Dr. Srijith Nair

Srijith is an accomplished cyber and information security leader whose career has spanned industry verticals (tech, telecom, security, e-commerce), geographies (Middle East, Europe, USA), and organisation sizes (startups, scale-ups, MNCs).

With over 20 years of expertise, he has consistently driven innovation, spearheaded transformative initiatives and fortified organisations against the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. His notable achievements and impactful contributions have quickly elevated him to leadership roles, generating value for stakeholders while fostering a culture that prioritises security in the service of the business.

Currently, as CISO at Careem, the MENAP region's first "Everything App", Srijith leads a multidisciplinary team that keeps Careem secure and ensures trust between Careem's Customers, Captains, Colleagues, merchants and partners. In this position, Srijith is accountable for formulating and executing a holistic cybersecurity strategy, overseeing critical areas such as the information security program, technology and risk platform, data protection and privacy initiatives while providing astute leadership and effective security governance for Careem's diverse business verticals.

Before Careem, Srijith held the position of Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Product Officer at Axiomatics, the world's leading independent provider of dynamic authorisation solutions. Collaborating closely with the CEO, Board and leadership, he crafted and executed a comprehensive growth strategy encompassing innovation, strategic investments, and industry partnerships. Working extensively with Fortune 500 companies, regulated industries and public sector organisations, Srijith's exceptional skills in stakeholder management, product delivery and customer engagement have resulted in sustainable growth and a formidable market presence for Axiomatics.

Previously, Srijith was at Booking.com, where he was responsible for the vision, strategy and delivery of cybersecurity products, including cloud and platform security, data security as well as endpoint security and attack detection and response capabilities. He also led the redesign of the global customer and partner identity system platform and account security capability of Booking.com.

Srijith's track record includes his role as Principal Researcher at British Telecom (BT) Research, looking at security issues related to virtualisation and cloud systems. His collaborations with leading experts led to the co-authorship of an influential report with the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) on the impact of cloud computing on the resilience of eGov services, delivery of the first security guidance report from the Cloud Security Alliance working group, and involvement in the UK Gov-cloud architecture development in an advisory capacity.

Recognised as a thought leader and industry expert, Srijith is a sought-after keynote speaker at prominent industry conferences and tech summits. He holds several international patents, contributes to security industry standards and has authored numerous widely cited journal articles and conference papers, showcasing his depth of knowledge and contributions to the field.

He serves on the External Advisory Board of the Institute of Cyber Security for Society (iCSS), University of Kent, and on the Technology Advisory Board of UCON Project, a joint project between Huawei GmbH and Fortiss GmbH.

Srijith has a PhD in Computer Science from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, where he conducted pioneering research on information flow control, policy enforcement, applied cryptography and system security. He holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He has held memberships in IEEE and ACM.

Srijith's dedication to academia and research, coupled with his extensive experience in the industry, positions him uniquely to bridge the gap between theory and practice. By integrating cutting-edge research with real-world applications, Srijith has established himself as a trusted advisor, influential thought leader, and champion for the industry.