2024 Top Consultants: Tauseef Ghazi

Tauseef Ghazi leads RSM's Security & Privacy Practice for North America. He is a technical cyber leader with more than 20+ years of experience developing and implementing cyber programs, adding business value and effectively mitigate cyber risk for his clients. Ghazi current responsibilities include leading, operating and developing teams across:

• Cyber Strategy;
• Cyber Compliance;
• Cyber Testing, Threat and Response;
• Cloud Security, Engineering and Enablement;
• Identity and Access Management; and
• Managed Security Services.

Ghazi has served as the lead partner with responsibility for planning, execution and delivery of:

• Digital & cyber transformation efforts;
• Cyber risk, threat, maturity and compliance management activities;
• Cyber resilience & response to emerging threats;
• Risk based remediation prioritization;
• Tactical security & vulnerability management across cloud, on premise and operational environments.
• Unify cross-compliance efforts

What has motivated you to excel over the course of your career?

Perseverance. It is not merely a trait but a foundation of success in any career. In cyber consulting in particular, perseverance drives resilience and determination needed to overcome complex challenges, adapt to changing threats and achieve long-term goals. Further, setbacks and failures are inevitable. Technology shifts bring both opportunities and risks, challenging us to adapt and protect ourselves. Perseverance is essential, especially when balancing such conflicting demands.

It is perseverance that led us to build a cloud transformation business during the COVID lockdown which securely enabled hundreds of companies to move to a remote workforce. It is perseverance that led us to build a corresponding managed security services business so that we could monitor and react to our clients' changing environments. This required perseverance as the technology did not exist to enable such outcomes immediately and we focused teams on driving such solutions which failed more times than they succeeded.

As a result of this grit, today we have over 200 hundred companies where we actively monitor both their cloud and on premise technology environment 24 hours a day ingesting over 15+ terabytes of data per day and respond with both with automated, manual and AI enabled solutions and continue to onboard 15 – 20 companies a month on our platform. We have teams at the ready to respond to active cyber events so its not just monitoring but responding. Followed by cloud, architectural and infrastructure support teams that assist with recovery and getting our clients back on their feet again.

What has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

The biggest success factor in my opinion is relationship building coupled with effective communication. Relationship building is not about networking but about cultivating genuine connections with colleagues, clients, mentors, executives, and industry peers which drives thought and direction both personally as individual or for a consulting practice. There is an immense amount of learning that comes from such relationships that if applied correctly can supercharge a career.

Success to me has always been a collaborative effort. I would not be where I am without the support of the 300 hundred amazing professionals that support me daily or the leaders that enable me. It's about building strong bonds while creating shared experiences in the thing you enjoy doing the most. I love building things in a team as the diversity of thought leads to unimaginable outcomes. However, it must be stated that effective communication is key to the enablement of those thoughts in practice.

Being a technologist and solving complex problems is fun but we also must have the ability to translate the technical in to the simple. Effectively communicating and exchanging ideas with your teams, clients and solution partners enriches your personal perspective, enhances your expertise, and generates insights that you may not have been able to foster individually. This also helps build meaningful connections, furthers trust, cooperation, and garners mutual support which opens doors to new opportunities personally and for the broader practice. It goes without saying that hard work is always a prerequisite.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

There are a lot of things about cyber consulting that make me jump out of bed in the morning, I will name a few that rise to the top for me personally. The continually evolving challenges. I have been in the cybersecurity for the last 25 years and have never been bored as it is ever-evolving. I am constantly challenged to solve complex problems that provide direct value to our clients and helps make a difference. Each day you wake up to a new adventure.

At RSM we are faced with the unique opportunity to develop cyber solutions that are financially viable for small regional organizations and yet also bring value to some of the world's largest organizations. The firm's unique market focus continuously challenges us to innovate to remain relevant. People. Working in a collaborative environment, solving problems, sharing experience creates a lot of contentment.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

My proudest achievement is having built a 300 person cyber practice (growing 25% revenue annually at average) in 10 years and innovating solutions that drive success for clients across the globe. Expanding delivery centers in 4 different countries has propelled careers of countless people both who are with me today and others that were enabled to grow their careers elsewhere in the field of cyber.

Over the course of the last 10 years, my practice has directly or indirectly impacted and inspired thousands of people in the field of cyber. From new graduates to experienced professionals that are seeking a change, to clients who are struggling with complex cyber problems, to building and innovating solutions for different industries and segments, driving educational programs with various universities etc. – the true impact is difficult to measure. I am proud to have been part of all these stories.

Finally, the measure of one's success is not how successful they are but how many other people around them they made successful. I have lived by this philosophy, and it is probably the most impactful achievement that drives all other facets of success. Looking back over 10 years my practice has produced 18 Cyber Executives / Owners, over 100 Managing Directors / Directors and countless Managers and security professionals.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Recognize your limitations and surround yourself with people who complete you and complement your strengths.

What does this recognition mean to you?

It's less about what it means to me as a personal recognition and more as a validation to the people who supported and guided me throughout my career. Their investment in my personal and professional growth is what propelled me to where I am today. As I stated before the success of oneself should also be looked upon by how many others you made successful. This recognition to me is a testament that I was able to pass on what I know and impact the next generation of creative cyber leaders.