Vadivelan Sankar, widely known as Velu, is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with nearly three decades of frontline experience. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Cyberium Labs, a next-generation cybersecurity firm delivering practitioner-led risk advisory and advanced cyber defense services.
A 15-year Indian Navy veteran, Velu brings military-grade discipline, adversarial thinking and operational rigor into the corporate cybersecurity domain. He is recognized for his mission-driven, execution-first leadership style, shaped in high-risk operational environments.
At Cyberium Labs, Velu is advancing organizational cyber resilience through offensive and defensive security operations, AI-driven cyber war-gaming, ransomware simulations and cyber automation enabling enterprises to withstand increasingly sophisticated digital threats. Previously, Velu held senior leadership roles at EY, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP and Altisource Business Solutions, leading complex cybersecurity programs across India, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. His work supported critical sectors including financial services, telecom, healthcare, aviation, infrastructure and government.
His expertise spans offensive security leadership, red teaming, digital forensics, incident response and enterprise-wide security transformation, establishing him as a trusted advisor in high-stakes and regulated environments.
What distinguishes Velu is his rare combination of deep technical hands-on expertise and board-level leadership. He holds elite certifications including LPT Master, CEH Master, CHFI, ECSA, CPENT, along with 30+ advanced offensive and forensic credentials, and remains actively involved in red team operations, breach simulations, malware analysisz and compromise assessments firmly believing cybersecurity leadership must be proven in execution, not theory.
Beyond enterprise delivery, Velu contributes significantly to national cyber capability building. He supports law enforcement cybercrime investigations, serves as an EC-Council Master Trainer, trains for the DSCI-certified Ransomware Responder Program, and is an Honorary Committee Member of the National Cyber Security Research Council (NCSRC) for the Karnataka region.
Committed to community impact, Velu leads free cybersecurity workshops, hands-on training, and mentorship initiatives, focused on building an industry-ready cybersecurity workforce by translating real-world cyber operations into practical learning.
As cyber threats expand across IT, OT, IoT, cloud, and national critical infrastructure, Velu is building Cyberium Labs with a clear conviction: cybersecurity must evolve from reactive defense to proactive cyber dominance. Rooted in service and forged in adversarial environments, Velu represents a new generation of practitioner-led, boardroom-ready cybersecurity leaders redefining modern cyber leadership.
Vadivelan Sankar, widely known as Velu, is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with nearly three decades of frontline experience. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Cyberium Labs
