Saviynt, a provider of identity security solutions, has appointed Kamel Heus as Vice President of Sales for the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The move comes as the company looks to strengthen its footprint across the region.

Based in Dubai, Heus will oversee Saviynt’s business across MEA, including Turkey. He steps into the role at a time when organizations across the region are rethinking how they approach identity security in the age of AI.

In his new position, Heus will focus on new business, renewals and customer expansion. At the same time, he will lead Saviynt’s regional channel strategy and work to widen its partner ecosystem. Building out a local go-to-market team is also part of his mandate.

Several industries sit at the center of this shift. Government, banking, healthcare, utilities, oil and gas, and retail are among the sectors adapting their identity security practices as AI becomes more embedded in daily operations. Consequently, Heus’s appointment reflects a broader push to secure both human and AI-driven identities. His early priorities include deepening Saviynt’s presence in the region, expanding into Saudi Arabia, and growing local hosting capabilities to support data residency needs.

Pete Angstadt, Chief Commercial Officer at Saviynt, said MEA represents a major opportunity as organizations speed up digital transformation and lean further into AI. He added that Heus’s regional experience and knowledge of local markets would support the company’s expansion plans. According to Angstadt, the appointment marks a long-term investment in MEA and a step toward closer collaboration with customers and partners.

Beyond human users, Heus will also help businesses in the region address a newer challenge: securing AI agents. As these agents gain access to enterprise systems and data, they increasingly need the same oversight applied to human identities. To meet this need, Saviynt’s Zuma platform offers visibility into AI identities and supports least-privilege access controls throughout their lifecycle.

Heus described the Middle East and Africa as among the fastest-growing cybersecurity markets globally, noting that identity now sits at the core of that growth, particularly as AI agents enter enterprise environments. He said his focus would be on expanding local presence, strengthening the partner ecosystem, and helping organizations across MEA operate with secure, confident access for both employees and AI systems.

Heus brings two decades of enterprise cybersecurity sales experience to the role. Over the years, he has built and scaled businesses across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. His background includes senior leadership positions at Thales, Centrify (now Delinea) and Sophos. Most recently, he served as Vice President, EMEA at Thales, where he led the company’s Identity and Access Management business. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Computing from Université Grenoble Alpes in France and has lived in Dubai for more than ten years.

With Heus now leading its MEA sales organization, Saviynt aims to deepen ties with customers and partners while expanding its regional capabilities. As cloud adoption, AI and digital transformation continue to reshape enterprise environments, the company says it will keep prioritizing identity security as a core part of its regional strategy.

Related post

View all