Salim is the Co-Founder of Aona AI, a workforce AI security platform based in Paris and Sydney, where he owns go-to-market and commercial strategy end to end, partnering with CISOs and CIOs. Before Aona, he oversaw the strategy and execution of Cisco’s brand and omni-channel global marketing campaigns across 14 countries as Head of Marketing for Cisco’s Asia Pacific, Japan & China region.
Salim comes from Paris, where he first graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. At just 20 years old, he had already helped produce over 30 documentaries before returning to business school, where he earned a Master of Marketing in Media & Communication.
In France, Salim worked at Brother France, which he left after launching the company’s first Managed Print Service Salim is the Co-Founder of Aona AI, a workforce AI security platform based in Paris and Sydney, where he owns go-to-market and commercial strategy end to end, partnering with CISOs and CIOs. Before Aona, he oversaw the strategy and execution of Cisco’s brand and omni-channel global marketing campaigns across 14 countries as Head of Marketing for Cisco’s Asia Pacific, Japan & China region.
Salim comes from Paris, where he first graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. At just 20 years old, he had already helped produce over 30 documentaries before returning to business school, where he earned a Master of Marketing in Media & Communication.
In France, Salim worked at Brother France, which he left after launching the company’s first Managed Print Service — now an industry standard.
With fewer than ten English words in his vocabulary, Salim left his comfortable life behind to seek a new challenge in Australia. While falling in love with the country, he held numerous positions, including National Business Development Manager and Senior Product Manager for Hewlett Packard at Ingram Micro Australia, followed by over a decade at Cisco. After close to fifteen years in Australia, he returned to Paris to co-found Aona AI, taking the company from zero to $300K in ARR within 12 months and helping raise over $1M in pre-seed funding.
Don’t be fooled: behind the easy smile is a highly skilled fighter who spent 11 years competing at the highest level in Judo in France and was a multi-time Australian Sambo champion. He retired from competition after representing Australia at the 2016 Sambo World Championship.
One of his greatest achievements has been his leadership journey — helping teammates grow, both professionally and as people. He believes people can achieve great things in life when given the right support.
Salim is passionate about supporting others, whether in sport, at work, or in the community. He carries this into the classroom as an external guest lecturer at INSEEC Bachelor, where he teaches International Business Strategy and Fundamental of Management to third-year bachelor’s students.
