Illyas Kooliyankal is an exuberant Information Security professional with more than 22 years of proven experience in the Information Technology and Cyber Security arena. In the role of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), he leads the group-wide Information Security Program at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), one of the most prestigious and ambitious financial organizations in the region with an incredible growth over the last many years. Before joining ADIB, he was serving Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), ADS Securities, ADS Holding and Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (ETISALAT) for more than 20 years in Information Security, Business Continuity, IT Infrastructure, and network domains.

Mr. Kooliyankal is one of the champions of Cyber Security with in-depth knowledge on technology and business fields. He professionally grew up with deep level technical experience, which helped in driving and managing organization-wide information security program aligned with business strategy. Being one of the best and foremost experts in the region with demonstrable ISO 27001 (International Standard for Cyber/Information Security) experience, he successfully implemented the framework in live and complicated environments. His practical expertise includes Cyber Security, Information Security, Cloud Security, IT Management, Business Continuity, ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) Framework and COBIT (IT Governance). A strategic thinker, who brings, out of the box and proactive initiatives towards protection of organization and its assets, Mr. Mr. Kooliyankal has developed and implemented an effective information security management system for telecom and financial sectors. He is an excellent negotiator and well respected professional with highly powerful stakeholder management skills, which includes senior executives. As a Project initiator and leader effectively implemented ITIL, COBIT, and ISO 27001 framework in an integrated fashion to support each other and ensured an adequate and continually improved information security & service management system in alignment with the business.

Mr. Kooliyankal is a professional with up to date and advanced knowledge in his field, ratified by relevant IT, Information Security, and Auditing Certifications. It includes ITIL Service Manager and ITIL Expert (IT Service Management), CISSP, CISM (Certified Information Security Manager), CISA (Certified Information System Auditor), CBCI (Business Continuity), CRISC (Risk Management), CGEIT (IT Governance), and ISO 27001 Lead Auditor. He was the Co-Chair and Speaker at the Chief Information Security Officer Summit in the USA. Considering his passion and innovative approaches, EC-Council, USA nominated Mr. Illyas to the Board of Directors of their CISO Programs. He has been elected as one of the first few from UAE, to become the Member of Business Continuity Institute (MBCI) based on his expertise and experience in the field He is a reputed speaker who was a major contributor to various international conferences across the world, including GITEX Dubai, CIO Event UK, Secure Asia Malaysia, CISO Summit USA, Internet Show ME, CIO SHOW Singapore, etc. Mr. Kooliyankal won many awards for his excellent professional career, which includes the prestigious Middle East CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) of the Year 2013/14, Global CISO Award (USA) Runner Up, and Crystal Award from Emirates Airlines-ISACA, KERA Outstanding Achiever, and World Excellency Award in Information Security.