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Independent work

Olivier Busolini

I write, speak and advise on how organisations build trust in a digital world.

Global Head of Information Security (CISO) at a bank in the Middle East. Twenty-five years in cybersecurity leadership. This page covers my work beyond that role. The views are my own.

The future is digital, and its foundation is trust. Security is the precursor of trust.

Newsletter

Weekly

Infosec and AI risk watch

A weekly brief on cyber and information risk for security and risk leaders, with the Gulf first. Each item is checked against its primary source before it goes out, and each ends with my own view.

Subscribe on Buttondown  Read past issues

Consulting

Three offers with a sheet to download, then advisory work for startups and boards. Terms are discussed in a first conversation.

For CISOs

CISO masterclass programme

Two full days, three to six months apart. The first, 100 Days to Credibility, secures the mandate. The second, Building Your Operating Model, designs the function that uses it and ends with a written twelve-month build sequence.

Each day runs 09:00 to 16:30, in person, for up to thirty participants. Participants keep ten documents across the two days. Day one was piloted in September 2026.

Programme prospectus (PDF)

Digital assets

Digital asset risk assessment

For firms and family offices that hold digital assets. An assessment of how the assets are actually run: who can move them, what an approver can verify on the device in front of them, how holdings reconcile to the chain, and what happens on death, incapacity or dispute.

You receive a rated risk register, a 30, 60 and 90-day roadmap, and an immediate attention notice if something cannot wait.

One-page sheet (PDF)

Executives and families

VIP digital life protection

Attacks on prominent people increasingly reach them through their family, their staff and their devices. The assessment treats each person around the principal at their own tier, and starts with the people and accounts that can move money or recover an account on the principal's word.

You receive a report for the principal and one for each person, a 30, 60 and 90-day roadmap, and step-by-step guides the family keeps.

One-page sheet (PDF)

Advisory

Founders

Startup advisory

Strategic advice and mentoring for early-stage companies in cybersecurity, identity and digital trust.

  • Strategic advisor to an early-stage identity and digital trust venture in Switzerland, since 2022.
  • Strategic advisor to a cybersecurity technology company in the UAE, since 2023.
  • Mentor, Tech4Trust and Trust Valley start-up accelerator, Switzerland, 2021 to 2023.
  • Jury member, GISEC North Star start-up competition, Dubai, 2025.
  • CISO mentor, CESIN, the French CISO association, since 2021.

Boards

Board advisory and membership

I put technical risk in front of a board as a funding decision rather than a briefing. I am seeking Risk, Audit or Technology committee roles in banking, financial services, fintech or digital infrastructure, in Europe, Switzerland or the UAE.

  • Functional reporting to the board risk committee of a Middle East bank, with direct access to the CEO.
  • Co-created that bank's AI and data governance committee and defined its AI risk management framework, mapped to the NIST AI RMF, covering more than 50 AI models.
  • Zero adverse audit findings across 11 consecutive years of internal audit and regulatory review at two banks, spanning FINMA, MAS and HKMA.
  • Advisory board member, Trust Valley Association, Geneva, since 2022.

Writing

Articles, contributions and columns from the last three years. More on LinkedIn.

  • 22 Jul 2026AI can flag the fraud. The bank still has to own the call.Enterprise AM UAE
  • Jul 2026Governing AI and agentic systems at enterprise scaleContributor, Palo Alto Networks eBook
  • Jun 2026Global Perspectives from CISO and Cybersecurity LeadersContributor, ZenData
  • 30 Apr 2026How Quantum Computing Is Redefining Financial CybersecurityITP.net
  • 3 Nov 2025From Personalisation to Protection: Why Does Privacy Matter More Now Than Ever?MEA Finance
  • Oct 2025Contributor to the CybelAngel cybersecurity eBook
  • Oct 2025Cybersecurity as the High-Performance Powertrain: From Brakes to Regenerative Risk ManagementLinkedIn
  • Jun 2025From Crisis to Culture: The Evolution of the Strategic CISOLinkedIn
  • Mar 2025Redefining the Role of CISOs: Embracing Agility and Resilience in an AI-Driven Business EraLinkedIn

Speaking

Conferences and panels from the last three years, most recent first. Teaching and recognition are listed in full.

Conferences and panels

  • Aug 2026Future-Proofing Cybersecurity Forum, UAE Cyber Security Council with GartnerPanellist with Adrian Hall, Gartner, on cybersecurity resilience lessons for UAE government and public-sector CISOs
  • 2026GISEC Global 2026, DubaiPanellist, "Cyber Resilience and Business-Aligned Security Strategy"
  • Sep 2025e-Crime & Cybersecurity Congress, Abu DhabiSpeaker, "Embracing Agility and Resilience"
  • 2025Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, LondonCase study, "The Evolving CISO: Agility and Resilience in Practice"
  • 2025Finnovex Middle East, DubaiSpeaker, "Balancing Innovation with Security: Strategy, Risk Appetite, and Trust"
  • 6–8 May 2025GISEC Global 2025, Dubai World Trade CentreBanking Track, "Securing the Financial Sector in an Era of Emerging Threats"
  • 25 Jun 2024Infosec & Cybersecurity Congress, DubaiPanellist on aligning cybersecurity initiatives with board priorities, ISACA UAE Chapter and TahawulTech
  • 2023–2024GISEC Global, Dubai"Cyber Risk, Resilience, and Board Engagement"
  • 28 Nov 2023Middle East CISO Executive Summit, Evanta, RiyadhBreakout speaker, "Creating a Secure by Design Mindset to Accelerate Cloud Transformation"
  • 2022–2025IDC Middle East Cybersecurity SummitPanellist, "Enterprise Security Transformation in Financial Services"
  • 2019–2026Zero-Day Conference, Geneva"Vulnerability Management and Zero-Day Risk"
  • 2020–2025Trust Valley ecosystem events, Geneva and Lausanne"Digital Trust and Security Governance"
  • 2018–2026Closed-door banking forums, UAE and SwitzerlandKeynote and moderator, "Regulatory Risk and Financial Cyber Resilience"

Teaching

  • 2008Guest lecturer, Haute École de Gestion de GenèveMBA and MSSI programme
  • 2007Guest lecturer, Université de LausanneIMATIS programme

Recognition

  • 2025CISO of the Year, Finnovex Middle EastNamed in the event press release of 13 November 2025
  • 2025Selected by Gartner as a case study in CISO role evolutionSecurity & Risk Management Summit, London
  • 2024CISO Infosec & Cyber Risk Leadership AwardISACA UAE Chapter and TahawulTech

Media

Interviews, podcasts and video.

  • 22 Jul 2026AI can flag the fraud. The bank still has to own the call.Enterprise AM UAE, article
  • 10 Jun 2026Why cyber resilience is now a non-negotiable fixed cost for the banking sector in MENA+Enterprise AM MENA+, interview
  • 7 Nov 2025From Personalisation to ProtectionMashreq, video (YouTube)
  • 5 Nov 2025From IT to Influence: Mashreq Bank's CISO on Redefining Cybersecurity LeadershipInfosecurity Magazine, interview by James Coker
  • 7 Jul 2025How to Build a Security Team That Actually Enables the BusinessThe Connectivity Cloud Podcast, Cloudflare, hosted by Mark Dembo
  • Jul 2025What Makes a Successful CISO JourneyThe Cyber Learning Circle, podcast
  • 27 Mar 2025Fraud Unmasked: Cyber Threats, AI & How to Stay ProtectedMashreq NEO (YouTube and Facebook)
  • 2025In Conversation with Olivier BusoliniGISEC Dubai, video series

Contact

For consulting, speaking and the newsletter.

Infosec@busolini.fr Write an email

Each assessment starts with a conversation of about an hour. If an assessment is not worth your time, I will say so.