Welcome to Season 5 of the Cyber Security District Podcast, where we explore the minds shaping the future of cybersecurity and innovation in Europe. In this episode, our host Laurens Jagt sits down with Mahdi Abdulrazak, a cybersecurity leader, investor, and now founder of Dawnguard, a new company redefining what it means to build security into systems from day zero.
Mahdi’s story is anything but ordinary. From a refugee background to becoming CISO of SHV Energy, leading a team of over 100 professionals, and investing in some of Europe’s most promising cybersecurity startups, Mahdi’s journey is driven by resilience, vision, and a belief that people matter more than products.
Meet Mahdi Abdulrazak
Mahdi Abdulrazak’s journey defies convention. Growing up in a war-torn region, he worked 23 different jobs before the age of 12, later arriving in the Netherlands as a refugee. His curiosity for technology led him into ethical hacking, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
By his twenties, he had built a pioneering IoT platform ahead of its time. Later, as CISO at SHV Energy, he led one of the largest cybersecurity teams in Europe. Along the way, he began investing in early-stage cybersecurity startups such as Hadrian and Workwize, supporting founders who shared his values of curiosity and purpose.
Today, Mahdi has launched Dawnguard, a company that combines artificial intelligence and automation to make security-by-design the standard rather than the exception.
“After years of seeing reactive cybersecurity slow innovation, I wanted to fix the problem from the ground up. Dawnguard is about building secure systems from day zero, not patching them later.”
Building Dawnguard
Mahdi founded Dawnguard to address one of the industry’s most persistent challenges, that security is often an afterthought. His goal is to shift the paradigm from reactive defense to proactive design.
“We want to redefine what it means to build securely, from day 0 to day 10,000. Security-by-design should be the default, not a luxury.”
The company operates at the intersection of AI, automation, and cybersecurity, helping teams design, collaborate, and validate secure architectures with confidence. Since its founding, Dawnguard has grown rapidly, attracting attention from investors and security professionals eager to rethink how systems are built and maintained.
Mahdi’s Investment Philosophy
As a long-time angel investor, Mahdi has a clear investment philosophy, he backs people, not just products.
“I don’t invest in tools. I invest in founders, people who can adapt, think critically, and stay curious. A great founder will always find the right product.”
He believes that the cybersecurity ecosystem has become overcrowded with tools solving small, disconnected problems. The next wave of innovation, he argues, will come from visionary founders who think holistically about security, automation, and business outcomes.
This philosophy has guided his investments in companies like Hadrian, Workwize, and now Dawnguard itself, all ventures that prioritise strong leadership, adaptability, and purpose-driven execution.
Lessons in Leadership and Resilience
Mahdi’s story is also one of persistence and reinvention. From learning English as a teenager to leading multinational teams, he embodies what it means to grow through challenge.
“Resilience isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build, one problem, one failure, one decision at a time.”
He emphasizes that true leadership in cybersecurity requires self-awareness and empathy. Technical excellence is essential, but so is the ability to connect with people and inspire them to care about security.
“Cybersecurity isn’t just about systems, it’s about people. You can have the best tools in the world, but if your people don’t believe in the mission, it won’t work.”
The Future of AI and Cybersecurity
Mahdi also shared his thoughts on agentic AI, autonomous systems capable of learning, adapting, and making complex security decisions in real time. He envisions a near future where AI acts not as a replacement for human intelligence, but as its amplifier.
“AI will change everything, from how we detect threats to how we design defenses. But it must be explainable, ethical, and secure.”
At Dawnguard, this philosophy underpins every design choice. Their platform uses AI to enhance human capability, not replace it, ensuring that automation serves as a trusted co-pilot for security teams, not a black box.
Looking Ahead
Mahdi Abdulrazak’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and relentless curiosity. Whether you’re a security analyst, CISO, or aspiring founder, his journey offers a blueprint for building both secure systems and meaningful careers.
With Dawnguard, Mahdi is proving that the next era of cybersecurity won’t just be about better tools, it will be about building smarter, safer systems from the very beginning.
Learn more about Dawnguard
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