Zechariah Akinpelu

Zechariah Akinpelu has held various prominent roles in the field of information security. Currently, they serve as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Unity Bank Plc. Zechariah is also an Official Member of the Forbes Technology Council and an Executive Member of the CyberEdBoard Community. In the past, they worked as a Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Confidential Fintech and was the Co-Founder and CTO of CelsusBit Nigeria Limited. Additionally, Zechariah has contributed to the ISACA organization as a CISM Item Writer and as a Member of the CDPSE Certification Working Group. Zechariah has also worked as an Adjunct Faculty at Willis College. In their previous positions, Zechariah served as the Manager of Information Security Engineering at FirstBank Nigeria and as the Head of Information Security at Interswitch Group, where they oversaw cybersecurity and ensured compliance with various regulations. Prior to that, they worked as a Security Researcher & Penetration Tester at Strategic Security, where they conducted penetration testing and contributed to the development of courseware in the field of information security.

Zechariah Akinpelu has a diverse education history with a focus on business administration, cybersecurity, and information security. In 2003, they obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Physics from the University of Ibadan. Zechariah later pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Business Administration and Management from Business School Netherlands, which they completed in the years 2013-2015. Zechariah furthered their education in cybersecurity, completing a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Cybersecurity from EC-Council University between 2021 and 2022. Zechariah also received a Graduate Certificate in Information Security Professional from the same university during the same period. In 2022, Zechariah attended MIT Sloan School of Management and completed the "Cybersecurity for Managers: A Playbook" program. Zechariah also has additional certifications in various fields, such as Microsoft Azure, DevOps, SAFe Agile, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Zechariah is currently pursuing a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Executive Program at Carnegie Mellon University, which is scheduled for completion in 2024.