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

Hello, I’m Sajid, a seasoned & empathetic Chief Information Security Officer and Cybersecurity professional dedicated to fortifying organisations against evolving threats in the digital world.

If you're here, chances are you're grappling with critical challenges that many businesses face:
• Increasing Cyber Threats
• Compliance Requirements
• Risk Management
• Lack of Cybersecurity Expertise
• Security Incidents and Breaches
• Cybersecurity Culture
• Third-Party Risk Management

You probably also want a CISO that can add value to your business through proactively managing your cybersecurity risks, ensuring compliance with regulations, safeguarding your business continuity, aligning your cybersecurity with strategic objectives, enhancing stakeholder confidence, and optimising your costs associated with your cybersecurity

Here's how I can assist you and your business in overcoming your obstacles:

𝐈𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬, 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 :
• Proactively assessing threat landscapes
• Implementing strong defence strategies
• Conducting regular security assessments

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫:
• Developing comprehensive compliance frameworks
• Implementing necessary controls and procedures

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧:
• Crafting and implementing robust risk management strategies
• Implementing appropriate controls and mitigation measures

𝐓𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧:
• Building and nurturing cybersecurity capabilities
• Cultivating a culture of continuous learning and skill development

𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫:
• Developing proactive incident response plans
• Implementing swift breach detection and containment measures

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞
• Promoting security awareness and compliance

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞
• Developing and implementing robust third-party risk management programs
• Negotiating security requirements in vendor contracts

My mission is to empower your organisation with the cybersecurity strategies and expertise needed to navigate today's digital landscape securely

Let's discuss how I can help strengthen your company's cybersecurity posture and add value to your business

Sajid Iqbal

Allow me reintroduce myself 

Hello new followers 

Since we have newly become acquainted, let me tell you a bit about me 

I'm Sajid Iqbal 
Friends call me Saj 

I'm from Blackburn, Lancashire (for the uninitiated, Blackburn Rovers won the premier league 1994-95 and Blackburn was mentioned in a Beatles song "A day in the Life" 

Here are a few things you should NEVER let me help you with. 
DIY of any kind. 
Fixing your car 
Swimming, surfing or any water based activities 

I'm far better at helping: 
Build out greenfield security functions 
Mature/Transform existing security functions 
Create strong working relationships with peers and stakeholders 

DM me for chat about any of the above, or just a chat

Cyber Security Leader Focused on Enabling and Protecting Business Growth (CCISO, CISSP, CISM)

Too often, cybersecurity is framed as a cost centre. 

Instead it should be seen as a business enabler. 

🔐 Protecting revenue Downtime, ransomware, and data breaches directly hit sales, operations, and growth. 
Security keeps the lights on and the cash flowing. 

🏷️ Protecting brand reputation Trust takes years to build and minutes to lose. A single incident can undo decades of brand equity. 

🤝 Protecting customer trust Customers don’t read security strategies, but they feel the impact when things go wrong. 

The modern CISO isn’t just defending systems. 

They’re defending revenue, reputation, and relationships. 
That’s a business conversation the board understands. 

#CISO #CyberSecurity #Leadership #RiskManagement #Trust #BusinessSecurity

What if your next cyber incident was rehearsed?

That’s the idea behind Chaos Engineering in Cyber Security.

Instead of assuming controls work, chaos engineering safely simulates failure  credential compromise, detection gaps, cloud misconfigurations, incident handoff breakdowns to see how systems and teams really respond.

The value isn’t just technical. It reveals:
False confidence in controls
Runbooks that don’t match reality
Gaps in ownership and decision-making
Where resilience exists only on paper

Done well, it builds:
Stronger detection and response
Real incident muscle memory
Evidence-based resilience

Takeaway:
If your confidence comes from “nothing’s gone wrong yet,” chaos engineering will feel uncomfortable and that’s the point.

Resilience is proven when things break, on your terms.

#CyberSecurity #ChaosEngineering #Resilience #IncidentResponse #SecurityLeadership

The real question isn’t “What does cybersecurity cost?” 

It’s “What does inaction cost?” 

💸 Financial impact Ransom payments, regulatory fines, legal fees, lost productivity, incident response, increased insurance premiums. The bill keeps growing long after the breach is “closed”. 

📉 Revenue erosion Customers pause. Deals stall. Partners hesitate. Trust has a balance sheet impact. 

📰 Reputational damage Headlines live forever. Brand recovery takes years, not weeks. 

⏳ Leadership time drain When a breach hits, the C-suite stops doing strategy and starts doing damage control. 

Cybersecurity investment is often debated in advance. 

The cost of inaction is paid without consent and usually at the worst possible moment. 

Good security isn’t just protection. 
It’s financial prudence and brand insurance. 

#CyberSecurity #CISO #RiskManagement #Leadership #BusinessContinuity #Trust

🪢 The Gordian Knot and Why Leaders Still Face It Today 

In ancient Phrygia (modern-day Türkiye), legend tells of an impossibly tangled knot tied to an ox-cart in the city of Gordium. 

An oracle declared that whoever unravelled the knot would rule all of Asia. 

For years, scholars, kings, and warriors tried to untie it, patiently, logically, delicately. 

No success. 

Then came Alexander the Great (333 BCE). 

He looked at the knot… 

drew his sword… 

and cut straight through it. 

Problem solved. 

No rules broken, just assumptions. 

The phrase “cutting the Gordian Knot” became a metaphor for tackling complex problems with bold, unconventional solutions. 

💡 And today? 

We still face Gordian Knots in: 
corporate bureaucracy data and security complexity 
legacy technology 
leadership decision-making 

Some problems won’t be solved by more meetings, more slides, or more caution. 

Sometimes leadership means decisive action, not polite hesitation. 

Ask yourself: 
👉 Are you trying to “untie” a problem that really needs a sword?

Communication is the most important skill when it comes to Leadership, however, not many people seek to improve in this area.

Leadership success rises or falls on communication.

Really looking forward to this.

Believer in Empowering Authenticity, Board Advisor, Speaker, Coach, Tech Leader

How many times have you held back in a meeting because you weren't sure how to say what you really meant?

Or worse, you spoke up, but somehow it didn't land the way you intended?

Communication isn't just about words. It's about being heard while staying true to yourself.

I'm launching My Communication Blueprint, an 8-week group coaching experience designed for ambitious professionals who want to communicate authentically, build real influence, and accelerate their careers.

This isn't corporate speak training. It's about finding YOUR voice and using it powerfully.

Using the Super Power and Kryptonite framework to help you understand what makes you magnetic and what holds you back we work through three core pillars. Practical exercises. A supportive community of leaders just like you.

Launching 8th March 2026.

Early bird discount available until end of February.

Ready to be authentically you AND powerfully heard? Check out the link in my bio :)

⏳ You have about 4,000 weeks to live. 
Not years.  Not decades. Weeks. 

That’s the uncomfortable (and strangely freeing) idea at the heart of Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, which I have just finished reading. 

This isn’t a productivity book about doing more. 

It’s a reality check about accepting that we never will. 

The core ideas that stayed with me: 
• Time is finite and no system, app, or hack can change that 
• Our obsession with productivity often increases anxiety rather than reducing it 
• A meaningful life comes from choosing what to focus on and what to deliberately neglect 
• We keep postponing life, waiting for “things to calm down” (they rarely do) • Control is an illusion, presence isn’t 

The paradox? 
When you stop trying to master time, you start using it more wisely. 

Two simple takeaways I’m sitting with: 
👉 Do fewer things, but do them with full attention 
👉 Stop treating life like a waiting room - this moment is the point 

If your life is measured in weeks… 
How intentionally are you spending this one?

 #FourThousandWeeks #Time #Leadership #Mindset #Burnout #Focus #PersonalDevelopment

💎 Most cyber incident conversations start with one question:

 “What tool did the attacker use?”

But that’s rarely the most useful place to start.

The Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis (developed by Andrew Pendergast and colleagues) reframes incidents not around tools, but around relationships.

Instead of a single cause, every intrusion is viewed as an interaction between four core elements:
🔹 Adversary - who is behind the attack and their intent
 🔹 Infrastructure - the systems and services used to deliver it
 🔹 Capability - the tools, techniques, and exploits employed
 🔹 Victim - the target and its characteristics

The power of the Diamond Model isn’t the diagram, it’s the mindset shift.
It helps teams:
 • Move from reactive alert-handling to structured analysis
 • Identify patterns across seemingly unrelated incidents
 • Anticipate future attacker behaviour, not just explain past events
 • Share intelligence consistently across teams and organisations

For leaders, it also answers the right questions:
 👉 Are we seeing the same adversary using new infrastructure?
 👉 Are different victims being targeted with the same capability?
 👉 Where should we disrupt the attacker most effectively?

Key takeaway:
 Incidents don’t happen in isolation. They exist in ecosystems.
Understanding the relationships between attacker, tools, and targets is how we move from detection to defence by design.

#CyberSecurity #ThreatIntelligence #DiamondModel #IncidentResponse #SecurityLeadership #ThreatHunting

People don’t all think, decide, or communicate in the same way. 

That’s where the DOPE model, created by Richard M. Stephenson, is useful. 

🦅 Eagle (Dominant) Big-picture thinkers. Decisive, bold, focused on results.

 🦚 Peacock (Extrovert) Energetic, persuasive, relationship-driven communicators. 

🕊️ Dove (Patient) Calm, empathetic, loyal. They value harmony and stability.

 🦉 Owl (Logical) Analytical, detail-oriented, data-driven decision makers. 

The power of DOPE isn’t in labelling people , it’s in adapting how we communicate. 

Great leaders adjust their message: 
• Data for Owls 
• Vision for Eagles 
• Connection for Peacocks 
• Reassurance for Doves 

When communication lands, collaboration improves. 

#Leadership #Communication #DOPEModel #EmotionalIntelligence #Teamwork

I wish this was available when I transitioned from hands on technical into Management/Leadership.

So many many techies move into Management (sometimes without even really wanting to).

Anyway if you have already moved into a Management role, or aspire to , then this one day Tech to Exec course is for you.

You've mastered the technical side. You know your stuff inside out.

But here's the thing: technical brilliance doesn't automatically translate to executive presence.

That gap between "technically proven" and "executively ready" is exactly what I see holding back so many talented tech leaders.

So I created something specifically for you. From Tech to Exec is a full-day intensive designed to bridge that gap. One immersive day. Strategic insight. Authentic leadership frameworks. Real tools you can apply immediately.

This isn't about changing who you are. It's about stepping fully into the leader you already are.

Pick either 9th February or 4th March, PM me for discount codes!

Ready to make the leap?

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