Yes. I mentor people breaking into cybersecurity and practitioners levelling up. A good place to start is the cybersecurity career paths guide on blog.cyberdesserts.com, then message me on LinkedIn with where you are now and where you want to get to.

Shakel Ahmed (Shak) | Cybersecurity Leader, Mentor & Founder of CyberDesserts

Q: Can you speak at our event?

I speak at conferences and run training sessions on security validation, security posture, disruptive technologies and cybersecurity careers. Get in touch on LinkedIn with the date and audience.

Q: How do I get in touch?

LinkedIn is the reliable route: linkedin.com/in/shaka. I'm always open to connecting with cybersecurity professionals, tech enthusiasts, leaders, and anyone who wants to learn or can teach me something new.

01 // ABOUT

Who is Shak?

I've spent over twenty years on the front lines of cybersecurity, helping global organisations answer one critical question: how effective are your security measures against a real-world attack? Today I lead a team of security engineers across EMEA at Pentera, helping leadership teams evaluate their security stack and build actionable roadmaps. Before that, senior pre-sales roles at ThreatConnect and Senseon, and more than a decade at Sophos across the UK and the Middle East. Home is Oxfordshire, England.

The rest of my time goes into sharing what I've learned: mentoring, speaking at conferences, and building CyberDesserts, a skills and knowledge hub for cybersecurity practitioners and students: practical, honest guidance on roles, skills and certifications, minus the hype. The CyberDesserts blog reaches more than 5,000 readers a month.

02 // CURRENTLY

What I'm up to

Day job	Director of Solutions Engineering (EMEA) at Pentera, automated security validation
Building	CyberDesserts.com, cybersecurity skills & knowledge hub
Writing	The CyberDesserts blog, practical security education for 5,000+ monthly readers
Mentoring	Always open, see the questions below
Off duty	The gym, and table tennis (getting better all the time)

03 // HELP

How I can help

What do you actually do?

I help organisations measure and improve their security posture against real-world threats. That means evaluating how effective their security stack really is and turning that into actionable roadmaps. Day to day, I lead a team of security engineers across EMEA at Pentera.

Can you mentor me?

Yes. I mentor people breaking into cybersecurity and practitioners levelling up. A good place to start is my guide to cybersecurity career paths, then message me on LinkedIn with where you are now and where you want to get to.

Can you speak at our event?

I enjoy it: conferences, panels and training sessions on security validation, security posture, disruptive tech and cybersecurity careers. Send the date and audience via LinkedIn.

I'm stuck on something security-related. Can I ask you?

Do it. I'm open to people connecting and asking for help, and if I'm not the right person, I'll usually know who or what is.

How do I get in touch?

The reliable route is LinkedIn. Always open to connecting with security professionals, tech enthusiasts, leaders, and anyone who wants to learn, or can teach me something new.

04 // SPEAKING

Recently on stage

Cybersecurity Skills Roadmap: Zero to Job-Ready, a talk on what sets you apart in the 2026 cyber market, delivered at the FCA for the ISC2 London Chapter, 22 July 2026. The talk builds on my Cybersecurity Learning Roadmap guide. You may also have caught me at InfoSec Europe, on the Smashing Security podcast, or on an industry webinar somewhere.

Shakel Ahmed presenting Cybersecurity Skills Roadmap at the FCA for the ISC2 London Chapter — isc2-london-fca.jpg · 22 JUL 2026

“Shakel Ahmed delivered a brilliant take on the cyber market, showing how consistently stretching yourself compounds into real impact. You rarely notice the growth day-to-day, but look back a year later and the progress speaks for itself.”
Attendee, via LinkedIn