Professional Title and Role
Waqar Anjum holds the position of Vice President - Information Technology Manager at SHUAA Capital, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is also recognized as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and is regarded as the head of IT for the organization. His leadership encompasses IT governance and audit, cybersecurity strategy, risk and compliance management, business continuity, and digital transformation, driving the firm’s technology initiatives.
Experience and Expertise
Waqar Anjum possesses over 20 years of professional experience in IT security, risk management, and digital transformation, with an established track record of delivering award-winning results in these domains. His career focus has involved strategic planning and deployment of complex IT and cybersecurity infrastructures in the financial services industry, underlining his expertise in managing sensitive and critical systems.
Key Projects and Responsibilities:
- Cyber Security and Data Protection Controls (June 2021 – December 2023):
Led the implementation of comprehensive cybersecurity and data protection measures at SHUAA Capital. This involved migrating unstructured data to a centralized SharePoint cloud and establishing managed Security Operations Center (SOC) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems. Deployment of endpoint detection and response (EDR), network access control (NAC), intrusion detection and prevention (IDP), data loss prevention (DLP), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and centralized security controls formed part of this initiative.
- Oracle Cloud-Based ERP, HCM, and EPM System Implementation (March 2020 – January 2021):
Managed the migration from MS Dynamics and Oracle EBS systems to Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP and integrated these with legacy trading and portfolio management systems, enhancing overall operational efficiency.
- Market Making Systems Deployment:
Directed the project management and deployment of market making systems in multiple jurisdictions:
- Turkey (March 2019 – September 2019): Single stock and index futures market making system co-located at BIST exchange.
- UAE (February 2016 – October 2016): Deployment of single stock and futures market making systems integrated with Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), and NASDAQ.
- Office and Datacenter Consolidation (August 2017 – January 2019):
Oversaw IT datacenter consolidations and migrations across three locations; architected the new office setup and IT infrastructure to support operational resilience.
- Disaster Recovery (DR) Setup:
Established a disaster recovery platform incorporating virtualization, EMC backup systems, WAN optimization, MPLS connectivity, SAN storage, and related technologies. He classified business-critical systems into tiers for prioritized recovery and led full disaster simulation testing to validate resilience.
- Virtualization Platform Migration:
Executed the migration from XenServer to Microsoft Hyper-V Datacenter platform, including conversion of physical servers to virtual machines, improving reliability and cost-efficiency of the data center.
Education and Certifications
- Holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Information Technology from the Victorian Institute of Technology (VIT).
- Certified as a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) by ISACA (issued February 2025, valid through January 2029).
- Certified as a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) by ISACA (issued November 2024, valid through January 2028).
Contributions and Industry Standing
Waqar Anjum is recognized as a cybersecurity strategist and thought leader, notably addressing contemporary cybercrime challenges such as Ransomware-as-a-Service, highlighting its evolving franchise-like model at industry forums including the Cyber Strategists Summit & Awards 2025. His insights emphasize the critical need for adaptive defense mechanisms in financial services.
Skills and Languages
- Full professional proficiency in English and native or bilingual proficiency in Urdu.
- Expertise spans IT security architecture, digital transformation, IT governance, risk and compliance controls, business continuity planning, cloud and virtualization technologies.
Recommendations and Professional Attributes
Waqar has received multiple direct recommendations underscoring his:
- Strong technical expertise, especially in networking and IT security.
- Proactive problem-solving approach, addressing issues independently before escalation.
- Ability to collaborate effectively across teams and with external vendors.
- Capacity to manage high-stakes IT environments where downtime could translate to significant financial losses.
- Versatility, rapid learning aptitude, and consistent delivery under pressure, making him a highly valuable asset within SHUAA Capital’s executive IT leadership.
This profile presents Waqar Anjum as a seasoned senior IT leader driving high-impact IT security, governance, and transformation projects at SHUAA Capital, with proven strategic and operational expertise critical to sustaining the technology backbone of a financial services organization operating in a high-risk cyber environment.
