The people behind the shield.
A tight-knit crew of security veterans, engineers, and operators united by one mission: keep your organization safe in an increasingly hostile digital world.
Mekonnen Kassa
Founder and CEO of Ngome Cybersecurity Advisory Limited
After spending more than 37 years in the United States, he returned to Nairobi, Kenya, to focus on advancing cybersecurity and digital resilience across the continent. He began his career at one of the U.S. Big Five consulting firms, where he helped Fortune 500 companies leverage emerging technologies to transform their businesses. He later joined Microsoft, serving for 20 years in operations leadership and as a director of cloud security product engineering. In this role, he worked directly with business executives and government leaders guiding them in assessing their cybersecurity posture and deploying Microsoft's security solutions. Mr. Kassa helps organizations assessing their cybersecurity risks, providing strategic guidance to strengthen their overall security posture, and complying with cybersecurity regulations and in building and leading high-performing security teams focused on threat prevention, risk mitigation, and incident response. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
David Nicholson
Cybersecurity Technical Expert
I am a Cybersecurity Technical Expert dedicated to helping organizations anticipate, withstand, and recover from sophisticated cyber attacks. My work centers on offensive security and adversary simulation, including red team engagements, network and infrastructure penetration testing, Active Directory security reviews, and cloud attack path analysis across AWS and Azure environments. I combine deep technical tradecraft with a defender's mindset, mapping findings to frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK and the OWASP Top 10 to give clients clear, prioritized remediation guidance rather than raw vulnerability lists. Beyond testing, I advise engineering and leadership teams on secure architecture, detection engineering, and incident readiness so that improvements are sustained long after an engagement ends. I am committed to continuous research, responsible disclosure, and delivering pragmatic, business-aligned security outcomes that measurably reduce risk and strengthen long-term cyber resilience.
Tiruye Tafese
Cyber Security Technical Expert
I am a cybersecurity professional with a robust blend of academic excellence, technical expertise, and leadership experience. She holds an M.Sc. in Cybersecurity from Canisius College with hands-on mastery of several cybersecurity tools, alongside deep knowledge of intrusion detection, cryptography, secure coding practices, and frameworks including MITRE ATT&CK, NIST, and CIS. She is adept at writing detection rules, configuring firewalls, mitigating vulnerabilities, and managing user access through Microsoft Active Directory. I have applied my skills across leading organizations including Amazon, Microsoft, Safaricom, MMCYTech and Orange Telecom. I combine my technical depth in cybersecurity engineering with strategic program management, aligning security initiatives with business goals and ensuring secure product delivery at scale. This unique mix of hands-on expertise, academic rigor, and leadership makes me exceptionally well-suited for security roles.
Gerald Mvududu
Cybersecurity Technical Expert
Passionate about protecting organizations from evolving cyber threats through proactive security assessments and effective defensive strategies. My expertise includes web application security, penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, cloud security, database security, and secure system design. I specialize in identifying and mitigating security risks using industry best practices, including the OWASP Top 10, while helping organizations strengthen their overall security posture. I am committed to continuous learning, staying ahead of emerging threats, and delivering practical, reliable cybersecurity solutions that enhance resilience and protect critical business assets.
Olu Olubiyi
Risk & Compliance Principal
17+ years spanning CISO, cyber risk, GRC, and IT audit roles across highly regulated organizations: State of Wisconsin Investment Board, E*TRADE, Walmart, Fannie Mae, Maryland Department of Transportation, Marriott International, USA, FrontierProbe. Cybersecurity, risk, and IT audit leader with a career emphasis on cyber risk strategy, program development, security assessments, and executive advisory. Deep functional experience building, assessing, and maturing cybersecurity programs across financial services, retail, government agencies, and hospitality environments. Maintains a technical-to-business balance in communications, translating complex security issues into board-ready risk narratives, management decisions, regulatory responses, and actionable roadmaps.
Kwame Adjei
Product Manager Securing Agents | AI Agents
With more than 12 years in cybersecurity product leadership, I spearheaded the development of Agent 365 and Microsoft Purview, strengthening data security, governance, and organizational visibility into how information is managed. I worked with cross-functional teams to ensure the seamless integration of AI agents across local and cloud environments and led innovation and customer satisfaction. Across EMEA and Asia Pacific, I partnered with non-profits and public sector organizations to realize the full value of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel, Defender for IoT and Azure Network Security. Working closely with product engineering, marketing and sales, I channelled customer feedback into product roadmaps to address emerging threats and adoption blockers. I also trained security field teams and partners, and engage the wider technical community through speaking engagements, webinars, and technical articles.
Andrew Mathu
Networking Security Technical Expert
I am cybersecurity and network security professional with 14+ years of experience across product management, solution architecture, pre-sales engineering and hands-on technical delivery. My background spans cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments, with particular expertise in Microsoft Azure security, Zero Trust, network security, web application protection, DDoS protection and secure access. I have worked at the intersection of customers, field teams and engineering to drive adoption of Azure Firewall, Azure Web Application Firewall, Azure DDoS Protection and Azure Bastion. My work has included customer architecture engagements, deployment validation, product feedback and roadmap influence, release readiness, field enablement, technical content and cross-product security integrations.