Open to opportunities

pawan gupta

@pawangupta5

Cybersecurity services executive at Cognizant, accountable for a $155M portfolio and a managed security business with 45%+ margin.

United States

Message

At Cognizant, I’m accountable for a $155M North America cybersecurity services portfolio, with revenue, delivery performance, and margin tied to my compensation. I lead 24x7 security operations and work with client executives on renewals, escalations, and cybersecurity delivery.

Previously, I held full P&L ownership for Cognizant’s Integrated Threat Management business. I rebuilt it into a self-sustaining unit with a 45%+ profit margin—the highest in its history—and reduced delivery costs by 50% while holding SLAs.

At Verizon, I built India-based managed hosting and cloud operations from zero to 60+ staff, and helped establish 24x7 service delivery. I also supported more than 200 managed hosting clients at 99%+ availability.

I’ve led cybersecurity and service delivery across North America, EMEA, and India, including work involving NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and SOX. My background spans managed security, cloud and hosting operations, and commercial responsibility for recurring services.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Sr. Director, North America Cybersecurity Services Delivery

Current

Cognizant

Jul 2024 - Present (2 years 4 months)

Owns a $155M services and product revenue portfolio, projected to reach $180M, with accountability for service quality, SLA adherence, and client satisfaction across strategic accounts. Led executive relationships through renewal of managed cybersecurity engagements with Freddie Mac and Synchrony Financial.

Cybersecurity Managed Services Revenue Management SLA Management Customer Relationship Management BFSI Healthcare Manufacturing

Sr. Director, Cybersecurity Offerings & Ecosystem Development

Cognizant

Mar 2023 - Jul 2024 (1 year 4 months)

Formalized partner onboarding, deal registration, and joint-offering processes with major security vendors, and built internal enablement and sales collateral. Laid the foundation for the function's 2024 Zscaler Partner of the Year recognition.

Partnership Management Ecosystem Development Cybersecurity Sales Enablement Crowdstrike Palo Alto Networks GCP Security Okta Sailpoint ProofPoint Balbix IBM Zscaler

Sr. Director, Global Cybersecurity Service Delivery

Cognizant

Jun 2021 - Mar 2023 (1 year 9 months)

Held revenue accountability for the global cybersecurity services business, scaling to $200M across North America, EMEA, and India. Led the unit's largest structural change, realigning delivery to client verticals and unifying governance and SLA/KPI reporting.

Cybersecurity Service Delivery Revenue Management Vertical Alignment Governance KPI SLA Reporting

Sr. Director & Head, Integrated Threat Management & Security Operations

Cognizant

Nov 2017 - Jun 2021 (3 years 7 months)

Held full P&L ownership for a managed security services and platform business, rebuilding it into a self-sustaining unit delivering a 45%+ profit margin. Reduced total cost of delivery 50% while holding SLAs through role rationalization, offshore delivery shift, SaaS platform migration, and pricing model redesign.

P&L management Managed Security Services SaaS Migration Cost Reduction NIST CSF ISO 27001 SOX SOC Operations Threat Intelligence GRC

Head of Service Delivery – Security Operations, Managed Network & Telematics

Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Jul 2016 - Nov 2017 (1 year 4 months)

Led managed security services delivery from India for global enterprise clients across North America and Europe, unifying security, network, and telematics delivery under one governance structure. Opened a 50-seat SOC in Hyderabad, giving India MSS full Tier 1–3 operational independence.

Managed Security Services SOC Operations Network Operations Telematics Governance Team Leadership

Group Program Manager – Managed Security Services

Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Apr 2014 - Jul 2016 (2 years 3 months)

Scaled the India MSS team from 30 to 100+ and from 16x5 to 24x7 coverage within six months, establishing one of Verizon's four global SOC hubs. Built a security service desk, escalation paths, SOPs, and a workforce development model that supported rapid growth and retention.

Managed Security Services SOC Operations Team Scaling 24x7 Operations Service Desk Escalation Management Workforce Development

Senior Manager – Managed Hosting, Applications & Enterprise Cloud

Verizon Terremark

Oct 2012 - Apr 2014 (1 year 6 months)

Consolidated three siloed service lines into one tiered L1–L3 model with unified ITIL incident, problem, change, and escalation management. Integrated ticketing and built e-bonding between client portals and internal ITSM platforms, improving MTTR and SLA performance.

Managed Hosting Cloud Operations ITIL Incident Management Problem Management Change Management Escalation Management Ticketing Systems E Bonding MTTR SLA

Technical Manager – Managed Hosting & Data Center Colocation

Verizon Terremark

Apr 2010 - Oct 2012 (2 years 6 months)

Built India-based managed hosting and cloud operations from 0 to 60+ staff in six months, merging NOC and service desk into a single 24x7 function. Supported 200+ managed hosting clients at 99%+ availability, >95% SLA adherence, and >80% first-touch resolution without adding headcount.