Mr. Gilad Ben Ziv

Gilad Ben Ziv serves as Vice President, Business Evangelist at Cognyte, a global leader in digital intelligence solutions for government and law enforcement agencies. In this role, he bridges the operational needs of national security organizations with the company’s technological capabilities, leading Cognyte’s global thought leadership initiatives. He heads an independent research function focused on emerging security challenges and operational trends affecting hundreds of intelligence, homeland security, and law enforcement organizations across more than 100 countries. Working across product, strategy, marketing, and sales organizations, Gilad helps shape customer-centric solutions while representing Cognyte at international conferences, executive forums, and strategic engagements with senior government officials and security leaders worldwide, including events hosted by the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union.

Prior to joining Cognyte, Gilad served for approximately 30 years in the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Prime Minister’s Office, retiring at a rank equivalent to Brigadier General. Throughout his career, he held a series of senior command and executive positions spanning operational, intelligence,
technological, and strategic leadership. His final position was Deputy Head of the Headquarters Division, where he was responsible for organizational force development, multi-year strategic planning, budgeting, procurement, infrastructure, regulation, workforce planning, and enterprise-wide innovation. He led major organizational transformation initiatives, established technology acceleration programs in collaboration with industry and academia, and managed large multidisciplinary teams. Previously, Gilad served as Director of the organization’s Leadership Development School, where he designed and led executive development programs for hundreds of managers while establishing strategic partnerships with Harvard University and Tel Aviv University. He also commanded operational units in Israel and overseas, leading complex intelligence and operational cooperation with more than 25 international intelligence and security agencies. During a three-year assignment in Argentina, he served as Regional Director for Security Operations across Latin America, North America, and Africa, overseeing security strategies and cooperation with government authorities, security organizations, and Jewish communities in approximately 40 countries. Gilad began his professional career as a combat officer and commander in the Israeli Defense Forces’ elite Yahalom Special Operations Engineering Unit.

Gilad specializes in operational intelligence, national security, counterterrorism, homeland security, intelligence-led operations, mission planning, organizational strategy, digital transformation, innovation, and cybersecurity.