Chief Operating Officer — Cybersecurity Portfolio

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model within a listed enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the cybersecurity portfolio during a platform reliability gap. For mandate 121, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Operating Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹2,300 crore in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several cybersecurity portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Operating Officer Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,000 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Operating Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the cybersecurity portfolio. The Chief Operating Officer Technology seat must resolve a platform reliability gap, while preserving the underlying strengths of the cybersecurity portfolio. For mandate 121, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Operating Officer’s first year on the cybersecurity portfolio is expected to end with delivery reliability, productivity and end-to-end accountability. In mandate 121, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The Chief Operating Officer — Cybersecurity Portfolio requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after a platform reliability gap created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the cybersecurity portfolio. Interim coverage protects essential decisions, but split ownership cannot continue through the next operating gate. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 4–6 weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Operating Officer value-creation thesis for the cybersecurity portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹2,300 crore in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Operating Officer Technology organisation of about 1,000 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the cybersecurity portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a platform reliability gap, with Chief Operating Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Operating Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the cybersecurity portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 121.
• Build the Chief Operating Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the cybersecurity portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the cybersecurity portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Operating Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the cybersecurity portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable cybersecurity portfolio trend against delivery reliability, productivity and end-to-end accountability, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Operating Officer’s agreed first-year cybersecurity portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Operating Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the cybersecurity portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Operating Officer mandate’s highest-priority cybersecurity portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical cybersecurity portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Operating Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Operating Officer-owned improvement in the cybersecurity portfolio operating constraint behind a platform reliability gap, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 121: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a COO, EVP Operations or Business Operations President in a listed Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the cybersecurity portfolio, your Chief Operating Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Operating Officer brief.

As a Chief Operating Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹1,350 crore and led an organisation of at least 1,000 people.

For mandate 121, the board wants two transitions: a difficult cybersecurity portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a platform reliability gap. As the prospective Chief Operating Officer for this cybersecurity portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 121 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Operating Officer role in Technology is based in Bengaluru; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of COO, EVP Operations or Business Operations President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven Chief Operating Officer ownership of at least ₹1,350 crore and leadership of no fewer than 1,000 employees in a comparable cybersecurity portfolio context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of operating complexity that has outgrown the current governance model with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Operating Officer-level cybersecurity portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Bengaluru location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 121.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Operating Officer package is ₹3.2–4.6 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final cybersecurity portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 121 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Operating Officer appointment in Bengaluru, centred on the cybersecurity portfolio, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 121.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 121. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 121.