Gerrad Olisa-Ashar

Gerrad Olisa-Ashar is a senior cybersecurity executive with over 15 years of experience advising business leaders on strategic technology and risk transformation.

As Director of Strategic Growth and Partnerships at ToraGuard, he partners with senior executive leaders to build or enhance cybersecurity governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) capabilities across regulated sectors, including finance, insurance, and legal.

His focus is helping organisations align their security programs with business goals, strengthen their risk posture, and meet evolving regulatory requirements.

Gerrad brings deep expertise in leading enterprise-wide security transformations, designing and executing Security Target Operating Models, and embedding ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, U.K Government Resilience, NIS2 and DORA-aligned frameworks.

As a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Cambridge MBA, he is known for his ability to translate complex security challenges into executive-level strategies that drive measurable value.

Gerrad is also passionate about supporting Africa-focused entrepreneurship and serves, in a personal capacity, on the Board of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) – which is on a mission to drive Angel Investing in Africa.

A devoted family man, Gerrad enjoys spending his spare time on the golf course – when he is not exploring the Oxfordshire countryside with his three children and wife, Isobel.