With more than twenty five years of experience in information technology and cybersecurity, Ahmed Al Zarouni is a seasoned technology leader known for turning complex environments into stable, secure, and practical systems. He currently serves as First Vice President and Head of IT and Information Security in large government organizations in Dubai, where he leads multi year transformation programs that cover malls, towers, smart cities, smart education, and hospitality portfolios. His work treats technology as a strategic engine for investment and economic growth, using financial, operational, and cyber indicators to anticipate risk, protect value, and convert pain points into measurable gains in productivity and resilience.

Ahmed’s remit across his career has included full lifecycle ERP deployments, HR and finance systems, business intelligence, cloud and on premises infrastructure, collaboration platforms, and the establishment of disaster recovery facilities, security operations centers, and network operations centers that now underpin mission critical functions. He has led mega technology programs with cumulative budgets close to ten billion dirhams, supported subsidiaries and related entities on architecture and sourcing decisions, and unified standards so that governance, security, and support can scale across multiple organizations rather than each one acting alone.

Academically, Ahmed holds a Master of Science in Data Analytics and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with a concentration in Enterprise Computing, graduating magna cum laude with a GPA of 3.82. He has accumulated more than fifty professional certifications across security, infrastructure, cloud, and architecture, including CISSP, multiple MCSE and MCTS tracks, CompTIA A plus, Network plus, Security plus, Server plus, Linux plus, Azure AI Fundamentals, VMware, Linux, ITIL Foundation, TOGAF, CHFI, MCT, and CCNA. This mix of academic work and industry certifications allows him to translate global frameworks into practical controls, measurable indicators, and clear runbooks that keep regulators and boards equally confident.

In recent years Ahmed has become a recognised regional figure in generative AI and secure on premises large language model deployments. He has designed and delivered offline LLM platforms that integrate retrieval augmented generation, vector search, and domain adapters to support SOC and NOC workflows, executive knowledge bases, multilingual search, and policy discovery while preserving privacy and data sovereignty. His technical range covers secure software development, identity governance, endpoint detection and response, network segmentation, storage optimisation, backup and recovery, and vendor governance, and he remains hands on enough to mentor architects, engineers, and students on real systems rather than theory only.

Beyond his executive role, Ahmed is the founder of TechFirm, a specialised group of companies in software and cybersecurity that focuses on secure platforms, incident response and penetration testing services, secure code review, and on premises generative AI servers tailored for the region. Through TechFirm he has helped international companies localise operations in the UAE and has supported universities, competitions, and training programs that build the next generation of cyber talent. He is President of CyberMajlis, which connects technology, cybersecurity, and AI leaders from major institutions in the region to share reference architectures, lessons from incidents, and joint innovation projects. He is also an active media voice with more than 250 live technical television interviews and radio segments, in addition to hundreds of keynotes, panels, and masterclasses across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Russia, South Korea, China, and Uzbekistan. Through these appearances he focuses on cybersecurity, generative artificial intelligence, smart cities, digital economy, and the practical side of digital transformation for governments, enterprises, and society. Ahmed serves as Advisor to Horizon University College, Alrushed American School, and Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, and as a member of the advisory board of GISEC, where he helps align curricula, competitions such as AiCyberFest and School of Cyber Defence CTF, and conferences with real regional priorities in cybersecurity, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. He is President of CyberMajlis, a community that connects technology, cybersecurity, and AI leaders from major institutions in the region to share reference architectures, lessons learned from incidents, and joint innovation projects that raise overall maturity. He has written several books including Technical Thinking and The Bubbles Theory in Arabic, English, and Russian with 85 languages digitally. and has published more than fifteen mobile applications including Sahih Azkar, Emirates Parking and Insulini, one of which has exceeded one million downloads and supports more than eighty languages.

In 2014 Ahmed founded the Happiness Club, a cross company initiative that now serves more than seventy three thousand members across dozens of organizations and thousands of partners. Through the Happiness Award and the President Select Award, the initiative has recognised hundreds of individuals and entities for positive impact, teamwork, and service. His recognitions include major awards from the UAE Cyber Security Council for outstanding achievements in spreading cyber awareness, as well as national honours for social media innovation and long term success. Fluent in Arabic and proficient in English, he continues to work at the intersection of technology, security, and human happiness, with a simple principle at the center of his journey: technology should make life safer, easier, and more meaningful for people.