Compliance security maturity
74%→74%
Raised ADEK's score to full marks in just two quarters, repositioning it as a high-compliance, audit-ready organization.
Abu Dhabi, UAE / 20+ years
Mohannad Albayrouti
Enterprise IT Governance · Digital Governance · GRC Leader
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About
I turn fragmented governance, risk and compliance functions into structured, measurable and audit-ready operating models.
Enterprise IT Governance, Digital Governance & GRC leader with 20+ years of experience driving governance transformation, enterprise risk management, audit and assurance programs, quality maturity initiatives, regulatory compliance and technology governance within UAE government environments.
Led the implementation of COBIT 2019 governance frameworks, AI governance aligned with ISO/IEC 42001, and enterprise quality maturity initiatives culminating in TMMi Level 3 certification — alongside organization-wide governance programs that support executive decision-making and regulatory compliance.
Direct
What I bring
Core strengths
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01
Governance architecture
Designing COBIT 2019 operating models — structures, accountability, control objectives and KPIs that executives can steer by.
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02
Risk & audit readiness
Enterprise risk frameworks and centralized assurance tracking that keep an organization audit-ready every day, not just at audit time.
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03
Responsible AI governance
Standing up AI governance aligned with ISO/IEC 42001 — principles, accountability, risk practices and regulatory readiness.
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04
Building functions from zero
Built QA and GRC functions from inception, then re-established Technology GRC — turning fragmented capabilities into structured, measurable teams.
Proof
Selected impact
Measured outcomes from 14 years leading governance, quality and security at ADEK.
Audit compliance
>0%
Sustained across internal, external and regulatory assessments — while cutting audit preparation and evidence-collection time.
Testing maturity · TMMi
Level 0
Certified at TMMi Level 3 ("Defined") — organization-wide testing governance, standard processes, quality controls and metrics.
Compliance uplift · ISO 27001/20000
~0%
Improvement after establishing enterprise IT governance, QA and security frameworks as Acting CISO.
Defect detection rate
>0%
Achieved by building the QA and GRC functions from inception, significantly reducing production risk.
Delivery assurance
<0 yrs
To embed governance into DevOps and Agile delivery — closing compliance gaps and making every release cycle fully auditable.
- Multi-million AED RFP lifecycle governed — scope, compliance controls and SLAs, reducing vendor risk.
- ~5% budget variance reduction through governance-controlled QA and risk optimization.
- Abu Dhabi DGE alignment — continuous compliance with emirate-level digital governance mandates.
COBIT 2019ISO/IEC 42001ISO 27001ISO 20000TMMi Level 3Enterprise Risk ManagementAI GovernanceDGE Digital GovernanceITSMDevOps Governance
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Career
Timeline
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Work
Experience
Digital Governance & Compliance Project Manager
Abu Dhabi Department of Education & Knowledge (ADEK) · Jan 2019 — Present · Abu Dhabi, UAE
Governance & frameworks
- Led enterprise-wide governance transformation through COBIT 2019 — governance structures, performance management, control objectives and accountability models across IT.
- Re-established and lead the Technology Governance, Risk & Compliance function across IT: strategy, ERM, audit coordination, policy governance, compliance monitoring and assurance.
- Primary governance authority across IT — standards implementation, compliance oversight and executive reporting.
- Led governance alignment with Abu Dhabi regulators (DGE), ensuring continuous compliance with emirate-level digital governance mandates.
- Established governance-driven KPI frameworks giving executives visibility into compliance posture, risk exposure, service performance and strategic objectives.
Risk, audit & compliance
- ~74% → 100% compliance security maturity score within two quarters, repositioning ADEK as a high-compliance, audit-ready organization.
- Accountable for compliance posture, sustaining >90% audit compliance across internal, external and regulatory assessments.
- Reduced audit preparation effort and evidence-collection timelines through centralized governance, risk and assurance tracking.
- Defined and enforced the enterprise risk management framework, enabling structured risk visibility and executive decision support.
- Implemented an automated risk-monitoring model, reducing unmanaged risks and improving response time to critical exposures.
AI governance & quality
- Led the establishment of AI governance aligned with ISO/IEC 42001 — principles, accountability, risk practices, compliance controls and regulatory readiness for responsible AI adoption.
- Directed ADEK's testing-maturity transformation — testing governance, process standardization, quality controls and metrics — leading to TMMi Level 3 certification.
- Governed enterprise-wide technology governance, risk, compliance, QA and audit activities supporting mission-critical services.
Delivery & vendors
- Integrated governance into DevOps and Agile delivery, eliminating compliance gaps and ensuring fully auditable release cycles within <2 years.
- Governed a multi-million AED RFP lifecycle — scope definition, compliance controls and SLA structuring — reducing financial exposure and vendor risk.
Senior Quality Assurance Officer / Acting CISO
Abu Dhabi Department of Education & Knowledge (ADEK) · Jul 2012 — Jan 2019 · Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Served as Acting Chief Information Security Officer — strategic oversight of cybersecurity governance, security operations, risk, compliance, policy enforcement and executive security reporting.
- Established enterprise IT governance, QA and security frameworks aligned to ISO 27001 and ISO 20000, improving regulatory compliance by ~70%.
- Built QA and GRC functions from inception, achieving a >90% defect detection rate and significantly reducing production risk.
- Integrated governance across PMO, ITSM and operations for consistent control enforcement across the lifecycle.
- Leveraged the QA foundation to establish measurable governance controls linking quality, risk and compliance outcomes.
- Implemented governance-driven performance metrics enabling executive-level monitoring and decision-making.
- Reduced budget variance by ~5% through governance-controlled QA and risk optimization.
- Strengthened governance alignment across IT and business functions, improving compliance adoption.
Earlier Career
Quality engineering foundations · 2005 — 2012 · UAE & Jordan
- Senior QA EngineerQP, Dubai
- QA LeaderFohmics, Abu Dhabi
- Quality EngineerMohd. Almakhawi, Dubai
- QA TesterTaeppa, Jordan
Built foundational expertise in quality engineering, system validation, quality and process assurance and controlled delivery practices — later leveraged to establish enterprise governance, risk and compliance capabilities.
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Capabilities
Governance
Risk & assurance
Quality & performance
Frameworks & standards in practice
COBIT 2019Enterprise governance of ITTrained
ISO/IEC 42001AI management systems
ISO 27001Information security
ISO 20000IT service management
TMMi L3Test maturity
DGEAbu Dhabi digital mandates
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Certifications,
Training
& Education
Certifications 15
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OCEG GRC certification suiteOCEG · 9 certifications
- GRCP
- ITGRC
- GRC
- GRCA
- IAIP
- IRMP
- IAAP
- IDPP
- IPMP
- AI Corporate Governance ProfessionalCorporate Governance Institute
- Data Protection Officer (DPO)PECB
- Lead & Internal AuditorTÜV Nord
- Cybersecurity Mitigation StrategistHarvard University · MicroMasters
- Certified Scrum MasterAgile delivery
- CTFL — Certified Tester Foundation LevelISTQB
Certified training 3
- COBIT 2019Certified training
- CRISCISACA · Certified training
- Measurement & Metrics for ManagementSQE / TechWell · Boston, USA
Education
BSc Computer Information Systems
Applied Science Private University (ASU) · Amman, Jordan
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