Saby Waraich

"Have you ever jumped out of an airplane?"

That was how Saby Waraich's boss opened the conversation. He was not talking about skydiving. He was talking about a complex transformation program that had already failed multiple times - a program few leaders wanted to inherit and one that carried serious career risk.

Saby said no. Fear had answered for him.

Then his ten-year-old daughter emailed him a list of ideas for fixing the program. She had been watching how he responded to fear. Saby reconsidered, accepted the assignment, and led the program to a successful launch under direct mayoral oversight.

That moment sits at the center of everything Saby teaches, because it reflects an experience many leaders recognize. As pressure rises, communication thins, people stop feeling heard, trust weakens, and decisions become reactive.

Saby Waraich is a global keynote speaker, former public-sector CIO and CISO, and international bestselling author of SCARE to CARES: Leading Digital Transformation Without Chaos, featuring a foreword by Jack Canfield. He helps public-sector executives and technology leaders lead complex change under pressure with calm, courage, and clarity.

For more than 25 years, Saby led technology, cybersecurity, modernization, and organizational transformation in environments where public trust, service continuity, limited budgets, and stakeholder expectations all had to hold at once. He has led enterprise system replacements, guided an organization through a ransomware incident, and faced the difficult public conversations that come with delays, scrutiny, and competing priorities. He understands the pressure his audiences carry because he has carried it himself.

Those experiences shaped the SCARE to CARES™ Framework.

SCARE describes what pressure creates inside an organization:
• Stress
• Chaos
• Anxiety
• Resistance
• Ego

Leaders recognize these patterns immediately. Meetings become quieter, relationships strain, people protect their territory, and decisions begin to be made defensively.

CARES gives leaders five practical behaviors for responding:
• Communicate with empathy
• Adapt with agility
• Relationships through trust
• Empower people
• Stay calm

Practiced deliberately, these behaviors help leaders reduce resistance, rebuild trust, create shared ownership, and sustain momentum through difficult change. Audiences leave prepared to use the framework in their next meeting, conversation, or high-pressure decision.

Saby has spoken at more than 500 events across 20+ countries and five continents - from state and local government summits to higher education leadership programs, cybersecurity conferences, and association keynotes.

Based on 4,120 verified attendee responses across 77 events since 2023:
• 99% found his sessions valuable
• 97% said they would see him speak again

Among responding clients, 100% reported that their event goals were achieved and that they would hire him again.

Saby is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Digital Government, contributing to executive conversations and advisory work serving public-sector technology leaders. Thinkers360 ranks him a Top 10 Global GovTech Thought Leader for 2026, up from Top 50 the previous year, and has certified him an Elite Expert - the highest of three tiers - in IT Leadership, Project Management, Business Strategy, and Leadership. He is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, a recipient of the Higher Education IT Executive of the Year award, and one of EdTech Magazine's 30 Higher Education IT Influencers to Follow. His writing on digital transformation, cybersecurity, and public-sector leadership has appeared through the Forbes Technology Council and Government Technology.

Saby's sessions are designed to be participated in, not simply observed. He combines real stories from real programs -including the moments that did not go according to plan - with practical frameworks, honest humor, reflection, movement, and audience interaction.

Every presentation is customized around the audience, sector, and event priorities. Saby works closely with organizers to understand what they want people to think, feel, and do differently after the event. Participants leave with memorable language and practical tools they can use with their teams immediately.

His three signature keynotes:

• SCARE to CARES: Leading Complex Transformation Without Chaos - for organizations navigating change, resistance, uncertainty, and declining momentum.
• Lead Beyond Ordinary: Building Trust, Courage, and Momentum - for leaders who want to strengthen relationships, make courageous decisions, and create meaningful impact.
• Calm Under Cyber Pressure: Leading Through Digital Disruption - for executives who want to prepare their people and leadership practices before a cyber incident tests them.

All available as keynotes, workshops, executive briefings, and virtual sessions.

Saby was born in Chandigarh, India, studied engineering at Punjab Engineering College, and moved to the United States in 2003. He later earned a master's degree from Portland State University and speaks four languages. He continues to teach as adjunct faculty at Portland Community College, helping emerging professionals prepare for the leadership and technology challenges ahead. And he has persuaded more than one ballroom of senior government executives to get out of their chairs and dance Bhangra before the session was over.

LEAD BOLDLY. STAY CALM.

What clients say

"Saby brings real executive experience, high energy, and practical tools leaders can use immediately."
— Tom Cream, Assistant Executive Director of IT, Massachusetts State Lottery

"Saby's message hit home for our leaders. He connects technology, people, and leadership in a way that is practical, inspiring, and immediately actionable."
— Amanda Tarr, Deputy Director, Wyoming Department of Family Services

"His message has power because his life story meshes with what he says. He's credible. He speaks with energy and optimism."

"The most engaging and effective training I have ever been to. Well thought out, planned, structured and executed. The simulations taught us the benefits of reorganizing work and getting teams to work together."

More feedback at talkadot.com/s/sabywaraich