True influence is always transformational. In his role at Bahwan CyberTek (BCT), Jiten Sil has focused on scaling proprietary IP and IT solutions across the MEA region, a journey that has positioned him among the region’s influential business leaders. In that upward journey to the top, challenges are inevitable.
Adapting a standardized, data-intensive IP solution to the divergent regulatory, cultural, and digital maturity levels of the MEA market is an uphill task. Jiten, too, agrees that the hardest part of being a leader is finding the right balance between scale and relevance in a region that is very diverse.
Regulations, cultural norms, and digital maturity are very different in the MEA markets. A single IP approach doesn’t work, but too much customization makes it harder to scale. The job of leaders is to build platforms that are flexible by design and have a standard core.
Product Engineering Philosophy at the Heart
Jiten shares further that their product engineering philosophy is at the heart of this balance at Bahwan CyberTek (BCT). “We change our unique IP to keep up with market needs while keeping our size.” The platforms have open architectures and API-driven frameworks, so clients can add, integrate, and localize features without affecting the core system’s integrity.
From a leadership point of view, this means that the engineering, regional sales, and delivery teams must all work closely together and get regular feedback from customers and regulators. The real problem isn’t technology; it’s synergy. “We keep our IP relevant and strong across the MEA region by making sure that innovation, compliance, and commercial scalability all move in the same direction.”
Becoming Value Co-creators
BCT emphasizes moving relationships from transactional vendor status to ‘value co-creation,’ which, according to Jiten, starts by agreeing with the C-suite’s vision, not by questioning their contracting models right away.
In the Middle East, fixed-scope contracts give people peace of mind and control. Leaders must first earn the right to advise before they can move toward shared-risk models. I work closely with C-level stakeholders to learn about their business goals, pressures, and risk tolerance. Then I make sure that our strengths are aligned across large enterprise environments so that we can get quick wins and long-term returns in experience and ROI.
These early victories are very important. They show that they can be trusted, make people feel less risky, and build momentum. When we take on an advisory role, executive teams are much more willing to work together, even when it comes to dealing with internal problems like resistance to change, complicated governance, and the risk of transformation.
After that, value co-creation becomes a natural progression instead of a big jump in the contract. The relationship changes from one where each side is only interested in short-term results to one where both sides own the outcomes and are focused on long-term success.
Playing to the Strengths
Digital transformation often requires balancing the business demand for immediate, visible, quick wins with the need for slow, structural overhaul of core enterprise systems. To achieve this, Jiten has developed a personal leadership framework for managing this paradox, ensuring momentum without compromising the foundational integrity of the digital transformation strategy. “I like to focus on playing in industries and areas where we are strong, and I like to keep some IT ecosystems as ‘leave and layer’ instead of ‘rip and replace,’ he adds. It’s important to put the benefits in the right order over time, “and we work backwards from our delivery to make sure we’re always on track to meet the most important goals,” he continues.
This method has helped some of their clients in the energy, logistics, and government sectors get a head start on operations, automate important workflows, and make planning and decision-making easier while Jiten and his management team continue to modernize their systems more deeply. It lets leadership teams see real changes early on without putting the long-term stability and integrity of their core business systems at risk, states Jiten.
Resilience Matters the Most
Responsible for identifying and developing transformation leaders across the MEA region, Jiten shares that resilience is one of the most unconventional, non-technical skills he prioritizes when hiring or mentoring a VP-level leader today, and which he believes will be the most critical for driving successful digital transformation in 2026. Again, he says, “We value resilience in action over resilience in theory as the most important non-technical skill.” Digital transformation on a large scale in the MEA region is not always straightforward. Changes in regulations, the way stakeholders interact, and the difficulty of carrying out plans will all cause problems for leaders. It’s not important to avoid failure; what’s important is how leaders deal with it. Jiten really believes in working with his teams on the ground, letting them feel real pressure, make choices, and yes, fail sometimes.
Those times are important for growth. They teach leaders that success in change isn’t about doing everything perfectly; it’s about getting back up quickly, changing, and moving forward with confidence. “We actively look for leaders who are willing to take smart risks, stay ahead of the game, and keep things moving even when things are unclear,” he adds.
In 2026, leaders who are clear and bold enough to keep learning and leading through complicated AI-enabled IT pathways will be rewarded, says Jiten further. They won’t wait for certainty that is rarely available at the enterprise level.
Turning Insights into Action
BCT specializes in predictive analytics. When asked how he is leading innovations to move the application of AI and predictive models beyond simple cost reduction and efficiency gains, to actually define entirely new revenue streams or business models for his clients in capital-intensive sectors like oil & gas or banking, Jiten’s response is honest. He says that predictive analytics is only useful when it turns insights into actions. Predictability naturally leads to lower costs and higher efficiency. “However, we focus on using AI to help businesses make better, faster, and more confident decisions that lead to new ways to make money.” In industries that need a lot of money, like banking and oil and gas, the real problem isn’t a lack of data; it’s that leaders can’t see the whole picture because their systems are broken up and not working together.
Jiten informs that they use mature AI models that were built by people in the industry from the ground up for certain fields. “We first connect systems that are currently isolated, set up clean and useful data foundations, and then use predictive models that are directly related to business decisions.” RT360 in banking and FuelTrans in oil and gas are examples of platforms that help businesses predict demand, manage risk, make the most of their assets, and find new ways to make money.
This means that leaders need to change the way they talk about AI from saving money on operations to giving them a strategic advantage. Predictive intelligence should be a driver of new business models, not just a way to make things more efficient.
Cybersecurity as the Basis for Change
As digital transformation integrates physical and digital assets like IoT in ports/logistics, the cyberattack surface explodes. That is why Jiten says that today, cybersecurity can’t be an afterthought when physical and digital assets come together. It must be the basis for change.
“We see security and data governance as things that help us grow, not as things that make us riskier.” When IoT, operational technology, and enterprise systems work together, the biggest weakness is broken governance. That’s why he says they base their transformation programs on a strong, industry-proven GRC framework for governance, risk, and compliance that is tightly linked to the cybersecurity layer.
By putting this framework in place early on throughout the business, companies become more resilient, lower their risks, and feel more confident about updating their most important systems. Jiten works with groups to make sure that security choices are directly related to business continuity, regulatory compliance, and operational trust.
When governance and cybersecurity are seen as non-negotiable requirements, businesses can innovate in a responsible way and grow their digital projects with confidence instead of caution, he insists.
Ethical Accountability in the Age of Gen AI
Moreover, Jiten says that moving from a novelty to a strategic asset, “Generative AI is already embedded into our thinking, not treated as a future add-on.”
At BCT, the goal for the next three years is to systematically integrate Gen AI into its core IP and client offerings where speed and accuracy of decisions are most important, especially in areas like compliance and logistics. Jiten informs that they have already added AI features to their platforms. The next step is to make decision support even more automated while still keeping people in the loop.
They focus on use cases where Gen AI can understand complicated data patterns, point out risks, and suggest actions, not take over responsibility. This means that compliance will be able to find anomalies and understand regulations more quickly. In logistics, it makes it possible to plan ahead and optimize systems that are connected to each other in real time.
Strong data governance, explainable AI models, and role-based controls make sure that people are held accountable for their actions. “We make systems that let people see, check, and change decisions,” says Jiten, adding that Gen AI needs to gain trust, and the only way to do that is to build in transparency, governance, and accountability from the start.
Changing the Way People Think
Jiten also believes that if his time in office has a lasting effect, it will be to change the way people think about digital transformation from an IT project to a journey led by culture and decisions.
There is only one layer of technology. Real change begins with how businesses deal with change, make decisions when they don’t know what to do, and set up governance structures that allow for speed without losing control. “We stress getting leaders and teams ready to deal with change, agree on how to make decisions, and develop the mindset needed to keep growing.”
Only then does updating technology on a large scale have a real effect. This method makes change more inclusive, long-lasting, and naturally local in a place as diverse as MEA. Technology can speed things up instead of slowing them down if you first deal with culture, readiness to make decisions, and resilience.
Excellent Digital Transformation Solutions
The strategic needs of a client in a mature, highly regulated Gulf economy (like Saudi Arabia or the UAE) differ greatly from those in a high-growth, infrastructure-constrained African market. As VP MEA, Jiten says a company like BCT must adjust its digital transformation solution strategy and risk appetite to lead client engagements across this vast and varied regional spectrum. He explains: One size does not fit all, that’s true. “In the Gulf markets, which are mature and tightly controlled, we put governance, compliance, and long-term resilience first. The approach is different in African economies that are growing quickly but don’t have enough infrastructure. We start with the most important business pain points, launch small, and grow quickly while keeping a good balance between old and new systems.”
The risk appetite changes as the market matures, but the goal stays the same: provide measurable value while building a base that can grow over time.
A Perfect Leadership Strategy of Team Management
The MEA market faces a chronic shortage of senior digital and AI talent. And Jiten says that because there is a shortage of specific talent in the MEA region, leaders need to be able to adapt, not just have experience. “At BCT, we keep an eye on and guide teams all the time to see how well they can learn, grow, and add value, especially as AI changes jobs at all levels.” A formal, organization-wide program makes sure that senior leaders are always learning more about AI use cases, deployment models, and ethical issues. This lets them help design solutions, not just deliver them.
“I think that a culture of constant learning and experienced leadership is the key to long-term success,” he adds. “We lower the risk of skills becoming obsolete and build teams that stay relevant by investing in self-improvement, hands-on experience, and working with people from different departments.” On a final note, Jiten also thinks that how well someone can adapt is the best sign of their long-term leadership strength.
