At C-Level

In this episode, Inception’s CEO traces the company’s journey and lays out a pragmatic roadmap for the next 12–24 months of AI adoption. We tackle the build-buy-partner trade-off, future-proof architectures that keep model and cloud optionality, data strategy without breaching sovereignty, board-level governance and audits, and the org design that ships AI to production. We close with ecosystem partnerships that most reduce buyer risk.

Stephane Timpano leads two of the most groundbreaking initiatives in Abu Dhabi’s advanced tech scene—ASPIRE, the program development arm of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), and A2RL, the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League. Under his leadership, the convergence of AI, engineering, sport, and research is not only reshaping how we think of mobility but also redefining talent ecosystems, R&D priorities, and regional innovation narratives. This conversation dives into how AI is becoming a strategic disruption tool in unexpected domains—from the racetrack to national innovation strategies.

The evolving regulatory landscape: GDPR, India’s DPDP Act, and the US AI Executive OrderHow enterprises are embedding auditability, consent tracking, and data governance into AI workflowsLessons from compliance breaches and what AI vendors are getting wrong

Tech Leaders break down retrofitting AI into legacy stacks and the cost and rewards of doing so, and where retrofitting works, and where it doesnt

In an era where AI is transforming everything from threat detection to automated incident response, Tony Hasek challenges the assumption that smarter always means safer. As the co-founder of Goldilock, a company that isolates critical networks physically, not virtually, Tony presents a contrarian view: that full-time connectivity—even with AI watching—may be our most significant vulnerability.

In this episode Alexander Winkler, Head of Sporting Breaks Down A2RL’s Sporting Vision

This episode unpacks the gap between data science and business, why explainable AI and low-code tools are becoming essential for enterprise adoption.

The compute is fast; your data path isn’t. Renen Hallak, Founder and CEO, VAST Datat, explains the latency paradox in AI and a practical playbook—simpler dataflows, smart prefetching and the right fabric—to keep GPUs fed.

In this episode lawyers, cybersecurity leaders, and tech leaders of the region discuss how AI is helping financial institutions and governments detect fraud, scams, and illicit activity.

In this episode of AT C Level, in a conversation with Sindhu V Kashyap, Senior Content Strategist, Intelligent Global Media, tech leaders break down retrofitting AI into legacy stacks and discuss the cost and rewards of doing so.

In this second part episodeCISO guests discusses how AI is utilised for anomaly detection, Zero Trust frameworks, and risk modelling—and where the ethical line lies.

In this episode, Key CISO guests discusses how AI is utilised for anomaly detection, Zero Trust frameworks, and risk modelling—and where the ethical line lies.

Beyond chatbots, AI is reshaping the pipes: data centres, networks and ops. This episode maps how models drive new hardware, more brilliant orchestration and zero-touch resilience—and the costs, skills and governance it demands.

A concise, board-ready guide for CEOs to turn AI from buzzword to bottom-line results. In this episode Walid Gomaa, CEO, Omnix in conversation with Sindhu V Kashyap, Senior Content Strategist, Intelligent Global Media, maps where AI creates durable advantage, how to fund it, and how to ship safely at scale.

In conversation with Sindhu V Kashyap, Senior Content Strategist, Intelligent Global Media, Jouk Pleiter, CEO at Backbase, talks about how the company is now doubling down on a bold new direction: putting bankers—not bots—at the centre of the AI revolution.

In this episode, Sindhu V Kashyap, Senior Content Strategist, Intelligent Global Media speaks with Jessica Constantinidis, Innovation Officer, EMEA at ServiceNow, and Mina Migally, Regional VP – EMEA East at Veeam, about how AI is evolving from a surface feature to a foundational capability. The conversation looks at practical adoption patterns, how leaders can balance speed with governance, and why human judgement remains essential.

We’re relaunching At C Level by Intelligent Global Media with a sharper mission: unpack how AI is transforming the backbone of technology. This conversation with Jess Abell, Chief Content Officer, Intelligent Global Media and Sindhu V Kashyap, Senior Content Strategist, Middle East and Africa, Intelligent Global Media, unpacks the new season. From data centres and networks to cybersecurity, cloud, and enterprise apps, each episode goes beyond hype to real implementations, measurable outcomes, and the people making it work.

Etay Maor, Chief Security Strategist at Cato Networks, talks to At C-Level about his passion for training and education. He highlights the importance of collaboration across the cybersecurity sector, and of the need for mentors and role models to be approachable to those who are entering the industry.

Elliott Wilkes, CTO - Advanced Cyber Defence Systems, talks to Alix Pressley about his 15+ years experience in some of the largest and most complex organisations in the world. He explains how he leads from the top down and why exercising the empathy muscle is key to leading a team to success.

In this episode of At C-level, Jess Abell chats to Karl Van den Burgh, CMO, Gigamon, about his global perspective on strategies, budgets and excelling in a turbulent landscape. As a member of the Forbes Council, and Cybersecurity Marketer of the Year, Karl is well-placed to offer invaluable tips on how tech organisations can maximise their reach through strategic marketing, and strongly believes in the value of authenticity in navigating the current over-saturated landscape. 

In this episode, Jess Abell, Director, Strategic Content, speaks to Mervyn Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer/Cyber Security Lead of CCI Global, about how he is advising clients to approach AI, as well as about how CCI Global is tackling the cyberskills shortage.

Richard Brandon, VP of Strategy, RtBrick, talks to Jess Abell about why he supports a 'fast fail' approach. This, he says, is the best way to take advantage of the fast-paced world we currently operate in but it's important that this is coupled with ensuring there is no 'blame culture'.

Nick Mason, CEO, Turtl, talks to Jess Abell and Alix Pressley about how AI is set to impact the field of content creation and how he thinks companies can take advantage to stand out.

In this episode, Linh Lam, CIO, Jamf, talks to Jess Abell about why she feels so passionate about her management philosophy 'it doesn’t cost you anything to be nice'. She also highlights the challenges she has faced as a woman rising to become a technical C-suite executive and why she feels strongly about businesses providing support for working-mums.

Philip Letts, Founder of LettsGroup, talks to Jess Abell and Ellen Flannery about why the organisation is investing in modern tech businesses to solve society’s most pressing challenges

Rajesh Ganesan, Vice President of Products at ManageEngine, discusses why organisations should consider adopting a least privilege approach to security, while providing insights into what the future of work will look like.

Sarah Friswell, CEO, Red Ant, discusses the importance of personalised, omni-channel customer experiences for the retail sector.

Karl Thedeen, CEO at Outpost24, discusses how it’s not enough to perform one or two pen tests a year, with cybercrime on the rise and digitalisation increasing. He highlights how Outpost24 is contributing to improved cyber strategies by automating continuous monitoring within networks, cloud and user domain, combined with a deep understanding of threat trends.

Simon Mair, Head of Information Security and Data Privacy at Brewin Dolphin, speaks to Alix Pressley about the importance of raising awareness of cybercriminals’ capabilities and communicating this to the organisation’s customers.

Peter Jackson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Exasol, discusses why it’s crucial that CDOs consider curious, creative individuals from liberal arts backgrounds in order to build balanced teams.

Vaibhav Jain, Founder and CEO, Hubilo, discusses how he has overseen the tremendous growth of the virtual event platform through hiring the right people at the right time, as well as the demand from the market.

Hermes is the largest dedicated parcel carrier in the UK, delivering more than 650 million parcels on behalf of 80% of the UK’s top retailers. Over the last five years, CEO, Martijn De Lange, has overseen the company triple in size and become a £1.5bn revenue business. Moving away from the traditional logistics culture, he is guiding the business to put the customer experience at its heart, led by technology, with an ambitious ‘Digital Futures’ Programme. He tells At C-Level more about his role, leadership style and forward strategy.

Robin Smith, CISO, Aston Martin, discusses why CISOs must be future orientated, progressive and great collaborators to change the industry in the face of aggressive innovation by cybercriminals.

Offering your clients an international payment solution when they need one is a strategic win. Every day, the Enterprise Payment Group at Cambridge Global Payments collaborates with multiple organizations on their journeys towards building best-in-class solutions for their clients. Subject-matter experts Don Banowetz and Chris Morris describe what it takes to create a global payments offering that enhances your client relationships.

Jamie Akhtar, CEO and co-founder of CyberSmart, offers advice to CISOs and CIOs on how they can reduce the risk presented to their organisation from ransomware. He also highlights how governments have an important role to play in facilitating the end of ransomware.

Alex Chircop, Founder and CEO, StorageOS, discusses the importance of flexibility for deployment of applications – and their data – in different environments, as well as why automation and self-service are key.

Prakash Sethuraman, CISO, CloudBees, highlights the importance of communication when it comes to security for helping employees across an organisation to understand why security departments implement certain processes. He argues that ‘context matters’ and while security always needs to be there in the background, it should never get in the way of users.

Haider Pasha, Senior Director & Chief Security Officer at Palo Alto Networks, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Palo Alto MEA, discusses the three core requirements of technology for modern CISOs – integration, automation and simplicity – and highlights why vendors should be considered ‘key partners’ rather than ‘box pushers’.

Perry Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer at KnowBe4, highlights how an understanding of the ‘knowledge-intention-action’ gap can enable organisations to build better security awareness programmes that focus on culture, behaviour and relationships.

Charaka Goonatilake, CTO, Panaseer, discusses the company’s core values and how it fosters innovation and business success.

Martin Rehak, CEO and founder of Resistant AI, discusses how FinTech is set to emerge into finance, the importance of investing in automation and why organisations need to continue to evolve.

Chris Ard, CISO, Newmont Corporation, discusses the importance of prioritising the greatest risk within an organisation and simplifying key priorities to ensure business success.

Andrew Rose, Resident CISO for EMEA at Proofpoint, discusses the importance of taking a pragmatic approach to cybersecurity.

Sam Thorpe, Chief Product Officer, Nitro, discusses the philosophies he attributes to success in product development: ‘Create value for others first; focus on storytelling as a means to success and support behaviour change throughout the process’

Simon Eyre, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Drawbridge, discusses why it’s crucial to combine staff training and awareness with technology to enable robust cybersecurity.

Didier Lesteven, Chief Operating Officer, Wallix, discusses why he believes a Zero Trust principle is the only way for organisations to ensure full data protection.

Ajay Sabhlok, CIO and CDO, Rubrik, discusses why a comprehensive data strategy is needed at any company that encompasses becoming a data-driven business.

Mihir Shah, CEO, StorCentric, discusses how to create a successful M&A strategy in the technology space, as well as the importance of communication with customers.

Don Boxley, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, DH2i , discusses why a company culture that keeps employees engaged enables innovation.

Carl D’Halluin, Chief Technology Officer, Datadobi, discusses how technology teams must embrace a ‘fail fast’ outlook to enable innovation and agility.