About Khalid
Commercially minded Technology Director and Chartered Manager with over 15 years of experience architecting secure, high-performing IT landscapes for global organisations and professional services firms.
I partner with SMEs, scale-ups, and leadership teams on a fractional, interim, or project basis to bridge the gap between legacy infrastructure and AI-driven corporate profitability. I deliver executive-level technology leadership, strategy, and transformation oversight without the full-time executive overhead.
Core Areas of Expertise:
- Fractional Leadership & Strategy: Trusted advisor to CEOs; defining scalable IT roadmaps, optimising technology budgets, and aligning digital infrastructure with commercial growth ambitions.
- AI, Automation & Cloud: Leading the strategic evaluation, procurement, and seamless deployment of enterprise cloud solutions (Azure/SaaS) and AI tools (Copilot) to eliminate friction and maximise efficiency.
- Cybersecurity & Compliance: Executing robust infrastructure protections, designing Zero Trust architectures, and guiding firms through Cyber Essentials Plus and GDPR compliance readiness.
- Systems & M&A Governance: Overseeing critical CRM/ERP lifecycle integrations (Dynamics 365, Sage) and conducting technical IT due diligence for acquisitions or scaling transitions.
Why Work With Me?
Backed by an MBA and an MA in progress in Cybersecurity from King's College London, I balance high-level digital strategy with pragmatic, hands-on problem-solving to ensure your technology investments are commercially sound, automated, and completely secure.
Engagement Models: Fractional Leadership (1-4 days/month), Project-Based Delivery, or Independent IT/Security Audits.
English
Native or bilingual
Persian
Native or bilingual
Can work on-site
London (up to 50km), Reading (up to 30km)
Experience
- James Cowper Kreston (Top 50 UK Firm)IT DIRECTORApril 2023 - Today (3 years and 2 months)United KingdomRetained to transform a fragmented, legacy outsourced IT model into a unified, high-performing in-house technology department capable of supporting multi-site operational growth.• • Secured board approval for a comprehensive 'Secure, Simple, Efficient' IT vision, successfully migrating operations from a third-party MSP to an internal team, cutting annual IT costs by 12%.• • Drove the strategic initiative to purchase, evaluate, and implement enterprise AI platforms (including PETAR and Microsoft Copilot), automating over 90% of manual effort for core operational and tax processing lines.• • Directed the end-to-end strategic migration of on-premises infrastructure to Microsoft Azure and SaaS frameworks, modernising the corporate data footprint and reducing infrastructure overhead.• • Strengthened corporate security postures by deploying modern SIEM, SSO, and Zero Trust protocols, successfully achieving Cyber Essentials Plus compliance.• • Successfully delivered 100% of the firm's modernisation roadmap within 18 months, including the deployment of a new Intapp Document Management System (DMS) to enforce compliance and data integrity.• • Formulated and presented monthly technology strategies, security risk matrices, and capital expenditure business cases directly to the Management Committee.
- The NAV People (Global Software Solutions)HEAD OF ITFebruary 2020 - April 2023 (3 years and 2 months)Newbury, UKAppointed to architect a highly scalable IT infrastructure for a high-growth Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provider preparing for a high-value Private Equity transaction.• • Designed and deployed the company's first dedicated internal IT department from scratch, recruiting a multi-site team and establishing foundational endpoint security architectures via Palo Alto, Intune, and Defender.• • Managed IT infrastructure scaling to seamlessly absorb a staff expansion from 150 to 400 employees, while strategically adjusting the annual IT budget from £850k to £2.5M to fuel development.• • Played a key role on the Senior Leadership Team throughout corporate acquisitions and the final sale to Private Equity; spearheaded all IT due diligence and post-merger technical integrations.• • Designed and implemented corporate-wide compliance guardrails, including robust GDPR governance and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications, enabling secure global market expansion.
- Kyocera SGS Precision Tools Europe LtdIT MANAGERJune 2018 - February 2020 (1 year and 8 months)Wokingham, UKDirected holistic technology operations across a two-site precision manufacturing facility serving the aerospace sector.• • Supervised the complete lifecycle implementation of a new Sage 200 ERP system, managing external vendors and user change-management to capture a 20% increase in operational efficiency.• • Formulated and tested strict Disaster Recovery (DR) and backup frameworks, protecting critical aerospace manufacturing lines against unplanned downtime.
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Education
- Master of BusinessThe University of Hull2020Master of Business Administration, Executive MBA
- Level 7 Diploma, Strategic Management and LeadershipChartered Management Institute2020Level 7 Diploma, Strategic Management and Leadership