Nozomi strengthens MEA team with key in-country appointments

Nozomi Networks, Inc., an OT and IoT security company, has added three senior executives to its regional team. Usamah Ridwan, based in Saudi Arabia, joins Nozomi Networks as Regional Sales Director, Jayson Pieterse, based in Johannesburg, takes on the role of Regional Sales Director – South Africa and Africa, and Wagdy Mostafa, based in Cairo, has been appointed as Regional Sales Director for Egypt. Nozomi Networks also hired Osamah Al-Fardan as Senior Cybersecurity Architect as part of its expansion strategy.

Nozomi Networks’ new hires demonstrate the company’s commitment to accelerating digital transformation in the region and lowering cyber risk for industrial, OT, and IoT organizations. The new hires also demonstrate the company’s strong desire to develop deep relationships with its customers through expert engagement, with the goal of becoming a trusted partner in their digital transformation journeys.

According to IDC, annual spending on digital transformation in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa is expected to exceed $58 billion by 2025. While digital transformation has the potential to provide significant benefits, it also attracts global threat actors such as cyber criminals, nation states, and cyber hacktivists. According to a recent Gartner report, by 2025, cyber attackers will have weaponized OT environments to successfully harm or kill humans. As a result, it is critical that large industrial organizations and other critical infrastructures, such as airports, manufacturing, oil and gas, and so on, are protected against the ever-expanding threat landscape.

Usamah Ridwan has over 18 years of experience assisting customers with best-practice implementations in a variety of industries. He will be responsible at Nozomi Networks for assisting large industrial organizations and national critical infrastructures in securing and monitoring their OT and IoT networks, as well as enabling and assisting prospective and existing customers. He will also provide customers with best-practice security strategies to mitigate evolving threats and will drive Nozomi Network’s expansion in the Energy and Industrial sectors of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq.

Usamah held key positions at Lenovo Saudi, HP Saudi, Detecon Al Saudia, and Cisco before joining Nozomi Networks. He has a BSc in Computer Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, as well as extensive knowledge and experience in the oil and gas industry. 

“Digital transformation is disrupting regional heavy industries with process efficiency and data interoperability being the key drivers. OT environments are becoming increasingly integrated with digital environments, sometimes exposing critical industrial environments to advanced security threats. Nozomi Networks recognises these pain points and is increasing the presence of its solutions and services through the regional appointments of Jayson, Osamah, Usamah and Wagdy. 

We welcome them on board and look forward to their dynamic engagements with strategic customers in the region, leveraging their proven consulting and delivery skills and experience,” said Khalid Aljamed, Vice President – MEA West at Nozomi Networks.

Jayson Pieterse joins Nozomi Networks with a decade of experience, most recently at FireEye and Advanced Security/Camguard Group. His credentials include CompTIA Security+ and CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional). As part of his role, he will assist customers across South Africa and Africa with risk and vulnerability assessments from both a physical and a cyber perspective, as well as provide effective mitigation solutions and strategies tailored to their specific needs.

Based out of Riyadh, Osamah Al-Fardan is a cybersecurity veteran with 15+ years of expertise, joining as a Senior Cybersecurity Architect. He will lead the team in providing solutions for Nozomi Networks’ customers focusing on mega utility and smart cities, advising and supporting them in their digital transformation journeys, regulation compliance and security architecture designs and plans. 

Wagdy Mostafa is an experienced senior security sales/pre-sales professional with over twelve years of technical and sales-focused roles across firms such as Fortinet, Forcepoint, Trend Micro, and others. His diverse background in negotiation, sales, customer/vendor relations management, and people management will help Nozomi Networks expand in Egypt. As Regional Sales Director, he will be responsible for increasing the company’s market share in the country and building stronger client relationships.