Olufemi (Joshua) Ajala

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2026.

Olufemi (Joshua) Ajala is a cybersecurity and technology leader with over 12 years of experience across security, compliance, risk and digital transformation. His background spans cyber governance, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, AI security, resilience and strategic advisory, with experience supporting organisations across multiple sectors.

Joshua is passionate about helping businesses adopt technology in a way that is secure, responsible and commercially effective, with a leadership style centred on clarity, trust and practical delivery.

What's the most exciting part of your current role?

The opportunity to lead at the intersection of technology, security and transformation, and to turn that into real organisational value. I work across cybersecurity, governance, risk, and digital change, helping ensure that innovation is not only ambitious but also secure, resilient, and responsible.

What energises me most is solving complex challenges that span the board, business, and technical levels. That could mean strengthening security posture, embedding governance frameworks, supporting compliance, improving resilience, or helping teams adopt emerging technologies such as AI in a way that is practical and trusted. I enjoy translating complexity into clear direction, aligning stakeholders around a common goal, and creating measurable, sustainable outcomes.

For me, IT leadership is not just about managing technology; it is about enabling confidence, protecting opportunity and shaping the future of the organisation. The pace of change in today's environment makes that responsibility both demanding and deeply rewarding. Knowing that my role helps organisations innovate with confidence, respond to risk intelligently and build long-term resilience is what makes it exciting. That combination of strategic influence, delivery and impact is what drives me every day.

What do you do in week one of a new project to avoid pain in month six?

I focus on creating clarity, alignment, and control because most problems that surface in month six result from assumptions made in month one. I start by ensuring the project's purpose is clearly understood: what success looks like, what the priorities are, what risks already exist, and where early decisions need to be made.

I then bring the right stakeholders together to agree on the scope, roles, governance, timelines and dependencies. I want everyone to be clear on who owns what, how progress will be tracked, how issues will be escalated, and what "done" really means.

At the same time, I look closely at delivery risks, security, compliance, resource constraints, and any technical debt that could create problems later if left unaddressed.

Just as importantly, I establish honest communication from the outset. I would rather surface uncomfortable truths early than allow avoidable issues to grow quietly in the background. In my experience, pain in month six usually comes from poor alignment, weak governance or delayed decisions, so week one is about building the foundations that prevent drift, confusion and rework later.

What’s the part of your estate you most want to simplify in 2026?

The sprawl of duplicated tools, fragmented reporting, and manual processes that sit between technology operations, cybersecurity, and decision-making. In many organisations, the real challenge is not one ageing platform; it is the cumulative effect of complexity built up over time. Overlapping technologies, inconsistent controls, disconnected data and unclear ownership create friction, slow delivery, and make risk harder to see and manage.

My priority in 2026 would be to remove duplicate tooling, simplify reporting lines, and reduce manual processes that slow decision-making and weaken resilience. I would focus on creating a more integrated, better-governed estate in which leaders have a single, trusted view of performance, risk, and operational priorities. That means clearer accountability, stronger integration between systems, and less noise between issue identification and action.

For me, simplification is not just about efficiency or cost reduction; it is about creating an estate that is easier to secure, govern, and scale. In 2026, the organisations that will lead with confidence will be those that remove friction, improve visibility, and build technology estates that are leaner, clearer, and fully aligned with business outcomes.

Excluding smartphones, what piece of technology could you not live without and why?

An AI agent, because it has become an essential extension of how I work, think and lead. It helps me absorb information faster, challenge assumptions, accelerate research, sharpen communication and move more quickly from complexity to clarity. In a role that spans strategy, security, governance, and transformation, the ability to cut through the noise and improve the quality of decision-making is invaluable.

What makes it indispensable is that it is not simply a productivity tool; it is a force multiplier. Used well, an AI agent does not replace judgment, experience or leadership. It strengthens them by helping them identify patterns, structure their thinking, and free up time for higher-value decisions.

For me, that is what modern technology leadership should be about: using intelligent tools not just to do more, but to think better, act faster and lead with greater insight, focus and confidence.

What excites you most about the future of IT?

That it is no longer simply supporting the business; it is increasingly shaping the business. IT now sits at the centre of innovation, resilience, trust, and competitive advantage, making this one of the most important and exciting periods in its evolution. What is especially compelling is the convergence of AI, automation, cybersecurity, data, and cloud, and the way these capabilities are transforming how organisations operate, make decisions, and deliver value.

We are moving into a future where technology will not just improve efficiency but actively enhance human capability, strengthen resilience, and enable organisations to respond to change with far greater speed and intelligence. For me, the future of IT is exciting because it calls for a different kind of leadership. It is no longer enough to manage systems or deliver projects in isolation.

The real opportunity is to shape responsible innovation, build secure and adaptable foundations, and ensure technology is trusted as well as transformative. That is what makes the future so compelling: the chance to lead organisations that are not only more digital, but also more intelligent, more resilient and better prepared for whatever comes next.

What talent are you quietly proud of that would never show up on LinkedIn?

The ability to stay calm and create clarity when things become complicated, pressured or uncertain. In most leadership roles, the visible part is often the strategy, the delivery or the outcome. The less visible part, but often the more important one, is helping people think clearly when the pressure is on.

I have always taken pride in being able to absorb complexity, cut through noise and bring people back to what really matters. Sometimes that means reframing a problem more simply. Sometimes it means asking the one question that shifts the conversation. Sometimes it is simply about steadying the room so that better decisions can be made.

It is not a skill that is easy to quantify, nor is it something people usually list as an achievement, but it has real value. It helps teams stay focused, reduces friction and creates momentum when situations could easily stall.

For me, that ability to bring calm, perspective and direction in difficult moments is something I am genuinely proud of, even if it is the kind of strength that mostly sits behind the scenes.