New MD heads up Callsign expansion in the Middle East and North African identity security markets

New MD heads up Callsign expansion in the Middle East and North African identity security markets

Digital identity provider, Callsign has established an engineering and development site in Abu Dhabi. In line with the UAE’s Vision 2071 for a nation that places digital transformation at the heart of the national strategy, Callsign is building a world-class engineering facility, employing regional talent to drive innovation and growth in the digital identity industry.

The company has appointed Saeed Ahmad as managing director to lead the efforts in the MENA region. Based in Abu Dhabi, Ahmad will be responsible for operations across the region and for driving business strategy to meet customers’ digital identity solution requirements.

“We are delighted to be opening an office in Abu Dhabi and to welcome Saeed to lead our expansion across the region. The UAE, the wider Middle East and North Africa continue to be at the forefront of adopting new technologies and establishing an engineering and development site will allow us to better serve clients both globally and across the region with local talent and skills,” explained Ian Welch, chief operating officer, Callsign.

Ahmad joins Callsign from Lloyds Banking Group, where he was the Design Director across all enterprise functions including the digital bank platform, data, and machine intelligence. Prior to that, he helped set up KPMG’s Financial Services Technology Consulting division, working with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC, RBS and other global Financial Services organisations.

He led large scale digital transformations, finance and risk transformations, setup multiple banks and was a technology advisor for M&A. Ahmad also brings extensive experience in data security having worked for a security start-up and nearly 10 years at IBM Business Consulting Services.

The new offices will include business development, alongside engineering and development teams with the goal to expand quickly throughout 2021.

Founded in 2012, Callsign works across multiple sectors including banking, healthcare, and e-commerce, and has developed machine learning and artificial Intelligence techniques that utilise data from multiple sources, devices, locations, and knowledge to understand how the customer uniquely interacts every time they transact online.