Rizwan Mahmood

Rizwan Mahmood is the Founder and CEO of GuardWare, a data-centric security company founded on deep expertise in data governance, data sovereignty, and risk management in high-assurance environments. With over 21 years in cyber security research, engineering, and commercialisation, Rizwan has worked extensively at the intersection of data governance, encryption, and regulatory compliance, helping organisations protect sensitive information across their entire lifecycle.

Rizwan was selected to design and deliver data security and governance workshops for Defence and its suppliers under a national Defence-funded program, advising primes and SMEs on governance, data ownership, supply-chain risk, and protecting sensitive data. It was this first-hand exposure to systemic data governance gaps, particularly in unstructured data, intellectual property, and supply-chain environments, that led Rizwan to found GuardWare.