Amit Khandekar

Cybersecurity leader with 25 years of experience spanning Security Operations, Solutions Engineering, Technical Presales, Product Management, and Field CISO advisory. Currently VP, Field CISO at Zeronsec, building a new Field CISO function from the ground up to support the company's North American expansion for its AI-native SOC platform. Career built across ArcSight/HPE, Aruba/Niara, ReliaQuest, and PolySwarm, with regional experience across North America, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC.

Proven track record scaling regional revenue from $1M to $20M+ ARR, building presales and Solutions Engineering functions from the ground up, and leading enterprise technical engagements — discovery, executive briefings, demos, and POC/POV cycles — that move deals. Deep product experience across SIEM, XDR, EDR, UEBA, SOAR, Network Traffic Analysis, Threat Intelligence, Vulnerability Management, and IoT/Device Security, plus cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP) and, more recently, AI/LLM-augmented security workflows and evaluation. Practitioner roots in SOC leadership, incident response, threat hunting, malware/reverse engineering, and compliance (ISO 27001/BS7799) inform a hands-on, credible approach to customer, partner, and executive engagement.

VP, Field CISO - Zeronsec

(2026-08)

Joined to build Zeronsec's first Field CISO function, supporting the company's expansion into the North American market for its AI-native SOC platform (Anrita SIEM, Ekasha SOAR, Threat-i Threat Intelligence). Engaged via a consulting agreement between Mesha Solutions Inc. and Zeronsec.

• Standing up the Field CISO advisory practice from the ground up — engagement model, executive-level programs, and technical narrative supporting North American go-to-market.
• Serve as the technical and risk-advisory bridge between enterprise prospects/partners and Zeronsec's AI-driven SOC, SOAR (Ekasha), and SIEM (Anrita) product lines.
• Supporting early customer and partner conversations as the company establishes its North American footprint.

Director, Presales & Solutions Engineering - PolySwarm

(2022 - 2026-08)

First presales hire, building the function from scratch for an AI-powered threat intelligence platform. Established discovery, demonstration, and POV processes from the ground up and set up the company's first OEM integration partnerships.

• Served as primary technical advisor across ~$6M in annual business, guiding enterprise customers and OEM technology partners — ZeroFox, Anomali, and Cyware — from evaluation through adoption.
• Led hands-on POCs and executive/technical demos that clearly translated platform capability into business value, cutting POC cycle time by 30% through tighter opportunity qualification and structured evaluation methodology.
• Built Python-based API integrations with Microsoft Sentinel, Splunk, and OpenCTI, reducing time-to-value for enterprise customers.
• Created technical enablement content — demo scripts, architecture diagrams, and integration guides — used by partners and internal teams.
• Channeled product feedback and technical gaps directly to Product and Engineering to influence roadmap decisions.
• Applied AI/LLM tooling to accelerate threat research, malware-relationship mapping, and customer-facing technical content.

Senior Solutions Architect / Senior Presales Engineer - ReliaQuest

(2021 - 2022)

Supported enterprise MDR and SIEM modernization opportunities across the Canadian market.

• Grew solution adoption by 50% through stronger technical discovery, executive workshops, and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs).
• Supported approximately $3M in annual business, including individual opportunities up to $500K.
• Built VAR and channel partner relationships that extended the company's regional market coverage.
• Collaborated with account executives on opportunity assessment, value proposals, and contract structuring to close new logos.

Product Line Manager - HPE Security (Aruba)

(2019 - 2021)

Global product management for HPE's cloud-based cybersecurity portfolio spanning IoT Security, Device Profiling, Network Traffic Analysis, and UEBA.

• Built cloud-based cybersecurity products for IoT security, device profiling, NTA, and UEBA, gathering and prioritizing customer requirements.
• Built security strategy, integration stories, and use cases; managed new/unique/competitive feature and bug prioritization.
• Actively spoke at security conferences and internal/public forums as an internal and external product influencer and ambassador.
• Served as the field-to-product bridge, translating customer requirements into product roadmap priorities for Fortune 500 accounts.

Presales Manager - Niara Inc.

(2016 - 2019)

Presales and go-to-market strategy for Niara's UEBA platform across North America. Niara Inc. was acquired by HPE in 2017.

• Provided presales support to the North America region, proactively managing accounts to ensure customer satisfaction and track key deliverables.
• Ran POC/POV engagements for beta and released product, gathering and assessing customer business and technical needs.
• Provided field feedback to Product Development and built distributor/partner relationships.
• Developed custom presentations, POC processes, sizing, deployment, and architecture plans.

Regional Presales Manager (MEA) & Senior Security Architect (Canada) - ArcSight (HP/HPE)

(2010 - 2016)

Recruited as the first presales hire for the Middle East and Africa; later transitioned to Senior Presales Engineer in Toronto, Canada. Scaled the MEA business from $1M to $20M ARR over six years, hitting 150% of quota every year.

• Delivered product demonstrations, technical tender responses, solution designs, and architecture diagrams for opportunities up to $2.5M — SIEM deployments and national SOC build-outs across banking, telecom, and government.
• Built and mentored a regional Solutions Engineering team; created the discovery frameworks, qualification criteria, and presentation standards that defined how the territory operated.
• Developed executive relationships with channel partners and GSIs including Accenture, Deloitte, Optiv, Redington, and Ingram Micro.
• Provided pre-sales technical support to customers and partners evaluating ArcSight software; guided users through the problem resolution process.
• Assisted in writing technical tender/bid responses and delivered informal training and mentoring for channel partners and Presales peers.

Manager, Security Operations Center (SOC) - du Telecom - Dubai, U.A.E.

(2007 - 2010)

Built a new SOC from the ground up covering people, process, and technology.

• Led and managed a 25-person team of security analysts and engineers; managed vendor relationships and SLAs.
• Directed incident response, threat hunting, and operational governance for a national telecom provider.
• Built a homegrown, script-driven threat intelligence capability using custom scripts and SIEM active lists — a precursor to today's commercial TIPs, which did not yet exist in that form.
• Led requirements planning, RFP design, and vendor evaluation; prepared and negotiated budget estimates with senior management.
• Designed advanced security event correlation and detection techniques using ESM/SIM; built enterprise-wide vulnerability management processes.