The Squad Group, a pure player in cybersecurity and France's third-largest cyber force, announces the creation of the position of Chief AI Officer (CAIO). This strategic responsibility has been entrusted to Omer Shala, who will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Squad Cybersolutions (formerly Newlode).
This decision reflects a clear direction: to make artificial intelligence a key driver of value creation for customers and a key factor in the Group's long-term differentiation.
AI as a factor in strategic superiority
In a world where threats are becoming increasingly automated and architectures are growing exponentially more complex, performance no longer depends solely on the quality of the devices deployed. It depends on the ability to interpret, arbitrate, and decide faster and more accurately than the adversary.
But the threat is no longer limited to external attacks. It also lies in the uses of artificial intelligence itself: unregulated deployments, insufficiently controlled models, unintentional exposure of sensitive data, poorly assessed technological dependencies. AI opens up considerable opportunities but also introduces new blind spots.
Strategic superiority is therefore not just about defending against offensive AI. It involves securing, governing, and controlling AI within organizations themselves.
Although AI has been integrated into Squad's teams and operational systems for several years, the creation of the position of Chief AI Officer marks an important milestone. It will enable the Group to structure its AI strategy, give it strategic depth, and make it a lasting pillar of Squad's model of excellence.
Structure offers natively enhanced by AI
Beyond existing uses, Squad is embarking on a new phase: structuring cross-functional offerings, deployed across the Group and incorporating artificial intelligence from the outset.
This approach aims to move beyond a logic of juxtaposed specialties to build coherent, packaged, and industrialized proposals, where AI is thought of as a structuring component, not a technological add-on.
These offerings demonstrate the Squad Group's ability to combine its expertise, standardize its intervention standards, and offer methodological frameworks that natively integrate predictive analytics, reasoned automation, and intelligent orchestration of security systems.
Bringing forth a new generation of experts
The real transformation is not technological. It is human.
Squad is thus fostering the emergence of"Next Gen Consultants": augmented experts capable of articulating strategic vision, in-depth understanding of AI models, and operational mastery of complex environments.
This evolution is based on the recruitment of new profiles, but above all on the gradual transformation of existing talent. The Group is rolling out and expanding an ambitious AI training plan designed to strengthen understanding of models, master their uses, secure their limits, and integrate these capabilities into everyday expertise practices.
This model redefines the very nature of the value delivered to customers, focusing less on the tool and more on intelligent orchestration, scenario anticipation, and the production of measurable impact.
In a tight talent market, this ability to increase and transform human capital also constitutes a structural competitive advantage and a strategic asset for the Group's long-term sustainability.
A consolidated position with major accounts and partners
By establishing dedicated AI governance, Squad is sending a clear signal to the market.
The Group confirms its ability to support large companies and public institutions in implementing more predictive, industrialized, and strategic cybersecurity.
To its publishing partners, it demonstrates its commitment to integrating AI into a demanding co-construction approach at the highest level.
This choice reinforces the consistency of Squad's premium positioning and consolidates its growth trajectory in a sector undergoing profound change.
A strategic mission entrusted to a recognized leader
The choice of Omer Shala is part of this long-term ambition.
An experienced entrepreneur and executive, he led the development of Newlode—now Squad Cybersolutions—until its integration into the Squad Group in January 2024.
His experience at the intersection of strategy, operations, and technological innovation makes him the most legitimate person to structure this new phase.
Omer Shala states:
"Artificial intelligence is not an incremental evolution in cybersecurity. It redefines the balance. It simultaneously transforms uses, offensive capabilities, defense methods, and organizations' expectations. Our responsibility is to make it a source of strength for the Group and a lever controlled by our customers."
Marc Brua, CEO and co-founder of the Squad Group, adds:
"Artificial intelligence is a strategic turning point for our industry. By creating the role of Chief AI Officer, we are making a fundamental choice for the future of the Group: to embed this transformation in our governance and our expertise model."
With the creation of the position of Chief AI Officer, the Squad Group is affirming a clear vision: to make artificial intelligence a catalyst for excellence, foresight, and sustainable competitiveness, serving its customers and its trajectory.
About the Squad Group
Squad is a pure player in cybersecurity and one of France's leading cyber forces. Against a backdrop of intensifying threats and increased regulatory pressure, the Group supports large companies and public institutions in the sustainable management of their cyber risk.
From governance to operational resilience, from continuous reduction of the attack surface to securing identities with Zero Trust, from cloud protection to modern AI-enhanced SOCs, Squad designs, integrates, and operates robust, sovereign architectures tailored to the most sensitive environments.
With more than 1,000 experts spread across 14 agencies in France, Switzerland, Spain, and Canada, Squad combines technical excellence, proximity, and large-scale deployment capabilities. In 2026, the Group will recruit 300 new talents to support its growth trajectory.
Press contacts
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