IDC has recognized 23 outstanding cybersecurity leaders in Qatar as part of its CISO Excellence Awards 2025, spotlighting professionals who have redefined the role of cybersecurity in their organizations.
The awards, presented during the IDC Security Roadshow at the Grand Hyatt Doha, honored CISOs and security heads who demonstrated exceptional leadership in elevating cybersecurity from an operational necessity to a strategic enabler.
“These winners are visionary change agents who have positioned cybersecurity as a business driver and a pillar of trust,” said Shilpi Handa, IDC’s associate research director for security and trust in the Middle East and Africa. The honorees were selected through a rigorous, analyst-led process that evaluated their impact on areas such as enterprise-wide risk mitigation, security innovation, governance, and operational resilience.
Among the award recipients were cybersecurity leaders from a wide range of sectors including banking, energy, aviation, media, and government. Notable winners included Farhan Chaudhry of Qatar Airways, Maryam Al-Fehani of Qatar Central Bank, Imran Chowdhury of Al Jazeera Media Network, Meshaal Al-Ibrahim of Vodafone Qatar, and Nikunj Desai of Commercial Bank of Qatar. Each demonstrated excellence in embedding cyber-awareness across business units and in designing forward-thinking security models tailored to the digital economy.
Winners of the IDC CISO Excellence Awards 2025 — Qatar Edition
- Anand Prabhu Selvakumar – Qatar Insurance Group
- Anis Kazi – Qatar Steel Company
- Bilal Rao – RKH Qitarat
- Chirag Jaiswal – Marsa Malaz Kempinski
- Christopher Almeida – DHL Express Qatar
- Farhan Chaudhry – Qatar Airways
- Fatma Al Sowaidi – Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority
- Ferdinand Guarin – Qatar Plastic and Wooden Products Company
- Imran Chowdhury – Al Jazeera Media Network
- Jeejith Sreedharan – Qatari Investor Group
- John Mankarios – QInvest
- Magdy Mansour – Senyar Group (Doha Cables)
- Mahmoud Aziz – Nasser Bin Nawaf and Partners Holdings
- Maryam Al-Fehani – Qatar Central Bank
- Meshaal Al-Ibrahim – Vodafone Qatar
- Mohammed Anfal Shaikh – Qatar Islamic Insurance Group
- Mohammed Feroz Khan – Total Energies
- Muhammad Malik – beIN MEDIA GROUP
- Nasser Inamdar – Ministry of Justice
- Nikunj Desai – Commercial Bank of Qatar
- Sirajhussain Modi – Al Meera Consumer Goods
- Ugur Sanal Inal – QTerminals
- Vladimir Kanyshev – CQUR Bank
The event also provided a high-level forum for discussions around AI-enhanced threat detection, quantum-era preparedness, and cyber-resilience strategies tailored to Qatar’s rapid digital expansion. With Qatar pushing ahead on Smart City development and digital government initiatives, the conference emphasized that strong cybersecurity leadership — balancing global trends with national priorities — is central to enabling safe innovation.
The IDC Security Roadshow 2025 affirmed that as the cybersecurity threat grows in sophistication, the role of the CISO is evolving into that of a strategic business leader. Qatar’s award winners are setting the benchmark for how organizations in the region — and globally — can transform cyber risk into long-term resilience.
InfotechLead.com News Desk
