Headline

Turning military-grade risk thinking into regulatory compliance for BFSI | DORA • TPRM • GRC | Army Veteran → Cybersecurity & Privacy Consulting

About

Led the DORA compliance programme for a European financial entity’s GCC, achieving 100% TPRM regulatory alignment across enterprise IT and risk functions. I bring 15+ years of cybersecurity leadership spanning military intelligence operations, Big Four-adjacent consulting, and enterprise GRC programme delivery. My career bridges two worlds: 13 years as a commissioned Indian Army officer (Lt Col) leading cyber operations, threat intelligence, and crisis response, followed by consulting leadership at Protiviti where I direct multi-framework regulatory compliance (DORA, SAMA, DPDPA, ISO 27001, NIST CSF 2.0, PCI DSS, GDPR) for global financial services clients. What I do differently: • Build GRC functions that survive regulatory scrutiny — not just pass audits • Translate complex regulations (DORA, SAMA, DPDPA) into executable compliance programmes with measurable outcomes • Bridge the gap between cybersecurity operations and board-level risk reporting • Bring adversarial thinking from military intelligence to enterprise threat and third-party risk assessment Areas of expertise: Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) | DORA Implementation | ISMS Lifecycle | Cybersecurity Audit & Assurance | Regulatory Compliance (DORA, SAMA, DPDPA, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, GDPR) | Threat Intelligence | Incident Response | Crisis Management | Executive Risk Reporting Certifications: ISO 27001 Lead Auditor (BSI) | PCI DSS v4.0 (QRC) | CC (ISC)² | Digital Forensics & Incident Response (C-CDAC) | Diploma in Cyber Law From my engineering days, it was the architecture of connected systems that first fascinated me — how the world spoke to itself across invisible networks. Thirteen (13) years in the Indian Army watching nation-state actors probe and exploit those same connections turned that curiosity into a calling: protecting the infrastructure that World now depends on.

Location

Bengaluru

AI stack

claude

gemini

notebooklm

Microsoft Copilot

Work experience

Associate Director — Cybersecurity GRC & Regulatory Compliance at Protiviti India Member Firm, Jan 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 10 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Spearheaded the DORA EU Act Program Implementation for the Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) division, supporting financial entities across Germany, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Led the end-to-end process for the creation, validation, and maintenance of the Register of Information, ensuring comprehensive documentation of all ICT third-party service relationships in compliance with DORA requirements. Oversaw the final submission of the Register of Information to relevant EU regulators, ensuring timely delivery, full compliance, and audit-readiness. Acted as the key point of contact for regulatory queries related to third-party risk and DORA compliance, providing subject matter expertise. Drove continuous improvement initiatives to enhance data quality, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience within the TPRM function. Led the implementation of data security & privacy policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and standards such as ISO 27001 standards, NIST CSF 2.0, DPDPA, and GDPR.

Director - Security Operations Centre at Ciber Digita Consultants (CDC), Jul 2023 - Dec 2023 · 6 mos, Gurugram, Haryana, India, Spearheaded cybersecurity operations for a critical infrastructure client across the North Region, owning end-to-end delivery of VAPT engagements for multiple clients and translating vulnerability findings into actionable remediation roadmaps. Drove measurable security improvements by leading SOP reviews and implementing control enhancements that strengthened gap analysis outcomes across projects. Coordinated cross-departmental stakeholder engagement to build out Business Continuity Planning and Cyber Resiliency frameworks for the client organization. Managed concurrent program deliveries across multiple initiatives, balancing timelines, budgets, and resource allocation at a director level. Championed the startup's incubation with the Data Security Council of India (NASSCOM) and C3iHub, IIT Kanpur — positioning the firm within India's premier cybersecurity ecosystem. Led business development pitches to prospective clients, directly contributing to the startup's growth pipeline. Partnered with the executive leadership team on priority strategic projects and developed performance measures aligning business and technology direction.

Senior Cybersecurity & Risk Leader | Lt Col (Lieutenant Colonel) at Indian Army, Apr 2010 - Jun 2023 · 13 yrs 3 mos, India, 13+ years as a commissioned officer leading cybersecurity operations, threat intelligence, and risk management in one of the world’s largest military organisations. ▶ Cybersecurity Posture & Audit: Managed enterprise cybersecurity posture and conducted cybersecurity audits in compliance with ISO 27001 standards and organisational security policies for an area of responsibility covering 10,000 personnel. ▶ Threat Intelligence Liaison: Served as Nodal Officer for Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and federal intelligence agencies — sharing cyber threat intelligence, threat scenarios, and conducting root-cause analysis of national-level incidents. ▶ Board & Executive Advisory: Functioned as advisor to senior management (Risk Committee, Board, and top leadership) on all operational and functional aspects of enterprise risk management. ▶ Security Awareness Programme: Developed and delivered a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness programme — monthly newsletters, phishing simulations, and mandatory training modules — contributing to a 40% decrease in user-related security incidents over 24 months. ▶ Incident Response Leadership: Directed major cybersecurity incident investigations and root-cause analysis through cause-and-effect analysis, risk identification, and remediation.

Application Engineer at Nihon Communications Solutions, Aug 2009 - Dec 2009 · 5 mos, Bangalore, Worked on Network Simulator QualNet and Emulator EXata by Scalable Networking Technologies. -The QualNet network simulation software was used in planning, testing, and training tool to mimics the behavior of a real communications network cutting down on costs. -This network simulation tool was used to provide a comprehensive environment for designing protocols, creating and animating network scenarios, and analyzing their performance. - Handled workshops on Wireless Technologies in major Universities - Also worked on protocol and feature testing of QualNet

Education

Business Administration and Management, General, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

2009, Computer Science, Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Engineering and Technology (SDMCET)