Ali Hayat, CEO and Founder of Axipro – Interview Series

Ali Hayat is CEO and founder of Axipro, combining a background in industrial risk management and ISO auditing with experience in cybersecurity and compliance consulting. His early work involved high-stakes industrial environments, where safety, regulatory requirements, and operational risk were central concerns. He later built Axipro without outside investment, focusing on helping growing companies adopt practical security controls, prepare for audits, and manage emerging AI risks.

Axipro is a cybersecurity and compliance consultancy supporting organizations across frameworks including SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, and data protection requirements. Its work combines consulting, compliance automation, audit preparation, and security testing, with an emphasis on continuous monitoring and human oversight. In this interview, Hayat discusses AI-driven compliance workflows, shadow AI, autonomous agent risks, regional governance differences, and the gap between certification and cybersecurity resilience.

Your career began in high-stakes industrial environments, working on projects involving Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, and TotalEnergies, where safety, risk management, and regulatory compliance were critical. What inspired you to transition from industrial safety and auditing into cybersecurity, and what ultimately motivated you to found Axipro? I founded Axipro…