Summary
Overview
Skills
Education
Accomplishments
Affiliations
Certification
Interests
Timeline
Work History
SoftwareDeveloper

Praveen Prabhakar

Director - CyberSecurity & GRC
Dubai

Summary

Performance-driven executive with over 23 years of experience aligning systems with business requirements, policies and regulatory requirements. Passionate about Cybersecurity & GRC, digital transformation. Results-oriented individual well-versed in interfacing and consulting on business processes to drive results based on sound overall business judgment.

Overview

6
6
Certificates
18
18

Years of Project & Program Management experience

50
50

Large managed services clients onboarded and delivered

40
40

Large scale IT infrastructure turnkey projects

50
50

Network security & Cybersecurity projects

25
25

Process audit & process re-engineering projects

24
24
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education

Skills

Project Management

Education

MBA - International Business Management

AAIDU University
Ahmedabad (Prayagraj) - India
04.2003 - 04.2005

Bachelors of Commerce - Financial Planning

Bangalore University
Bangalore
04.1996 - 05.1999

Accomplishments

  • Made loss making department profitable through restructuring, re-alignment with channel partners, new channel partnership within 4 months of taking over department.
  • Have setup managed services from ground zero for multiple Tier 1 organizations in UAE and successfully closed opportunities and onboarded managed services, Managed SOC clients.
  • Have delivered 50+ enterprise class clients on managed services including Infrastructure, application, devops based support, NOC & SOC, Helpdesk services.
  • Have received multiple awards considering my commitment and work delivered from employers and clients - Emitac Enterprise solutions, Emircom (Telelogix), Think Software Services, Dell.
  • Drove strong project & program management practise, contract management protecting organization in law suits & litigations.

Affiliations

  • Project Management Institute
  • ISACA
  • ISC2

Certification

Project Management Institute (PMP)

Interests

Health & Fitness

Travelling

Timeline

Director - Cybersecurity & GRC

Espina Digital Consulting
05.2024 - Current

Program Head - Digital Transformation

Data Direct Group Of Companies
09.2023 - 05.2024

AVP - Program Management

RNS Technology Services
02.2020 - 06.2023

Senior Service Delivery Manager - Managed Services

Intertec Systems LLC
11.2018 - 02.2020

IOT Design

08-2018

Service Delivery Manager

Alpha Data
09.2017 - 10.2018

Service Delivery Manager - Managed Services

Emitac Enterprise Solutions
03.2015 - 09.2017

Service Delivery Manager

Think Software Services
09.2013 - 03.2015

Project Management Institute (PMP)

05-2013

ISO27001: Lead Auditor

07-2011

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

07-2010

ITIL V3 Foundation

05-2008

Six Sigma Green Belt

08-2007

Service Delivery Manager

Emircom
08.2007 - 09.2013

Assistant Manager Delivery

Pronto Networks Inc
08.2004 - 08.2007

MBA - International Business Management

AAIDU University
04.2003 - 04.2005

Assistant Manager - Operations

HSBC
02.2003 - 09.2003

Group Lead - Tech Support

Dell
04.2001 - 02.2003

Bachelors of Commerce - Financial Planning

Bangalore University
04.1996 - 05.1999

Work History

Director - Cybersecurity & GRC

Espina Digital Consulting
Dubai
05.2024 - Current
  • Developed high-performing teams by providing mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Cultivated a positive work environment that fostered employee engagement, increased retention rates, and boosted overall team morale.
  • Improved project efficiency with strategic planning, resource allocation, and time management practices.
  • Enhanced team collaboration through regular communication, goal setting, and performance evaluations.

Program Head - Digital Transformation

Data Direct Group Of Companies
Dubai
09.2023 - 05.2024
  • Worked well in a team setting, providing support and guidance.
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
  • Proven ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations.
  • Assisted with day-to-day operations, working efficiently and productively with all team members.
  • Spearhead the organizations vision to achieve ISO27001 standard and achievement for year 2024
  • Responsible for the network security and adhering to Infosec guidelines for clients from the Health care industry.
  • Program managed one of the largest government health care entity of UAE for their digital transformation project to setup a greenfield based Managed Contact center service delivering end to end health care service with integration with insurance entities, medical practitioners, pharmacists and delivery team.
  • Spearhead the Disaster recovery requirements and SLA’s for the function.
  • Designing of support flows, SLA’s, Standard Operating procedures, FAQ based knowledge based to support contact center agents for a quicker resolution.
  • Post rollout the service was transitioned to Managed services/support team.
  • From program management perspective had the complete hands-on function to conduct workshops with respective teams, spear head in benchmarking business requirements through BRD’s, build cost effective proposals/commercials, effort estimate timelines, demand analysis and capacity planning, develop project plans, Scope of work document, success criterias, System integration testing use cases, UAT, Go-live and reporting throughout the phase of rollout and post go live.

AVP - Program Management

RNS Technology Services
02.2020 - 06.2023

Responsible for delivery of the organizations cybersecurity professional services for Middle East & Asia (EMEA) encompassing system integration, managed services, VAPT, SOC services, Identity & access management, process consulting, digital transformation.


Value delivered:


  • Setup the organizations PMO office, delivery best practices.
  • Adherence to PMI, Agile based best practices encompassing scoping, milestone based invoicing, documenting project learning and closure.
  • Program management & service governance for large enterprise customers/strategic customers on system integration projects, digital transformation opportunities, Identity and Access Management projects, Process consulting projects including ISO.
  • Increased company growth through collaboration with sales and marketing departments and added growth to annual sales revenue @ 35% over a 3 year average (2020-2023)
  • Collaborated with VPs in order to grow business by 15% year on year through opportunity seeding, new channel partner alignment
  • Controlled attrition rate below market baseline of 5%
  • Identified opportunities to improve business process flows and productivity.
  • Governance and SLA management.
  • Handle CXO level presentation, bid management for Managed services, Managed security services.
  • Contract negotiation, administration & management.
  • Led the organizations risk management through periodic review and planning mitigation plans, risk transfer/ acceptance strategies.


Achievement:


  • Rolled out the Managed security services (SOC services) and onboarded first client within 4 months of roll out of the solution.
  • Closed multiple orders and onboarded 6+ clients within 2 years.

Senior Service Delivery Manager - Managed Services

Intertec Systems LLC
11.2018 - 02.2020

Responsible for the organizations managed services vertical including presales, bid management, transition management & governance for large enterprise clients.

  • Responsible for the P & L of Managed Services
  • Delivered annual services net worth 15 Million+ US $
  • Adherence to PMI based implementation of project delivery, scoping, milestone based invoicing, documenting project learning and closure.
  • Presales & bid management for Managed Services opportunities
  • Onboarded a large enterprise client who was a federal government entity under Managed Services delivering the data center, disaster recovery site and onboarding to managed services under hybrid model.
  • Handle CXO level presentation.
  • SLA management & governance.
  • Led team of 80+ resource including 4 Team Managers.
  • Contract negotiation, administration & management.
  • Was promoted from Service Delivery Manager role to Senior Service Delivery Manager.


Achievement:


  • Onboarded a large federal government entity under Managed Services delivering the data center, disaster recovery site and onboarding to managed services under hybrid model.

Service Delivery Manager

Alpha Data
09.2017 - 10.2018
  • Responsible for the P & L management of IOT & ELV business vertical including:
  • Restructured the department, processes, vendor evaluation/realignment, partnerships with new solution providers, reduce wastages and built quality governance process which improved divisions profitability by +18% while both internal stakeholders and clients appreciated enhancement in service delivery in short span for 4 months.
  • Onboarded organizations first IOT client from Semi government and program managed delivery.
  • Program management of ELV business clientele, upsell and SLA based delivery of existing clients with support contracts.
  • Smart community solution development, delivery to client.
  • Delivered annual services net worth 15 Million+ (USD $) encompassing both Hospitality and Enterprise segment
  • Handle CXO level presentation


Achievement:


Onboarded the organizations 1st IOT client from Semi government with 400+ residential apartments being implemented with smart room automation solution.

Service Delivery Manager - Managed Services

Emitac Enterprise Solutions
03.2015 - 09.2017

Responsible for setting up managed services vertical for organization with key focus on infrastructure managed services, NOC, digital transformation, automation, manpower outsourcing.

  • Handled department budgeting.
  • Presales & bid management.
  • Planned and managed full project lifecycles, from conception through final completion.
  • Client delivery review, SLA review and stakeholder management, governance.
  • Onboarded the first enterprise customer from semi government entity of Dubai within 4 months of launch of the managed services vertical.
  • Handled department budgets, capacity planning, risk management.


Achievement:


  • Onboarded the first enterprise customer from semi government entity of Dubai within 4 months of launch of the managed services vertical.
  • Handled the role of Group IT manager for Emitac group of companies including Emitac Enterprise solutions, Emitac Healthcare, Emitac Mobility solutions.

Service Delivery Manager

Think Software Services
09.2013 - 03.2015

Responsible for the P & L of the organizations professional services business encompassing system integration, managed services, cloud services, annual maintenance support, project management.


  • P & L management of organizations professional services unit and delivered services net worth (USD $) 25+ Million of services annually.
  • Setup the organizations PMO office and best practices.
  • Adherence to PMI based implementation of project delivery, scoping, milestone based invoicing, documenting project learning and closure.
  • Delivered Dell Sonicwall TAC support for EMEA customers representing the OEM (Sonicwall – Years 2012 to 2014)
  • Designed and setup the Managed Services business practice for the organization.
  • Led team of 60+ resources including technical resources, project managers, tech leads and presales consultants.
  • Handle CXO level presentation, bid management for Managed services, Cybersecurity, System Integration opportunities as well as service governance reviews every quarter.


Achievement:


  • Delivered Dell Sonicwall TAC support for EMEA customers representing the OEM (Sonicwall – Years 2012 to 2014)
  • Onboarded the first enterprise client from government entity.

Service Delivery Manager

Emircom
08.2007 - 09.2013

Responsible for delivery and governance of the professional services department encompassing infrastructure system integration, managed services, cloud services and resource outsourcing verticals.


  • Setup organizations first NOC under the direct supervision of Emircom – Chief Operations Officer (COO). (Year 2007)
  • Was elevated from role of Client Delivery Manager to Service Delivery Manager, Professional Services Unit Head.
    Primed setup and rollout of organizations Managed Services unit and transitioned/ onboarded new customers to Emircom Managed Services. (Year 2007).
  • Handled presales, bid management for Managed services and outsourcing business practice.
  • Led team of 30+ resources comprising of presales, service support, NOC and SOC team
  • Spearheaded in rollout of Security Operations Center as well transitioned first banking client under SOC service offering. (Year 2011)
    Increased professional services revenue of unit by 20% for year 2012 • Recruitment of technical and service support team, induction and training.
  • Participated in drafting service budgeting, advising on areas of possible improvement to reduce costs and service delivery times.
  • Worked with high-profile customer to select third-party vendor for IT infrastructures.
  • Was promoted from the role of Project manager to client manager, Service Delivery Manager during my tenure.


Achievement: (Presales & bid management)

  • Onboarded the first federal government entity on the NOC service with 4 months of rollout of the service.
  • Onboarded the first banking client on Managed services with 12 branches and 650 end users support.
  • Onboarded the first SOC client from banking industry within 3 months of SOC service rollout.

Assistant Manager Delivery

Pronto Networks Inc
08.2004 - 08.2007
  • Setup of Remote Managed Services Operations center in India (Bangalore) to deliver technical and back office operations support including handling customer complaints, customer relation and refunds for Pronto clients based in United States.
  • Setup of the organizations subsidiary - Airlink to cater to the Indian sub-continent on Wimax and wifi based hotspots for the hospitality sector.
  • Project management of the new sites being rolled out.


  • Achievement:
  • Rolled out the wimax and hotspot solution for Indian geography encompassing hospitality sector, malls.

Assistant Manager - Operations

HSBC
02.2003 - 09.2003
  • Held role of onsite Transition project manager to migrate Installs department from HSBC – United Kingdom to India – Bangalore
  • Managed team of 3 consultants and 12 Tech Support resources post transition into service support
  • Delivery team handled remote Implementation of credit card machine, transition/service enablement of client to services support department and SLA based post production support governance.

Group Lead - Tech Support

Dell
04.2001 - 02.2003

Had begun my career with Dell as Technical Support Representative for the Laptop support division catering to clients from the United States.

  • Role encompassed:
  • Handling remote technical support, customer complaints, refunds through telephonic, Email and Chat support channels.
  • Was trained on additional role of CCOD desk to monitor and handle call routing to ensure maximum call handling and achieve less than 5% call abandoned rate, handle capacity planning.
  • Was promoted to role of Group Lead from Tech support engineer within 6 months of joining organization and managed team of 16 technical support representatives.
  • Received award for customer satisfaction within 4 months of being on role.
  • Held additional role of escalation manager for shift manning 150 agents.
  • Recruitment of technical team, induction and training.
  • Coached and mentored tech team on technical support and call handling skills.
Praveen PrabhakarDirector - CyberSecurity & GRC