Laksh Raghavan

Manish can observe the ‘system’, predict its behavior and how certain actions, solutions, and policies would work, fail, or backfire in the distant future. This unique ability has been transformative for our cybersecurity strategy at PayPal.

As Director of Cybersecurity, I’m responsible for protecting one of the world’s largest financial platforms. The challenge isn’t just technical—it’s systemic. Security decisions impact user experience, business operations, compliance, and innovation. Manish helped me understand these interconnections at a deeper level.

His systems thinking approach to cybersecurity has revolutionized how we design and implement security measures. Instead of layering on more tools and processes, we now think systemically about how security integrates with and enhances our overall business objectives.

What impressed me most was Manish’s ability to predict unintended consequences of security policies before implementation. He showed us how to model the ripple effects of our decisions across the entire organization, not just within the security domain.

The workshop provided practical frameworks for analyzing complex security challenges as part of larger organizational systems. This has led to more effective security solutions that are both robust and user-friendly.

Since applying his methodologies, our security incident response times have improved, our compliance posture is stronger, and most importantly, our security measures now support rather than hinder business innovation. This systems approach has made security a true business enabler rather than just a cost center.