standard toolsets, and phased out unnecessary tools.
➤ Developed supporting SOP and policy documentation and standards and secured approval for rollout.
➤ Established endpoint protection team, a SIEM/SOAR capability, and vulnerability management program. 

Key Achievements
➤ Led global security standard for on-prem and cloud security deployments for digital transformation.
➤ Designed and implemented an executive dashboard to provide a data-driven security program.
➤ Improved executive decision making by enabling access to critical real time data and information. 
➤ Facilitated introductions for executives with Slovakian contacts helping growth from 30 to 300 staff. 
➤ Recruited and trained endpoint protection team overseeing 60,000 workstations and 120,000 servers.

Endpoint Security Team Lead

AT&T

➤	Led the security and IT strategy for the WPP Plc. account agile team, architects, and 30 engineers.
➤	Managed all client services to deliver secure architectures across EMEA, US, and APAC regions. 
➤	Worked in collaboration with the client CIO to implement technical solutions to drive cost reduction. 
➤	Technical SME conducting security analytics, control assessments, vulnerability, and risk assessments. 
➤	Mentored network team and architects to drive professional development and delivery to meet KPIs.

Key Achievements
➤	Transitioned WPP Plc. to enable a work from home setup in response to Covid from scratch.
➤	Created standardised workflows to deliver fast but consistent results for high priority projects.
➤	Appointed as Global Agile Team lead delivering a backlog of work and greatly reducing costs.

Senior Information Security Architect - Global Agile Program Lead

➤ Lead for the Citizens Financial Group account and the technology lead for the network engineers.
➤ Risk assessment and audit to identify all in scope assets and assessed existing configuration and gaps.
➤ Audited accounts to assess security posture, conducted risk assessments, and proposed improvements.
➤ Designed complex secure architectures in campus, WAN, data centres, SDN, and wireless environments.
➤ Produced documentation for RFP, RFI, and proposals, and architectural lead for projects over $100M.
➤ Developed security reference architectures aligned to business strategy and PCI-DSS requirements.

Key Achievements
➤ Achieved PCI-DSS compliance in a complex banking environment reducing enterprise IT risk by 68%.
➤ Responded to an RFP for Dow Chemicals architecting a secure solution resulting in a $100M contract. 
➤ Resolved instability issues which led to outages on 1200 ATMs and implemented enhanced logging.

Senior Network Security Architect - Lead for Citizens Financial Group

First Data Corporation

➤ Secured card and payment systems and networks in compliance with PCI-DSS on two continents.
➤ Strategic lead for disaster recovery planning, testing, and regulatory compliance for payment hubs.
➤ Compliance management including pre-testing, fault finding, resolutions, and regulator liaison. 
➤ Implementation and technical solutions for switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs, and load balancers.

Key Achievements
➤ Lead for 20 EMEA core credit card processing hubs exclusively managing London and South Africa. 
➤ Designed secure data centre and colocation architectures for multiple EMEA countries hubs.  
➤ Developed and rolled out cybersecurity policies and SOPs across EMEA to protect financial data.

Senior Network Security Engineer

T-Systems International GmbH

➤ Supervised the team and implemented security policies in a multi-vendor firewall environment.
➤ Network design SME providing input and advice on a wide range of critical business services.
➤ Deployed secure applications through engineering load balancing services for business continuity.
➤ Conducted risk assessments and made recommendations on best practice technology solutions. 

Key Achievements
➤ Project managed the deployment of the first 4G network in Europe for T-Systems International.
➤ Migration of a large-scale payment service to a greenfield ultra-low latency environment.
➤ Implemented network-based services for EverythingEverywhere’s search oriented architecture suite.

Network Security Engineer

Two words sum up my mission in information security: trust and expertise. With 15 years of security and 10 years of risk management experience under my belt, I've been fortunate enough to work with leading organizations like Cisco, AT&T, IBM, Kyndryl, First Data, and Euroclear.

My portfolio:

→ I help financial services firms secure their business and improve performance metrics with ISO 27001
→ Assessing AI risks in large complex environments and providing solutions to use AI in a risk-aware manner
→ I train teams and organizations on ISO 27001 implementation and auditing. 
→ Speaks to more than 30,000 people annually
→ Coaches and helps young professionals start and enhance their cybersecurity careers

My results:

→ Secured assets worth over $1 quadrillion
→ Delivered projects worth over $100M
→ Recently completed a major project with a world-renown vendor addressing cloud security risks
→ Consistently achieved security compliance rates of over 95% in diverse enterprises
→ Advised on the development of an innovative CNAPP security solution with a major vendor
→ Author of the Ransomware Handbook and Profit-Driven Cybersecurity

→ Contact: https://www.mikeboutwell.com/contact
→ X: @mikeboutwell4

Rising Authors

Hey there 👋🏽 I'm Hussein Al-Baiaty, a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and coach who turned his refugee camp experience into a million-dollar printing business journey. 

I used my social platforms to share my story and expertise, culminating in my best-selling book, "Art of Resilience: The Refugee State of Mind."

Now, I channel my experience and insights into helping Business Authors broaden their social platforms and reach their own publishing milestones.

𝐒𝐎, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐈 𝐃𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔?

As an authorpreneur, I offer personalized 1:1 coaching, utilizing my first-hand knowledge of the publishing journey and platform growth. My goal is to help you expand your online presence and engage the audience you deserve.

𝐇𝐎𝐖'𝐃 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓?

We'll start with a chat about your needs. Then, you'll get a refundable 30-day trial where we define your target audience and strategy. After that, we're off to the races, growing your platforms together.

𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄?

Absolutely. Authors I've worked with have seen significant growth in their platform reach and reader engagement. Some even surpassed their sales goals, thanks to our collaborative efforts.

𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄?

I'm a firm believer in giving before taking. My success stories echo this philosophy. I'm here to help you achieve real results, just as I have.

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇?

Just drop me a message right here on LinkedIn. If I can help you boost your author platform and achieve your publishing goals, let's talk.

Owner

Scribe Media

Scribe Media helps experts, executives, and entrepreneurs turn their ideas into books.

If you have ideas that you believe could make a great book, we surround you with a team of professionals to help you position, write, edit, design, publish, and market it.

We’re on a mission to unlock the world’s wisdom.

There is so much wisdom in people’s heads, and too many die with their best work still inside them. 

You’ve spent your life helping people and accumulating knowledge. Our goal is to remove the barriers stopping you from putting those ideas into the world and creating an impact on people who need them most.

The Authors we work with are leading entrepreneurs, speakers, consultants, coaches, executives, and celebrities. The common thread is that they each have a powerful message to share. We’ve published books with: 

- David Goggins
- Tiffany Haddish
- Nassim Taleb
- Dan Sullivan
- Kevin Harrington
- The Nobel Prize Institute (yes, seriously)
- Over 2,000 Others

“Scribe destroys everything that once stood between smart people and published books.” — James Altucher, WSJ Bestselling Author of Choose Yourself

READY TO TALK? You can schedule a free consultation at scribemedia.com/consult to discuss your book idea or DM me.

Multimedia Specialist

The Resilience Club

Business Coach

Refutees 

Co-Owner

I help authors build their brands and grow their online presence through clear offers, stunning websites, and effective LinkedIn management.

You're struggling to get your book and profile noticed. Selling and promoting yourself feels overwhelming, with too many things to focus on. 

It’s daunting, and you're not alone—many speakers, consultants, and coaches face the same challenge.

You have valuable expertise to share, but reaching your audience can be difficult. 

That’s where I come in. 

I offer a comprehensive 90-day program to help you elevate your brand and make a lasting impact.

What You’ll Get:
Offer Refinement Coaching: Fine-tune and clarify your offers with expert guidance.

Author Branding Kit: A professional branding package with customized logos, colors, and fonts, delivered in a clean, concise format.

Full New Website: A polished, fully built website with pages for your book, services, blog, and more, all tailored to your brand.

Personalized 1:1 Coaching: Bi-weekly Zoom sessions to keep you focused and on track.

LinkedIn Optimization: Revamp your LinkedIn profile with strategic coaching to attract the right audience.

Bonus: Two-Hour Photoshoot: A professional photoshoot valued at over $700 through Snappr to capture high-quality visuals.

Additional Services:
YouTube Management: Grow and manage your YouTube channel with strategic optimization and audience expansion.

Book Launch & Publishing Support: Full support for your book launch on platforms like Amazon, including bestseller campaigns and targeted marketing.

How Do We Start?
We begin with a conversation centered around you and your book. Try a 30-day refundable trial, where we pinpoint your audience and create an effective strategy.

Proven Success:
The authors I've worked with have seen remarkable growth—not just in attention but in exceeding their sales goals.

Why Choose Me?
I’m a published author and have supported over 150 authors through their publishing and marketing journeys. I’ve honed my skills working with elite authors like Tucker Max and Emily Gindlesparger.

Ready for a Transformation?
If you're ready to turn attention into action and take your author journey to new heights, let’s connect. Shoot me a direct message.

Hussein Al-Baiaty

There’s one fascinating tool on LinkedIn that most people ignore.

It's one thing that has utterly changed the game for me in more ways than I can count on LinkedIn,

No, it’s not video.

Not carousels.

Not posting more.

It’s search.

Search for the exact person who would want to read your work, your book, or listen to your podcast.

Find them.

Just one person.

Connect with them.

Check out their posts.

See what they care about.

Tomorrow, when they post, engage.

Not because you want something.

But because you’re genuinely interested.

Want to be interesting? 

Be interested.

You’re scrolling anyway.

Might as well build an actual network while you’re here.

Practice patience and gratitude while developing your network.

#risingauthors #gardenwarrior

I help authors build their platform and brand while turning their expertise into speaking, consulting, and client opportunities through killer websites and a standout presence on LinkedIn and YouTube.

Your book launch isn’t a lottery ticket.

It’s a long game.

When James Clear released Atomic Habits in 2018, it didn’t explode overnight.

There was no viral moment. No celebrity endorsement. No billion-dollar ad spend.

What he did have was a system.

He showed up consistently for years, writing newsletters, refining ideas, answering questions, and sharing practical insights.

By the time the book came out, it wasn’t a debut.

It was the natural next step in a conversation he’d been having with his audience for half a decade.

And that’s why it worked.

Readers didn’t “discover” him, they’d been waiting for him.

Today, Atomic Habits sells over a million copies a year. It dominates the charts because it’s not built on hype, it’s built on habit.

Stop trying to “launch” your book into stardom.

Start living its message in public.

That’s how trust compounds.

That’s how movements grow.
 
That’s how authors last.

Most authors hate social platforms because self-promotion often feels cringy. 

All the noise, the highlight reels, the endless advice to “post more.”

They try a few things that don't work and quit before anything happens.

But while they’re sitting it out, others are landing opportunities, podcast invites, and clients, simply because they learned to use these tools differently.

This week’s newsletter breaks down how to build a real platform (even if you can’t stand social media).

If you're a lurker, this one may be for you.

Enjoy

I get on calls with amazing authors every week, people who’ve spent decades mastering their craft, leading teams, running labs, writing books, or buil

Open article: How to Build a Platform When You Hate Social Media by Hussein Al-Baiaty • 8 min read

How to Build a Platform When You Hate Social Media

You can’t lead the conversation if no one knows you’re in the room.
 
Visibility creates opportunity.

You can’t be chosen if you’re not seen.

This work is tough.
 
Not because the market’s crowded…
 
But because most experts stay invisible, waiting to be “discovered.”

Every opportunity you want in 2026 will come from one of three things:

Someone hearing your story.

Someone seeing your work.

Someone remembering your name when the moment comes.

If you only show up when you’re selling, you’ll disappear when you’re not.

So before you worry about fancy funnels or paid ads, focus on being seen more often.
 
Comment. 

Search and connect. 

Post. 

Speak. 

Write. 

Collaborate. 

Record.

The more people experience your ideas, the easier it is for the right ones to say yes.

Visibility isn’t vanity.
 
It’s survival.

Where are you showing up this week that your future clients can actually see you?

#risingauthors

My truth about writing for attention.

There's something more sticky that needs to take hold first.

Learning to create and write for retention.

What if the real goal on LinkedIn isn’t going viral, but being unforgettable?

Most posts get attention for 24 hours, then vanish.

But if you're playing the long game, book sales, clients, and credibility then attention isn’t enough.

You need affection. 

You need retention.

Because followers don’t build careers, fans do.

Fans of your work come back.

They binge your backlog.

They quote you in rooms you're not in.

They send your posts around with “you gotta read this.”

So how do you write for retention?

Say what others won’t.

Write like you’re talking to one person.

Make them feel something real.

Give them a reason to remember you.

Stop trying to hack the algorithm. 

Write to get into someone’s memory.

I’m not great at this by any means. It takes time, and it's okay to practice as I write my next thing.

And I’m sure you’ve seen every LinkedIn tip in the book.

But lately, I’ve just been asking myself this one thing. 

Why would the person I’m writing for care?

That one question has changed everything for me.

#risingauthors #gardenwarrior

Most authors think the biggest change comes from people reading their book. 

Or perhaps the most significant change is coming from sales, reviews, and recognition. 

All of that matters, but what if you are focused on using your book to gain a new pathway to income?

The real transformation begins when the book creates clarity about who you are and what you are capable of becoming. 

It becomes the doorway into opportunities you could not have imagined before you wrote it. 

It introduces you to yourself in a new way and it introduces you to the world with a sharper lens.

This is the deeper truth most authors never hear. 

The win is not just selling copies, which is great if you can pull off selling thousands. 

The win is using the book to unlock real income paths that lead to author success.

I break down a few in this week’s deep dive, including the ones that changed my career and the ones my clients have used to grow their impact in ways a simple book launch never could.

If you want to see what your book can actually become, you will want to read this edition of the Rising Authorpreneur.

#risingauthors

When I wrote my book, I thought the biggest change would come from people reading it. I thought the reward would be the message itself, or the sales, 

Open article: 10 Ways to Make $100k with Your Book by Hussein Al-Baiaty • 9 min read

Most authors overcomplicate visibility.

You don’t need a funnel.

You don’t need a viral video.

You need one small, repeatable action.

Here’s one you can do right now:

Pick one idea from your book, something you can teach in under 60 seconds and turn it into a post.

Then follow this simple frame:

Start with the problem.

 “Most leaders struggle to ____.”

Add your insight.

 “What I’ve learned is ____.”

Give a takeaway.
 
“Try this: ____.”

That’s it.

Three lines. One idea. One post.

If you do this twice a week for the next 90 days, you’ll have 25+ posts teaching people how you think.

That’s how readers become clients, by learning from you before buying from you.

Stop waiting for perfect marketing.
 
Start teaching what you already know.

#risingauthors

Rejection stings. 

We've all felt it in some way. 

I've slowly learned to redirect the energy of rejection. 

Follow me, I know it's a tough one here. 

When I started inviting people onto the podcast or reaching out to folks I wanted to work with, I got ignored a lot. 

A lot!

Some said no.

Most never replied.
 
And at first, I took every silence personally.

I kept thinking I said the wrong thing or didn’t sound professional enough.

But the more I did this, the clearer it became.

Their no was rarely about me.
 
It was a matter of timing, people's priorities, bandwidth, fear, strategy, or life happening on their end.

Rejection got easier when I stopped trying to decode people and started learning from the pattern.

It taught me to lead with value.

It taught me to refine my pitch.

It taught me to keep showing up even when nobody seems to care.
 
And it taught me that volume matters. 

One message will not move your life.

The wild part is that the more visible I became, posting, interviewing, building, the more the yeses started to appear.

That is the lesson.

Rejection does not stop the people who keep moving.
 
It only stops the ones who take it personally.

If you are building something, let the no roll off your back.
 
Your job is to stay in motion long enough for the right people to see you.

Keep going.

#risingauthors

“I’ll start marketing once the book is done.”

No.

We need to learn the subtle art of giving a ..... to how we show up as authors.

You start the moment your idea feels real.

When your first draft is done, tease it.

When you land on the title, tell the story behind it.

Readers don’t just want polished books. They want to follow a journey.

The earlier you bring them in, the stronger their investment when launch day comes.

You’re not launching a product. You’re inviting people into a story still unfolding.

More on all of this in the latest edition of the Rising Authorpreneurs.

#risingauthors

I stared at the blinking cursor weeks after I launched my book, unsure what to post, what to share, what to talk about now. I had poured everything I 

Open article: The Subtle Art of Giving a F*** by Hussein Al-Baiaty • 7 min read

When it feels like nobody’s reading your work, write anyway.

The early stage of every author’s journey feels invisible.

You’re pouring time, emotion, and truth into something most people will scroll past.

I want to remind you of something that I think matters the most in this work. 

Every post, every page, every small story you share is quietly stacking credibility.

You’re teaching the algorithm of trust how to recognize you.

And trust takes repetition.

So instead of asking, “Why isn’t anyone engaging?” ask,
 “What if this is the season that builds my foundation?”

Because the moment you stop writing, the compounding stops too.

Keep publishing the imperfect.

Keep telling the stories that almost hurt to tell.

Keep showing up for the one reader who needed your words today.

The ones who are meant to find you will.
 
But only if you’re findable.

#risingauthors

Self-promotion is a huge problem for experts and authors.
 
They’re struggling with being seen.

They tell themselves they’re “not ready yet,” or they don’t want to look like they’re begging for attention. 

And that fear turns into silence. 

The silence turns into missed opportunities. 

And suddenly the book they spent years on is sitting in a corner collecting digital dust.

Here’s the part most people avoid saying.

Showing up isn’t desperation.

Showing up is proof you believe in the work you created.

If you’re scared to talk about your book, if you hesitate every time you want to post, or if you keep waiting to feel “legit” before you share your ideas, just know this, no one is coming to tap you on the shoulder and give you permission.

Credibility comes from repetition.

Authority comes from clarity.

Traction comes from visibility.

You don’t earn those by hiding.

So if the fear is there, fine. Let it ride shotgun. But stop letting it drive.
You built something that deserves oxygen.
 
Give it air.

Give it space.
 
Let people see it.

taplio

The Battle

Mike Boutwell

Hussein Al-Baiaty

Followers

Posts

Engagements

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Performance ScoreHussein Al-Baiaty's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Mike Boutwell

Hussein Al-Baiaty

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Hussein Al-Baiaty's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreHussein Al-Baiaty's LinkedIn Performance