Meet our global team

WHY COGNISYS?

About us

Cognisys are your trusted security and compliance partner offering GRC consulting, CREST-accredited penetration testing and our industry-leading vulnerability management service, SmartScan. As one of Vanta’s leading global partners, we’ve helped hundreds of business accelerate their journey to achieving their compliance goals including achieving SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

Our Leeds-based cyber security team in the office ready to assist clients

Our team

Directors

Steve Spence, CEO of Cognisys

Steve Spence

CEO

35-year industry veteran, an early adopter of new technology and a successful serial business developer. Steve’s engineering background and sound commercial awareness have delivered advanced technology solutions that positively impact hundreds of organisations.

Steve set up Cognisys to improve the security posture of every one of its customers, using the Infosecurity talents of some of the industry’s best and brightest technical minds.

Arjun Pednekar, Technical Director, Cognisys

Arjun Pednekar

Technical Director

With a robust information security consulting experience of more than 18 years, Arjun has all the leadership and technical hands-on requirements covered. Additionally, he is a CREST Fellowship award winner, holding the prestigious CREST CCT Certification for nine years.

Arjun has experience in various Internet technologies, network products, mobile applications and ethical hacking techniques. His cyber advisory expertise has helped clients to establish and improve secure online practices.

Arjun has created internal automated tools to generate more innovative reports. Moreover, he led the development team for the game-changing SmartView platform.

Arjun has extensive experience in Network, Application, and Compliance testing (ITHC, PCI ASV, GDPR, GCSx, PSN, COCO), Web Application / Web Services / API testing, including assessing mobile applications for Apple iOS-, Blackberry- and Android-based devices.

Steve Byrom, COO of Cognisys

Steve Byrom

COO

With over 12 years of experience, Steve has driven Cognisys’ growth through pioneering compliance initiatives and building influential partnerships that solidify its position as an industry leader. Steve is a certified ISO 27001 ISMS Lead Auditor with a strong foundation across standards, including ISO 27701, SOC 2, IASME Cyber Essentials, and more.

He has also led some of the first ISO 42001 implementations and certifications worldwide. As the architect of Cognisys’ relationship with Vanta, Steve has positioned Cognisys as Vanta’s Number 1 Global Service Partner, backed by the industry’s largest dedicated Vanta GRC consulting team.

Technical

Zak Clifford, Senior Computer Security Consultant of Cognisys

Zak Clifford
Senior Computer Security Consultant

Ben Reilly Senior Security Consultant, of Cognisys

Ben Reilly
Senior Security Consultant

Pratik Khalane, Senior Security Consultant of Cognisys

Pratik Khalane
Senior Security Consultant

Rajveer Parmar, Application Security Consultant of Cognisys

Rajveersinh Parmar
Application Security Consultant

Punit Sharma, Application Security Consultant for Cognisys

Punit Sharma
Application Security Consultant

Sunand Mohan, Security Consultant at Cognisys

Sunand Mohan
Security Consultant

Lakshya Dutt, Security Consultant of Cognisys

Lakshya Dutt
Security Consultant

Soham Bakore, Cyber Security Analyst of Cognisys

Soham Bakore
Security Consultant

Karan Luniyal, Security Consultant of Cognisys

Karan Luniyal
Security Consultant

Akshay Dandekar, Security Consultant for Cognisys

Akshay Dandekar
Security Consultant

Manoj Korekka, Senior Cyber Security Analyst of Cognisys

Manoj Korekka
Senior Cyber Security Analyst

Chahat Mundra, Cyber Security Analyst of Cognisys

Chahat Mundra
Cyber Security Analyst

GRC

Mark Belgrove, Consulting Chief Security Officer (CISO)

Mark Belgrove
Global Head of CISO Services

Joe Thomas, Head of Information Security of Cognisys

Joe Thomas
Head of Information Security

Sunshine Arcilla, CPA of Cognisys

Sunshine Arcilla
GRC Lead (NAMER)

Ben Miller, Senior GRC Consultant of Cognisys

Ben Miller
Senior GRC Consultant

Snehil Shrivastava, GRC Consultant for Cognisys

Snehil Shrivastava
GRC Consultant

Sara Whitmore, Junior GRC Consultant of Cognisys

Sara Whitmore
Junior GRC Consultant

Titouan Dousset, Security Compliance Analyst of Cognisys

Titouan Dousset
Security Compliance Analyst

Bradley Milburn, Junior Security Compliance Analyst of Cognisys

Bradley Milburn
DTA Team Lead

Orlando Nuqui, GRC Analyst of Cognisys

Orlando Nuqui
GRC Analyst

Linu Chacko, Junior Security Compliance Analyst of Cognisys

Linu Chacko
Junior Security Compliance Analyst

Achu Joseph, Junior Compliance Analyst of Cognisys

Achu Joseph
Junior Security Compliance Analyst

Luke Palethorpe, Junior Compliance Analyst of Cognisys

Luke Palethorpe
Junior Security Compliance Analyst

Ariela Rodrigues, GRC Project Manager of Cognisys

Ariela Rodrigues
GRC Project Manager

Alice Elvin, GRC Project Manager of Cognisys

Alice Elvin
GRC Project Manager

Maria Torrealba, GRC Project Manager of Cognisys

Maria Torrealba
GRC Project Manager

Sarah Brady, Junior GRC Project Manager of Cognisys

Sarah Brady
Junior GRC Project Manager

Charlotte Critchon, Penetration Testing Project Manager of Cognisys

Charlotte Bridge
Operational Project Manager

Harry Savage, Junior Penetration Testing Project Manager for Cognisys

Harry Savage
Junior Penetration Testing Project Manager

Internal Support

Molly McCauley, Internal Support Manager of Cognisys

Molly McCauley
HR Co-ordinator

Dominic Fletcher, Talent Acquisition Manager of Cognisys

Dominic Fletcher
Talent Acquisition Manager

Finance

Sahira Hussain, Finance Manager of Cognisys

Sahira Hussain
Finance Manager

Usman Tariq, Finance Assistant at Cognisys

Usman Tariq
Finance Assistant

Sales

Gerry McKendry, Account Executive of Cognisys

Gerry McKendry
Sales Team Leader

Henry Barker, Senior Account Manager of Cognisys

Henry Barker
Senior Account Executive

Jordan Cummins, Account Executive of Cognisys

Jordan Cummins
Senior Account Executive

Adam Atkinson, Senior Account Executive of Cognisys

Adam Atkinson
Senior Account Executive

Jess Bhard, Account Executive of Cognisys

Jess Bhard
Account Executive

Josh Barnes, Account Executive of Cognisys

Josh Barnes
Account Executive

David Shelley, Account Executive of Cognisys

David Shelley
Account Executive

Emmett Jones, Account Executive of Cognisys

Emmett Jones
Senior Account Manager (NAMER)

Client Care

Jay Maguire, Client Care Manager of Cognisys

Jay Maguire
Client Care Manager

Naomi Horton, Client Care Specialist of Cognisys

Naomi Horton
Client Care Specialist

Michael Murphy, Client Care Specialist of Cognisys

Michael Murphy
Client Care Specialist

Marketing

Hannah Wilkinson, Marketing Manager of Cognisys

Hannah Wilkinson
Marketing Manager

Bradley Lightfoot, Digital Marketing Specialist of Cognisys

Bradley Lightfoot
Digital Marketing Specialist

Learn more about our team members

Hear from the Cognisys team

“I’ve been with Cognisys for pretty much 4 years now, and it’s been a wild ride. Being part of the testing team has its challenges, but here at Cognisys, you have the opportunity to take the lead on new services and even think of new service offerings, as long as the client is at the heart of it, then that’s all that matters. Peace out!”

Zak Clifford, Senior Computer Security Consultant of Cognisys

Zak Clifford

Senior Computer Security Consultant

“I’ve been with the Cognisys for nearly 3 years as a Project Manager, and it’s been an incredible journey. The collaborative team environment, coupled with endless opportunities to learn and grow in the field of cyber security, has made every challenge both rewarding and fulfilling”

Ariela Rodrigues, GRC Project Manager of Cognisys

Ariela Rodrigues

GRC Project Manager

WE’RE HIRING

Join our growing team!

Take a look at our current career vacancies and let’s have a chat.

Leeds cyber security team

Let’s make things happen

Fill in the form and one of our team will be in touch for a no-obligation discussion or quote regarding your requirements.

info@cognisys.co.uk
Leeds office

5 Park Place
Leeds
LS1 2RU

info@cognisys.co.uk
London office

131 Finsbury Pavement
London
EC2A 1NT

CONTACT OUR TEAM