Alaa Khalid

Director, Cybersecurity Operations and GRC

Alaa Khalid is Director of Cybersecurity Operations and GRC at an organisation whose name the organiser does not disclose. Her position joins two wings that large organisations usually separate: the operations centre that monitors, detects and responds around the clock, and the governance function that sets policy, measures compliance and manages audit. Holding both shortens the distance between what appears on the screens and what is written into policy, a gap that is often the reason incidents repeat. The presence of Saudi women in operational cybersecurity leadership remains limited, which makes her position notable in the sector.