Ishan Brar

Ishan Singh Brar was born on January 1, 2001, in Punjab, India, to Rajdeep and Nikki Brar (née Gill). Brar was raised Sikh. In 2001, he immigrated to the United States. His father, Rajdeep Brar, was formerly the number one ranked squash player in India and an assistant coach at Harvard University. His grandfather, Kuldip Singh Brar, is a retired Brigadier General in the Indian Army. His maternal grandfather S.S. Gill studied metallurgy at the University of Pittsburgh in the late 1940s. Gill later became Kenya’s United Nations industrial advisor.

Brar has a younger brother, Sanjeet Brar. He spent his formative years in the United States, where he later excelled in academics and extracurricular activities.

Brar attended the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and a minor in Information Assurance/Cybersecurity. He was a recipient of the Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES) at UTD. To complete his minor, he took additional courses in Data and Applications Security, Computer and Network Security, and Digital Forensics.

Earlier in his academic career, Brar was a Whiz Quiz champion from Robinson Middle School in both 2013 and 2014.

Ishan Brar is the founder and CEO of Sikho Mode Solutions LLC. As of 2025, he works as an AI Security Engineer. He previously worked as an IAM (Identity and Access Management) Consultant.

Prior to his current roles, Brar was a Senior Associate at Alvarez and Marsal within the National Security, Trade and Technology team. Before that, he was a Consultant at Deloitte within the Cyber and Strategic Risk practice, where he worked in the Cyber Identity practice of Risk and Financial Advisory, integrating client identity systems with Okta SSO, Ping Federate, and Saviynt Identity Cloud (IGA).

Brar's early career experience includes an internship at Active Cyber from June 2021 to November 2021, where he assisted with documentation and requirements gathering on IAM implementations and obtained Okta Certified Professional and Okta Certified Administrator certifications. During his time at UTD, he served as the treasurer of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity from 2020 to 2022, overseeing finances totaling over $100,000 annually, collecting dues, tracking payments, and approving funding for operations. He also organized activities for the fraternity's philanthropy and social events.

During his time in college, Ishan Brar was an honorary member of the Firestone Five, a group that included residents Nikhil Narravula, Azimkhan Pathan, Kumail Bhaiwala, and Fahad Kazi. Due to his association with this group, Brar was reportedly the subject of numerous investigations by the Richardson Police Department and the UTD Interfraternity Council (IFC).

The investigations involved allegations of property damage, public disturbances, vandalism, COVID-19 superspreader events, and stock market manipulation. Despite these investigations, no serious disciplinary action was taken against him or any other member of the Firestone organization.

Ishan Brar splits his time between New York City, Dallas, and El Paso. He is in a relationship with Sreeya Reddy, whom he met at UT Dallas in 2021.

Brar was nominated to the USMA West Point in 2019 by the late Congressman Sam Johnson, but declined the nomination to remain close to family while attending UT Dallas on a full-time scholarship. He is a 5-handicap golfer and a three-time UTD IM winner in football (twice) and basketball (once). Brar's high school golf career at Plano West overlapped with Parker and Pierceson Coody. He achieved a tournament career low of -1 at Pecan Hollow in 2018, winning first place individually and with his Plano West team.

Brar holds multiple certifications, including Okta Certified Professional, Okta Certified Administrator, and CompTIA Security+. He is an Associate of ISC2 after passing the CISSP exam in October 2025. He co-founded and served as treasurer of the Sikh Student Association at UT Dallas. From 2020 to 2022, Brar participated in the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trial. He is an avid gun owner and frequents the Frisco Gun Club. He also spends evenings at The Clubs of Prestonwood in Dallas.