Revealed: The IFSEC Global influencers in security and fire 2020

We are delighted to reveal the IFSEC Global influencers in security and fire 2020.

Chosen based on nominations judged by a panel of highly respected judges, the influencers span seven categories, with nominees and winners coming from across the globe.

We defined ‘influence’ in the following ways:

• Someone who has played a key role in driving technological innovation
• Someone who has been a driving force in changing regulation, standards/guidance or best practice
• Someone whose insights/opinions are widely respected and which are influential in shaping debate around industry issues
• Someone who has been instrumental in the success of the organisation or business they lead or are employed by
• Someone who has helped to raise the industry’s profile or been an influential voice in the national media

The process

The process consisted of two stages. First, we invited nominations from the IFSEC Global audience and beyond. Then, a panel of judges, drawn from across the industries and barred from featuring in the list themselves, assigned points to each nomination based on the persuasiveness of the nomination, their research into the nominee and their own knowledge of the nominee’s contributions to their field. The judges were also permitted to submit a limited number of nominations themselves, which were then scored by the other judges.

Some categories have only five influencers, while others have 10, 15 or even 20. This reflects the number and quality of nominations submitted.

We’d like to thank Grant Lecky, co-founder of the Security Partners Forum, for his tireless efforts as lead judge – for the fourth year in a row. Grant, who himself featured in IFSEC Global’s list of top influencers in 2014 and 2017, appointed the panel of judges (which you can view here) and coordinated the nominations and judging process. Thanks also to Bonnie Butlin, also co-founder of the Security Partners Forum and number one in 2017’s international thought leader rankings, for helping to coordinate the process.

We’d also like to thank everyone who submitted a nomination, and congratulate all those who were nominated, whether they are named here or not – both the quality and quantity of entries was extremely high this year. It is quite clear the passion and commitment so many of the professionals involved in security and fire safety hold for their respective sectors.

It is also worth noting that there is occasional crossover between some of these categories (for example, end users and security executives). To be clear, each category is as prestigious as the others, and individuals selected in the categories were purely based on their nominated category.

IFSEC Global security & fire influencers 2020 – the categories

Commercial Security – End users (including Security Directors/Heads of Security)

Commercial Security – Security Executives

Commercial Security – Association Figures/Academics/Thought Leaders

Cyber Security Professionals

One to Watch – Security

Commercial Security – Manufacturers/Vendors/Integrators/Installers

Fire Safety (primarily UK-based)

Commercial Security – End Users (Including Security Directors/Heads of Security)

10) James Morris, Head of Security Services, EMEA, Aon (Joint 10th)

James Morris is the Head of Security Services, EMEA for Aon, based in London. He has worked for Aon for the past three years, protecting Aon’s own assets as well as proving security and crisis management support to Aon’s global client base.  Previously, he was the Security Operations Manager, EMEA for AIG. Before relocating to the UK, James spent six years working in the mining industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. James started his career in security management in Iraq with AEGIS Defence Services, before joining the security team at the British Embassy in Afghanistan. James was elected to the board of the UK chapter of ASIS International in 2019, having spent two years as the Director of Young Professionals for the chapter. He is a strong advocate for increased diversity and inclusion across the industry, a risk-based approach to security management and the importance of understanding the impact of climate change on business.

10) Andrew Thorburn (Joint 10th)

Andrew D. Thorburn is a highly experienced and commercially astute protective security and organisational development consultant with a career that spans both the private and public sectors. Andrew brings over 25 years of security technology and staff services strategy and implementation experience to end user clients. Andrew regularly contributes to the profession through voluntary sector leadership, development and delivery of subject matter to special interest groups, such as New Zealand Security Association, ISC2 and ASIS International, and contributes thought leadership pieces for industry online and print publications. He is the immediate past ASIS International Chapter 148 Chairperson and the 2018 New Zealand Security Consultant of the Year. Andrew has demonstrable experience in local and central government critical national infrastructure projects and is currently working on establishing local, but globally supported, industry leadership and governance awards. He is also driving for the development of culturally aligned sector training for indigenous people.

9) Sir Ken McKenzie, Head of Security, Health & Safety, Auckland Museum

Sir Ken McKenzie deploys 48 years’ industry experience encompassing construction, transport, emergency services, retail, cash in transit, workplace health & safety, senior management and leadership in community and corporate institutions. He is a security respected practitioner specialising in safety and security risk, cultural change management, cultural safety and security and integrating technology with human factors. Ken has been instrumental in deploying cultural safety competence change management across Transport Construction and currently, cultural safety and security change management and the interface of technology with human factors in the Australasian Cultural Sector. He is a significantly influential leader in the Protection of Australasian Cultural Assets (PACA) within cultural institutions. Currently as Head of Security, Health & Safety at Auckland Museum he is actively engaged with the security industry, is well respected for Visionary Leadership in security applications, applying bespoke systems fit for whole of business never previously considered and regularly presents at security conferences.

8) Dean Kidd, Head of Security – Venues, Regional Facilities Auckland

Dean Kidd is a Senior Security Executive at a Local Government organisation in Auckland New Zealand called Regional Facilities Auckland which is part of Auckland Council. This team act as the guardians of 12 iconic venues that host over 1000 events per year. Dean has been a part of this organisation for 13 years and has held roles in health and safety management, event security planning and venue protection management. He is currently responsible for a hybrid guardforce, whilst also delivering several sizeable  projects that will form a part of an integrated physical protection system (security) that will span across the city of Auckland. Dean has a particular interest in bringing technology and human behaviour analysis together to combat negative intent within the crowded place. He is also a past Chairman of ASIS NZ and has championed diversity, strategy and membership growth whilst serving ASIS NZ. Continuing to partner with academia to obtain a balanced view of all things security, safety, risk and emergency planning, his career to date has seen him travel across the world to work with industry leaders.

7) Antonio de Barros Mello Neves, Country Security Manager, Heineken

Antonio is the Country Security Manager of Heineken Brasil and Vice-chairman of ASIS International – Chapter São Paulo Brasil (American Society for Industrial Security). Responsible for the management of the Corporate Security Team, with a focus on asset protection, units (breweries, distribution centres and offices), executives, events and logistics security, in a country of continental dimensions. Planning and cascading strategy to protect people, assets and image, definition of security solutions for application of electronic protection systems, security companies, internal investigations, loss prevention activities and others. All activities aligned with the strategy of the global security area (Netherlands), with elaboration and application of clear policies and procedures.

6) Sean Sportun, Security Manager, Circle K Stores

A business professional with 27 years in the corporate security industry, Sean has spent the last 14 years as Security Manager for Circle K Stores Central Canada Division; where he is tasked with ensuring the safety of customers/employees, crime deterrence programmes and managing all investigations for the division’s 740 locations. Sean is a graduate of the Seneca College Law Enforcement Program with honors, holds two separate certificates on Leadership & Management from Queens University and has attained certifications as a CPTED Level 2 Practitioner, Situation Awareness Specialist Advanced Practitioner and achieved the designation of International Crime Prevention Specialist. Sean is also a current member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, where he works with law enforcement agencies across Canada on crime prevention, community safety and community well-being initiatives. A dedicated community safety advocate, Sean is the current Chair of Toronto Crime Stoppers and serves as the Vice President for the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners.

5) James Nicholl, MD of Tribus – TSG, Centum Investments

James is a focussed and innovative Security Figure Head and Specialist Training Consultant with extensive man-management experience. A decorated military and commercial security career spanning over 23 years of conventional and non-conventional government and commercial security service worldwide. A history of successful delivery of business change strategy, converting organisational intent into completed effective action even when operating in harsh non-permissive environments. These achievements were against a background of strict budgetary constraints and a requirement to mitigate risk. James was awarded a CJO for distinguished service whilst on operations and was part of a team that were credited with successfully thwarting a terrorist attack in 2015. In his current role, MD of Tribus – TSG, Centum Investments, James has overseen an exponential business growth. This growth has seen Tribus create fixed operations across 14 counties in Kenya.

4) Bhanu Goud, Owner & Director, BG Infotech Ltd

With more than 20 years of security industry experience, Bhanu has been delivering security consulting and major project delivery for end users. He possesses a master’s degree in business administration with an expertise of strategy and project management, along with many electronic security and security industry certifications. Through BG Infotech Ltd, Bhanu has delivered the requirements of prestigious projects for the complex rail sector, through to iconic heritage/museum sector customers. As a highly respected commercial security expert, Bhanu identifies the security risks and threats through an in-depth risk analysis specific to each client. This allows him to propose a comprehensive electronic security solution and strategy to deploy the identified solution. In addition, Bhanu is a founder of an end user security interest group – London Public Space Security (LPSS), which provides a platform to the security executives of different organisations to share the ever changing risks and security threats. This group also helps the senior executives to assist each other in identifying the risk mitigation strategies, operations and electronic systems best suitable to their individual organisations.”

3) Joe Olivarez, Vice President, Global Security, Resilience & Quality, Jacobs

Joe M. Olivarez Jr. is the Vice President, Global Security, Resilience & Quality for Jacobs. Jacobs is a 13B business, has 53K employees and operates in over 60 countries. His role has been to build and lead the company’s integrated global security strategy. He is responsible for assessing, influencing and assisting the company to mitigate security and resilience risks in a dynamic international business environment. The security and resilience model include establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with the Executive and Senior Leadership Teams (SLT) to operate an intelligence driven and risk-based programme.  Due to his leadership he was requested by the SLT to also lead the company Global Quality team and programme. Prior to joining Jacobs Mr. Olivarez spent 11 years with Baker Hughes Incorporated (BHI) where he held increasingly responsible roles. Mr. Olivarez’s other roles include Vice President of an International Investigative and Security Management Consulting Company and 10 years in the government and government defense security business with General Dynamics as a Security Analyst and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a Special Agent. He is a member of ASIS International (2020 International Board Member), ASIS Chief Security Officer (CSO) Center (Past Chair), International Security Management Association (ISMA), U.S. State Department Overseas Advisory Security Council (Board) (OSAC) and FBI Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC).

2) Les Allan, Director, Safeguarding Services, Heriot-Wat University

With 43-years of dedicated service in police, government and senior security roles, Les is an inspirational team leader and a persuasive advocate for investment in the sector. Les is currently serving as Director of SafeGuarding Services at Heriot-Watt University. He has helped spread best practice across the wider university sector, speaking at conferences, contributing to professional journals and encouraging collaboration with government and law enforcement agencies. Les acts as a mentor to those just beginning their careers and is actively investing in the next generation of professionals working to progress up the ladder. Les shares his time generously too, taking on committee roles in associations and participating in professional networks. This year, Les will serve as the incoming Chair of the Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO).

1) Abeer Khedr, Information Security Director, National Bank of Egypt

Abeer Khedr is the Information Security Director at the National Bank of Egypt with more than 20 years’ of experience in the technology and information security fields. Abeer has been serving in her current role for 10 years where she has established the information security strategy and program at the bank. Prior to joining NBE, Abeer was leading the security consulting and IT audit service lines at Deloitte Egypt serving different industries. Abeer was recently recognised among the top 50 influential women in Egypt for community work related to the cyber security industry. She was also recognised among the top regional government security leaders in the Middle East and as a regional and local CISO of the year by several entities. She is also a co-founder of the Women in Cyber Security Middle East group that has over 800 members from the region and has been a judge for the top 50 women in cyber Africa awards.

Commercial Security – Manufacturers/Vendors/Integrators/Installers

10) Bruce Milne, Chief Marketing Officer, Pivot3

Bruce is a visionary technology executive who brings over 20 years of marketing and products experience to Pivot3 as Chief Marketing Officer. Over the course of his career, he has helped innovative software companies establish their vision and execute their go-to-market strategy. Prior to joining Pivot3, Bruce played an instrumental role in the success of companies such as Socialware, Hyperformix, and OpenText (formerly Vignette). An avid outdoorsman, Bruce volunteers as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, which provides him the opportunity to pursue his interests in boating, sailing and camping while giving something back to the community.

9) Stuart Rawling, Vice President of Technology and Customer Engagement, Pelco

Stuart Rawling currently serves as the Vice President of Technology and Customer Engagement for Pelco. He has held a variety of positions during his time at the company, including engineering and marketing leadership, consultant relations, and leading Pelco’s interoperability and openness strategy and execution. In his current role, Rawling works directly with customers to gain insights and feedback on how Pelco can assist with their business operations. Rawling’s educational background focuses on technology and cryptography. He has a passion for all aspects of physical security and regularly speaks on cyber security issues and the challenges facing today’s physical security market. He is an active member of many technology and industry groups, including Association of Computer Machinery, IEEE, the British Computer Society, and ASIS International. In 2016 he was elected onto the ONVIF steering committee, and in 2019 he was nominated to the Security Industry Association executive council.

8) Nigel Waterton, Chief Revenue Officer, Arcules

Nigel Waterton leads the global sales and marketing efforts for Arcules as Chief Revenue Officer, calling on his 23 years’ of experience building and managing large, high-growth technology organisations. In this capacity, Waterton is responsible for driving the company’s go-to-market strategy, nurturing relationships with channel sales partners, and increasing the global footprint of the organisation. Waterton previously worked at Aronson Security Group, an ADT Commercial Company, where he served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development and led a cross-disciplinary team within the company, as well as with ASG’s strategic partners. Over the course of his career, he has held a variety of senior-level sales and leadership roles with well-known brands, and is recognized as an industry leader, having been a part of multiple industry councils and advisory boards.

7) James Brown, MD, Selectamark Security Systems

James has worked in the security industry for over 18 years, starting off in sales and now as Managing Director of Selectamark Security Systems plc. He has forged many close relationships across the security industry and policing, through his desire to deliver quality solutions, to be a trusted advisor, and to drive and promote industry standards. He strongly believes in cross-sector collaboration, particularly in bringing crime prevention solutions to police, insurers and manufacturers. James is the Vice-Chairman of the BSIA’s Asset and Property Marking section, sits on the ADS Security Export Focus Group, is part of national police crime action groups and is a BSI committee member for the creation of a new British asset marking standard. James is a Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals and is on the Board of Trustees for its Charitable Trust.

6) David Barnard, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing, RS2 Technologies

David started his career working for Floyd Security, where he would run night alarm service calls. Upon graduation, he started his own business called Barnard Construction, which eventually evolved to become Barnard Communications, where he continued to work in the security industry. By 1997, he had grown the business significantly – to a more than $10 million a year operation – when it was eventually purchased by Pinkerton Systems Integration. He joined the RS2 team in 2003, and eventually bought into the company in 2004. The company is now an ACRE brand, and continues to grow. With the proven track record of building a business from the ground up, he embodies what an IFSEC influencer should be: hard-working, disciplined and always willing to go the extra mile. (Nomination reasoning)

5) Glenn Farrant, CEO, CriticalArc

Glenn Farrant is co-founder and CEO of CriticalArc, and architect of the SafeZone solution which combines multiple protective functions, including lone worker monitoring, emergency call, location pinpointing, as well as targeted and mass communications, all in a single platform. With a background in both maritime command IT, and in systems development with Honeywell, Glenn regularly gives talks on using the latest technology to improve management of security and safety and also mentors and advises early-stage technology companies. Responsible for general management and product direction at CriticalArc, Glenn is passionate about technology and the opportunities it provides for changing how the world works.

4) Gary Harmer, Sales Director, UK&I, Hikvision

Gary Harmer has worked in the security industry for over 30 years. Having previously worked in electronic security distribution, he is currently UK&I Sales Director for Hikvision, a position he has held for the last three years. Gary’s working philosophy has always been to develop great teams around him and provide a focused customer experience. It’s a strategy that works, enabling him to successfully deliver consistent growth in both revenue and profit. A Livery Member of The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, Gary is always willing to play an active role in the further development of industry best practice and standards, and recently participated in the development of the UK Govt. ‘Secure By Default’ initiative. He is now helping to drive further initiatives within the security sector.

3) David Sullivan, President, ACRE International

David Sullivan joined the ACRE family in 2017 as the Vice President of Global Sales and is now the President of ACRE’s international businesses, which include Vanderbilt International and ComNet Europe. Sullivan was a part of the founding management team of HID Global, and has over 30 years of experience in the security industry.  He has held senior leadership positions with HID, Ingersoll Rand and SDI, but has also served as a president of an animal ID manufacturer, Destron Fearing. Sullivan is originally from the USA, but has over 11 years of executive leadership roles in Europe, having been based in both England and Ireland. Today his responsibilities include operations that serve over 90 countries.

2) Keith Bloodworth, Founder, CNL Software

Founder of CNL Software, now an Everbridge company, Keith Bloodworth built CNL to become the premier integration platform for large scale security initiatives. Under Everbridge’s ownership, CNL continues along a trajectory of long-term growth year on year. Keith is best known as a founder of Axis Communications, sold to Canon Inc. for US$2.83 billion, and as a technology visionary who revolutionised the way physical security sees and uses technology both inside and outside of the control room. CNL continues to push the security agenda from the control room to the boardroom, providing thought leadership on opportunities in IoT, Big Data and automation. Keith has inspired some of the most complex and ground-breaking security integration programmes in the world in the fields of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Law Enforcement, Corporate Security and Safe Cities.

1) Simon Banks, founder, CSL

Simon founded CSL in 1996 and continues to be heavily involved. He is Chairman for the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) a board member of the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) and BAFE. Simon founded Apprentices for Fire and Security in 2011 which has placed thousands of apprentice engineers within the security sector and represents the security manufacturers for the Government’s Trailblazer framework. Simon also works closely with IFSEC and FIREX International on the Engineers of Tomorrow competitions, where the next generation of apprentices compete to showcase the skills and talents of today’s apprentices for the electronic security and fire engineering sector.

Commercial Security – Security Executives

20) Yassir Kazar, CEO & co-founder, Yogosha

Longtime infosec enthusiast, Yassir Kazar is a serial entrepreneur who founded his first startup while finishing his studies. In 2015, Yassir met Kévin Liagre and founded Yogosha, the first french private bug bounty platform. Yogosha is a private bug bounty platform that helps companies detect and correct vulnerabilities before cyber criminals exploit them.

19) Maria Carmela Migrino, Group CISO, Meralco

Mel is the Vice President and the Group Chief Information Security Officer of Meralco and subsidiaries. She led the cyber security transformation, built the cyber security capability and implemented the cyber resilience strategy. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the leadership role providing oversight and direction on cyber security, privacy, business continuity and IT audit. She is also the co-Founder of the Philippine Women in Cyber Alliance which focuses on empowering and inspiring women in Security. She served as the Vice President for Information Security, Privacy and Enterprise Risk Management of the leading Fintech Company in the Philippines wherein she established the compliance program on ERM and Data Privacy and led the strategy for cyber resilience.  Also, she served as the Cyber Security Director of Deloitte where she expanded the cyber capability in the Philippines.

18) Jean Noel de Galzain, Founder & CEO, WALLIX; Chairman of HEXATRUST

Jean-Noël de GALZAIN is the founder and CEO of WALLIX, a European cyber security leader in Privileged Access Management listed on the Euronext/Alternext since June 2015 (ALLIX). Involved in the ecosystem of innovation and investment, Jean-Noël de Galzain is also Chairman of Hexatrust, which brings together FrenchTech cyber security champions; Chairman of the Project “Cybersecurity & Security of the IOT” of the CSF; Vice President of the Systematic competitiveness cluster and Treasurer & Administrator of the”Revital Emploi” Fund.

17) Werner Cooreman, Group Security Director, Solvay Group

Werner Cooreman is Group Security Director for the Solvay Group, a global chemical manufacturer. Previously Werner held senior international security roles in other large multinationals. Prior to his time in private industry, he was a career officer in the Belgian Military for 20 years, and participated in several assignments with the United Nations and NATO. Werner’s expertise covers a broad range of security expert areas. He is an active member in several professional security associations, and holds a Master in Military Sciences from the Belgian Royal Military Academy, as well as other professional security certifications across multiple domains of security.

16) Matt Barnette, Vice President – HID Global Accounts, Mercury & PIV

Matt is a seasoned veteran in the physical security industry with over 30 years of experience in management and executive roles. Matt joined Mercury Security in June 2016 as President. After the successful sale of Mercury to HID Global in October 2017, Matt has maintained the operational responsibility for the Mercury business worldwide, in addition to, leading the HID Government Solutions Business (PIV) and the HID Global Accounts organisation. Matt, who began his security career in 1991, oversees sales, marketing, operations and corporate activities and initiatives for HID’s access control products worldwide. Matt is committed to providing industry leading products and exceptional customer service in everything he and his team executes.  His teams are motivated to provide the best product, services and support in the industry. Prior to Mercury/HID, Matt was President of AMAG Technology – a G4S Company. Matt is a member of ASIS International, BICSI and SIA. He travels internationally to attend and present at seminars and conferences focused on commercial and government security, the emergence of electronic security in IT, cyber security and the emerging IoT standards.

15) Paul Jacomb, STM Group (UK) 

Paul Jacomb is currently Group CEO for STM Group (UK) Ltd., and has extensive experience in the security industry. His career to date covers:

1. Army (Royal Armoured Corps) 1980-1991: Major via Sandhurst
2. Sigma Group 1991-1996: Regional Manager to Deputy Managing Director (responsible for £25m manned guarding operation)
3. Pegasus Security Group 1996 -2007: Lead MBI, as Managing Director (grew Company from £12m to £55m t/o, providing 7 v ROI for investors)
4. OCS Group 2007-2009: MD Security Division (£85m t/o)
5. ICTS Europe 2010-2012: General Security Director
6. Foreign & Commonwealth Office 2013-2018: FCOS Head of Advisory Services Property & Security
7. STM Group (UK) Ltd 2019 onwards: Group CEO (by request of the owner)

Paul values loyalty, integrity, pride and believes good leadership is essential to any business. Pual also adds: “I have been fortunate enough to have been in the right place at the right time, on several occasions, and able to help struggling organisations as a consequence.”

14) Brian Harrell, Vice President and Chief Security Officer, Avangrid

Brian currently serves as the Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Avangrid, an energy company with assets and operations in 24 states. He is responsible for the company’s physical and cyber security, security compliance, enterprise risk governance, and fire protection units. In 2018, Brian was appointed by the President of the United States to serve as the sixth Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, at the Department of Homeland Security. Brian also served as the first Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security at the U.S. Cyber security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Brian has spent time during his career in the US Marine Corps and various private sector agencies with the goal of protecting the United States from security threats.

13) Mihoko Matsubara, Chief Cyber Security Strategist, NTT 

Mihoko Matsubara is Chief Cyber security Strategist, NTT Corporation, Tokyo, being responsible for cyber security thought leadership. She previously worked at the Japanese Ministry of Defense before her MA at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC on Fulbright. She served on the Japanese Government’s cyber security R&D policy committee between 2014 and 2018. Mihoko is a prolific writer and has numerous published articles, as well as a published book on cyber security, attackers, defenders, and cyber threat intelligence in Japan in 2019. She has spoken at various engagements internationally such as RSA Conference 2018 and 2019 in San Francisco, the EU Cyber Forum 2019 in Brussels, and CyCon 2015 and 2019 in Tallinn, Estonia. She is Adjunct Fellow at the Pacific Forum, Honolulu, and Associate Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, London.

12) Luigi Rebuffi, Founder & Secretary General, ECSO

Luigi Rebuffi is the Secretary General and founder of ECSO (European Cyber Security Organisation) and founder and Secretary General of the Women4Cyber Foundation. Graduated in Nuclear Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, he initially worked in Germany on the high power microwave systems for ITER thermonuclear fusion reactor. Then, at Thales, took increasing responsibilities on European R&D in different sectors: telecom, industrial, medical, scientific, becoming Director for European Affairs in 2003. He created EOS (European Organisation for Security) in 2007 and has been its CEO for 10 years . From 2012 to 2016 he has been an advisor to the European Commission for the EU Security Research Programme and President of the Steering Board of the French ANR for security research. In 2016 he founded ECSO and signed with the European Commission the PPP on cyber security. In 2019 he created Women4Cyber to promote the participation of women in cyber security.

11) Ashley Cooper, CEO, Paladin Group

Ashley Cooper is the CEO of the Paladin Group of Companies, one of North America’s largest full service security companies with offices across the continent. Ashley started working with Paladin as a security officer while he was completing his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of British Columbia. It was through this experience that Ashley learned the business from the ground up, recognising the importance of security officers to the success of the organisation. Upon graduation, Ashley began managing the four-person company and then acquired it a short time later in what would be his first acquisition in the security industry. Today, the Paladin Group of Companies has over 18,000 service driven employees across North America serving a wide customer base. Ashley’s personal awards include the Ernst & Young Pacific Regional Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2013, the 2014 British Columbia CEO of the Year award for mid-market companies, and the Most Admired CEO through Waterstone Human Capital.

10) Lee Odess, CEO Group337 and The Inside

Labeled as an ‘uber-networker’ by the Washington Post, Lee Odess has over 18 years’ starting, building, and leading businesses with an exceptional track record for sales growth and marketing effectiveness. Lee is the CEO and Founder of The Inside (Inside Access Control, Inside Visitor Management, and Inside Multifamily Access Control), a media platform focused on the physical access control industry, and Group337, a Growth Studio focused on consulting and business creation in the security, access control and IoT industry. Prior to that, Lee served as Vice President of Strategic Partnering for Allegion PLC and formerly led teams at UniKey Technologies, Brivo Inc., Lutron Electronics and his own companies, Energy + Light + Control and Fresh Confections.

9) Steven Humphreys, CEO, Identiv

Steven Humphreys has been an instrumental part of Identiv’s leadership for more than two decades, having served in various positions across the organisation. Additional experience as a leader of technology companies ranging from startups to public companies, and as senior management within large multinationals, has elevated Mr. Humphreys into his position as an executive. His continued involvement with emerging technologies, venture, and angel investing, as well as his knowledge of the US investment markets and the wider technology and management communities, have led him to contribute to multiple aspects of success. (Nomination reasoning)

8) Hisham Mohamed Aly

Hisham Mohamed Aly has over 10 years of work experience in IT Security, mainly as the Chief Information Security Officer, working for different institutions. Delivering unique and valuable contributions to sophisticated and some of the biggest multinational organisations for digital transformation and applying a proactive security approach. Hisham has featured on various interviews, talks and articles about his achievements, successful stories, contribution and leadership style. He also works as a conference speaker, providing professional talks related to cyber security, fintech, blockchain and digital transformation. Hisham has been internationally awarded on many occasions.

7) Kirsten Meskill, Director of Corporate Security, BASF

In her role at BASF, Kirsten serves as the internal and external focal point for expertise in matters related to physical security standards, relevant regulatory requirements, personnel and travel security, antiterrorism, information protection, distribution network security, criminal syndicate activity and related investigations. Kirsten is a recognised leader in the chemical security field. She has testified on two separate occasions to Congress on chemical security regulation. She has received recognition from external organisations for her leadership and contributions to the security industry. Prior to BASF, Kirsten was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Kraft Foods and later Mondelez International. In these roles, she developed and implemented strategic initiatives designed to protect company employees, products, brands and operations across the globe with a specific focus on consumers. She built and implemented Food Defense (food tampering prevention) programmes to protect consumers, brands and reputation while adhering to US Bioterrorism Act guidelines for the company and its partners.

6) Alex Asnovich, Head of Global Marketing, Video Security and Analytics, Motorola Solutions

Alex Asnovich brings over 20 years of global expertise in leading marketing and communications programmes for top manufacturing companies in the security, safety and technology industries. In his current leadership role, Mr. Asnovich is spearheading strategic marketing initiatives for leading security brands, including Motorola Solutions suite of video security products, Avigilon, Pelco, IndigoVision, WatchGuard, Vigilant and Edesix. Motorola Solutions’ Video Security and Analytics business includes fixed video, access control, analytics and mobile video products. Mr. Asnovich’s marketing accomplishments led him to be named one of the “World’s Most Influential CMOs” by Forbes Magazine. He also serves as the Chairman of the Retail Interest Group for the Security Industry Association. Asnovich holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

5) Steven Reinharz, Founder and President, Robotic Assistance Devices

Steve Reinharz is the Founder and President of Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD). A proven and seasoned leader in the physical security industry with 20+ years of experience holding various roles in multiple disciplines, Mr. Reinharz has led RAD to create and launch a successful line of artificial intelligence-powered solutions specifically developed for the guarding and concierge industries. Steve’s started and ran his own security integration company from the age of 24 to 31, becoming one of California’s premier systems integrators. He credits almost two years of work performed for the LAPD as the basis for many of the technological innovations he has launched. Steve is also a leading member of several industry association committees, mostly through the Security Industry Association.

4) Dan Moceri, Executive Chairman, Convergint

Successfully built one of the largest and most successful integration companies in the industry. (Nomination reasoning)

3) Brennan Baybeck, VP & CISO for Customer Services, Oracle Corporation

In his role, Brennan P. Baybeck, CISA, CISM, CRISC, CISSP, leads a global team that addresses IT security risk management for a large line of business at Oracle. He is responsible for leading security, privacy and availability for customer facing services, including Oracle’s Security Services. He has more than 25 years of experience in IT security, governance, risk, audit and consulting, and has worked in various industries designing, implementing and operating enterprise-wide programs to address global security risks. He has held other leadership positions at Sun Microsystems, StorageTek and Qwest Communications, and served as a security risk consulting director at a global consulting company for several years. Brennan also has been actively involved with ISACA International for more than 25 years, as ISACA’s International Board Chair and a Board Director for several years, and served many years as a chapter board leader for the Denver Colorado Chapter.  He currently serves as Past Board Chair for ISACA International Board of Directors.

2) Laura Deaner, CISO, S&P Global

Laura Deaner is responsible for establishing and driving the enterprise information security vision and programme at S&P Global.  She leverages her 21 years working in security for multinational Fortune 500 companies to build effective and robust information security programmes by aligning deep technical expertise with executive business vision and support. She was previously the first named CISO at PRNewswire. She is a member of several information security and technology societies including OWASP, WiCyS, ISC2, and Society of Women Engineers (SWE).  She’s featured in Women Know Cyber – 100 Fascinating Females Fighting Cybercrime. Laura is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in technology as well as her field of cyber security.  She serves as a council member of the S&P Global Diversity and Inclusion Council whom is tasked with fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.  Her accomplishments as a council member have included revamping the Employee Resource Groups, adding sentiment and data driven metrics to enhance the community goals.  She worked to establish partnerships with various organisations to build in diverse talent pipelines in the technology organisations, such as Girls Who Code.

1) Candy Alexander, CISO & Cyber Risk Practice Lead, NeuEon

Ms. Alexander has over 30′ years of experience in the cyber security profession. She has held several positions as CISO, for which she developed and managed corporate security programmes. She is now working as a CISO and Cyber Risk Practice Lead for NeuEon, Inc. assisting companies to improve their cyber risk and security programmes through effective business alignment. Ms. Alexander is very active within the profession, where her contributions include being reelected as Information Systems Security Association’s (ISSA) International President, Chief Architect for the Cyber Security Career Lifecycle, and a long-standing Director on the International Board. She is also the inaugural President and past Board Member of the ISSA Education and Research Foundation. Ms. Alexander has been instrumental in establishing the annual ISSA/ESG research project to better understand challenges face by cyber security professionals worldwide.

Commercial Security – Association Figures/Academics/Thought Leaders

20) Michael Brzozowski, Enterprise Security Management, Symcor

Michael has a longstanding commitment to the security industry and has served in several ASIS International volunteer leadership roles since 2012, as a Young Professionals Liaison, and as Chapter Vice Chair of the ASIS Toronto Chapter. As a proud member of the ASIS International Professional Certification Board, Michael has been instrumental in promoting the value of professional certification within the security industry and is leading by example. Most notably, Michael spearheaded the development of a certification programme for entry-level security professionals, the Associate Protection Professional (APP). He is currently counted among a prominent group of individuals (less than 50 worldwide) who have successfully obtained the ASIS PSP, CPP, and CISSP designations, and is an alumnus of the Wharton/ASIS Business School’s Security Executive Program. During the day, Michael is responsible for enterprise security risk management at Symcor, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank and BMO and one of North America’s largest outsources of financial processing.

19) Dr Gavriel Schneider, Director, Risk2Solutions

Dr Gav is the founder of the concept of Presilience and an acknowledged leader in the fields of security risk management and counter terrorism. He is a leader in human based risk management and the psychology of risk, and has been running his own businesses since 2001, being recently awarded the risk consultant of the year (RMIA). He has conducted business in over 17 countries and provided a wide range of services for a very diverse client base ranging from heads of state to school teachers. He is a leading academic and subject matter expert in his field and is a much-sought after international speaker. He has trained thousands of people in his own right and to date, his companies have trained in excess of 150,000 people in numerous countries.

18) Mike Hurst, Director IFPO UK

Mike Hurst CPP has spent over 30 years in the security and fire sector, spending most of that time as a recruiter specialising in executive appointments.  He also operates as a strategic consultant and event organiser. He has worked with security associations for over 15 years including 10 years as co-Vice Chair of ASIS International UK Chapter and 6 years as a director of the Security institute. A committed servant leader, he is currently a member of the Security Institute Validation Board Working Group; is Secretary of both the ASIS Professional Development and Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Communities and a member of the ESRM Community Steering Group. He is Director of the International Foundation for Protection Officers UK (IFPO UK) which aims to support education and career development opportunities for frontline security officers, supervisors and managers.  With members in 68 countries, over 100,000 people have undertaken IFPO Certificates and Certifications.

17) Dr Martin Gren, Co-Founder and Director of Axis AB

Dr Martin Gren is a co-founder of Axis Communications and currently serves as chairman of Axis Communications AB. He is also a board member of Proact a pan European storage specialist, and Harald Lunden holding, an investment company. As an industry pioneer, Dr. Gren led the team who created the world’s first network camera in 1996. In 2015 he received a Royal medal for entrepreneurship by the King of Sweden. In 2012, he was named Security Entrepreneur of the Year by Detektor International and in 2009 Dr. Gren was elected Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in Sweden. In 2014 Dr Gren was inducted into the Security Industry hall of fame by USA based Security Sales and Integration magazine. In 2015 Dr Gren received an Honorary PhD in entrepreneurship by the Lund University of Technology, while in 2019 Dr Gren was elected a member of the Swedish Royal Science board (IVA).

16) Orlando Toniolo

Dr. Orlando Toniolo has vast experience in the security industry. Over his career, he has graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, graduated in Special Operation Forces as Tactical Operator – Santa Fe Province Police, graduated in Security Issues in both Israel and Germany, graduated as Military Observer for U.N. Missions – C.A.E.C, amongst many others. Orlando is also Chairman of the NGO, C.A.P.S.I and Chairman of the Public Security Commissioned in Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Rosario. He is spoken at world summits and industry events, while also working as a Teacher and Trainer in the Detective Academy of Santiago del Estero Police Department and Professor on the Seminar Planning Techniques and Strategies at Universidad del Salvador.

15) Paul Barnard, Director, Security Institute

Paul has 34 years of experience covering an extensive police and commercial career considering all aspects of security for countering terrorism, crime, cyber-crime with risk management.  Academic enhancements to a vast vocational career achieved in the completion of a master’s degree in applied criminology at Cambridge University. An accomplished and respected Chartered Security Professional, mentor and advocate of continuous professional development, with a proven track record of delivering successful projects/performance across the UK, on physical, personnel, frontline, cyber and integrated security solutions. A globally connected, commercially aware professional and Director of The Security Institute, with an infectious enthusiasm and passion for improving security standards including providing access to young people, by creating the innovative Next Gen in Security and Secure Futures initiatives, with the charitable sector, corporate partners and UK Government. An innovator, who thrives in challenging environments, develops and inspires others at strategic and operational levels, to achieve their potential.

14) Victoria Ogbuehi, Security Operations, Coca-Cola HBC Nigeria

Victoria is a Nigerian Security and Intelligence expert. She transitioned from a government law enforcement agency to Corporate security management in 2019. She’s currently responsible for the Security operations of Coca-Cola HBC in four Nigerian states. Vicki has authored over 10 publications on security-related issues, moderated, reviewed and presented at conference sessions. She’s a recipient of the Distinguished Author Award, HRM from the London Journal Press. She’s the first African to receive the Jeff-Griepp Scholarship Award to date; the first African to win the OSPAs for the ‘outstanding Female Security Professional’ category; the first African woman to win the GSX Exchange Program; the first woman to become ASIS International Young Professionals (YP)  coordinator for Africa and the 2020 Nigeria OSPAs winner for the ‘Outstanding Young Security Professional’ category. She recently championed the first YP Africa programme that was rated the best ASIS programme of African origin with about 500 attendees. Vicki believes that the only way to contain crime on the African continent is by resisting corruption at all fronts and holding the leaders accountable.

13) Dr. Ron Martin, Professor of Practice, Capital Technology University

Dr. Martin is a Professor of Practice at Capitol Technology University. His work at Capitol Technology University is in the following functional areas: Critical Infrastructure, Industrial Control System Security, Identity, Credential, and Access Management. Ron has relationships with a diverse mix of businesses. He serves as a board of directors for many profit and non-profit organisations. Ron retired from the United States (U. S.) Army in 1999 and the U. S. Government in 2011. In between his tours of Federal Service, he served five years as a civilian police officer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He now serves on the Security Industry Association Standards Committee. Ron is a member of the ASIS International’s Commission on Standards & Guidelines. Commission. Ron is a voting member of the United States Technical Advisory Group to the International Standards Organization (ISO). Ron currently serves on the International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) Board of Directors.

12) Eddie Sorrells, COO & General Council, DSI Security Services

Eddie Sorrells, serves as COO and General Counsel for DSI Security Services. DSI is a security provider in the US with 4,000 employees. Eddie has 29 years of security experience and is a frequent speaker on security and legal topics. He has been featured in many security periodicals and is the author of: Security Litigation: Best Practices for Managing and Preventing Security-Related Lawsuits. Eddie has also been featured in national publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, commenting on important issues concerning the security industry. He holds a BS degree from Troy University and a Juris Doctorate from Faulkner University.  He is also triple certified: CPP, PSP, and PCI. He serves as a board member for The National Association of Security Companies, is a Past Chair of the ASIS International Security Services Council, and is a current Community Vice President for ASIS International.

11) Alfredo Yuncoza

Alfredo Yuncoza has an MBA with studies in Economics, and has graduated from several degrees in safety and security, as well as from the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, (National Defense University. USA). His roles have included: President – founder of the Hispanic Advisory Council of the International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO); Director of Corporate Academic Programs at Security College US; Member of the network of experts of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime; Past Regional Vice President (8B) of ASIS International; and President of the BritCham Venezuela Security Committee. His professional career of more than 30 years has been developed for national and transnational organisations. He is currently a consultant in strategic risk management in Latin America.

10) Scott Taylor

Scott is a widely acknowledged industry leader who has worked across the security, safety and risk industry over the past 27 years. He is a Court and Tribunal recognised expert in his field whom has consulted and lectured throughout the Middle East and USA, as well as working with government, industry regulators and industry across all Australian States and Territories spanning the spectrum of all industry verticals. He is Internationally Board Certified in Security Management and has qualifications that include a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Leadership, Advanced Diploma in Integrated Risk Management, Diploma of Security Risk Management, Diploma of Work Health and Safety and a Diploma in Vocational Education and Training. Scott’s depth of knowledge and experience allows him to develop and provide specialist training, consultancy and operational leadership. Scott has undertaken various executive positions with industry associations but also develops and regularly publicly shares his thoughts on industry challenges, new training methodologies and various other related topics.

9) McLean Essiene, CEO, ESSIMACS International Security

McLean Stanley Essiene, MSc, CPP, PCI, PSP, CCIP, (CAE, CCISO, PhD, in view) is an ex-Nigeria Immigration Service officer. He is the CEO of  ESSIMACS International Security, a Nigerian based commercial security company involved in security management consultancy and certifications training programmes. As CSO of Ahoada West LGA Council, Rivers State, McLean played visible roles in the 2016 Niger Delta amnesty program. He holds a  Bachelors in Geology, Master’s in Environmental Management, and presently completing a Doctorate in Natural Resources and Environmental Management, researching  the ultra-complex link between security and environment. McLean is a Nigeria OSPAs, Bill Zalud Memorial Award winner and an ASISand IFPO member, with several Councils membership, and is ALPSPN Policy Group’s secretary, supporting with the implementation of global best practices.

8) Diane Thomas

Diane Thomas served as a security controller for a defence manufacturing site in Leicester, before moving to the UK Head Office of a European FM company in 2000. During that time she volunteered as business manager for the Defence Industry Security Association. She joined the Security Institute as its first full-time employee 14 years ago, a leap of faith when there was only 6-months salary in the bank-account. Since then she has built the foundations of today’s professional membership organisation, growing the staff to four and the membership to over 2000 under her leadership as General Manager, before stepping sideways to concentrate on membership engagement. A leader that not only cares for those around her but a long term memory that is still nurturing her friends (because that is what long term members become) for a third decade. These days, Di’s focusses on two key areas – the SyI Continuing Professional Development scheme now adopted by five organisations, and the Register of Chartered Security Professionals, working closely with the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals to support and encourage excellence in security practice.

7) Professor Martin Gill, Director, Perpetuity Research

Professor Martin Gill is a criminologist. He is Director of Perpetuity Research and the Founder of the Outstanding Security Performance Awards (the OSPAs) and Tackling Economic Crime Awards (the TECAs). He is also the Chair of the Security Thought Leadership webinar series. He has published 14 books and is currently working on the third edition of the ‘Handbook’ of Security’. Martin is a Fellow of The Security Institute, a member of the Company of Security Professionals; and a Trustee of the ASIS Foundation. In 2010 he was recognised by the BSIA with a special award for ‘outstanding service to the security sector’. In 2016 he won the Imbert Prize and the same year ASIS International awarded him a Presidential Order of Merit for distinguished service. In 2016 he was entered onto the Register of Chartered Security Professionals.

6) Joyce Brocaglia, CEO, Alta Associates, BoardSuited

Joyce Brocaglia is a serial entrepreneur, an innovator and, a pioneer. The companies she has founded and lead serve an overall mission of building world-class organisations, advancing diversity, and developing leaders. Joyce is the CEO of Alta Associates, CEO of BoardSuited, and Founder of the Executive Women’s Forum on Information Security Risk Management and Privacy (EWF). Founded in 1986 Alta Associates is a prominent executive search firm specialising in Cyber security, Risk Management & Technology. Alta is ranked a top 50 executive search firm in the US. In 2002, Joyce Brocaglia, founded the Executive Women’s Forum. The EWF is the largest member organisation serving emerging leaders, as well as the most prominent and influential female executives in Information Security, Risk Management and Privacy. In 2019 Joyce founded BoardSuited, an online e-learning course that provides professionals with a practical approach to best prepare and position themselves for their first boardroom seat.

5) Malcolm Reid, Managing Director, Brison

Malcolm is a member of the ASIS International Global Board of Directors and the Business Continuity Institute’s USA national chapter Board. An industry expert, Malcolm is responsible for the conduct of a country-level assessment of the critical infrastructure of a global top ten LNG exporting nation. He has also consulted with very large global organisations in the areas of security and resilience. He has spoken internationally at numerous conferences and been recognised with some of the industry’s top awards. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, USA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management, he also received three master’s degrees (MA, MSIA & MBA) and also the industry’s most recognised credentials as a Board certified security professional, a Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

4) Gurbir Singh

Gurbir (GB) Singh is a successful entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working within the private security industry. Skilled in Physical Protection Systems Design, Security Management, Education & Training, Corporate Risk, Crisis & Emergency Management and Mass Media applications. A trustworthy and well connected professional with a long history of having played a leadership role in the development of the Indian private security industry with entrepreneurial roles in system integration, manufacturing, security training  and publishing, consulting and curating highly successful security seminars, roundtables and events. He has and continues to play volunteering roles with major industry associations, private and government institutions such as ASIS International, APSA, IISSM, FSAI, FICCI, OSAC, ISRM and the Bureau of Indian Standards.

3) Professor Alison Wakefield, Chair, Security Institute & Professor of Criminology & Security Studies, UWL

Professor Alison Wakefield PhD CSyP FSyI is Chair of the Security Institute and Professor of Criminology and Security Studies at the University of West London. She is also an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, Academic Adviser to the Chartered Security Professionals Registration Authority, and an editorial board member for a number of journals including Security Journal. Alison’s recent honours and awards include featuring in SC Media UK’s 50 Women of Influence in Cyber Security 2019, winning an Emerald Outstanding Paper 2018 award for the co-authored paper ‘Confronting the “fraud bottleneck”’ in the Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, and receiving the Association of Security Consultants Imbert Prize 2017 for her contribution to the security profession. She has published three books, and just completed a new one for Sage titled Security and Crime: Converging Perspectives on a Complex World, due out in 2021.

2) Suzanna Alsayed, Founder of Evolutz and Hilt International Security 

Suzanna Alsayed, MDEM, is a trilingual emergency management and security specialist that was awarded the IFSEC Global 2019 “Top Influencers in Security & Fire” in the ‘One to Watch’ category. She has over seven years’ experience in various roles within the public and private sectors with expertise in facilitating multi-disciplinary projects involving internal and external stakeholders. In 2020, Suzanna founded Evolutz, an independent brand, design, copywriting, and website development agency. The aim is to elevate the security industry branding standards and help security companies and professionals put their best foot forward, expand their client reach, and increase revenue. Suzanna also founded Hilt International Security, a holistic security firm – with the goal to work with different international platforms, in order to protect people and assets worldwide.

1) Charles Andrews

Charles “Chuck” Andrews, CPP, CFE, CFCI, ICPS, MSME has been in the law-enforcement and security industries since 1976, starting as Police Explorer, and has served in many roles of leadership as Chief of Police, Chief Security Officer (CSO), Adjunct Professor Computer Science, CJ & Security Asst’ Dean and Global Security Advisor & Strategist. In addition, Chuck has served in many leadership and board roles with numerous security, crime prevention and law enforcement associations across the globe. Known for his group of security colleagues, friends and leaders in the industry, Friends of Chuck (FOC) has become a household name in the security industry. Chuck was also named the top Crime Prevention Officer internationally, ISCPP, and the OSPA’S Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Cyber Security Professionals

20) Shamane Tan, Chief Growth Officer, Privasec; Author, founder of Cyber Risk Meetup 

Shamane Tan works with C-Suite and executives on managing cyber risk as part of their business strategy for sustainable growth. She is the author of the book Cyber Risk Leaders: Global C-Suite Insights – Leadership and Influence in the Cyber Age, a business handbook containing rich insights from 70+ CxOs across industries, exploring the art of communication with executives. As a podcaster and founder of an international Cyber Risk meetup which has 3,000 members across six different cities, her Mega C-Suite Stories conversations with top industry C-level leaders offer a platform for security enthusiasts and executives to impart and exchange innovative insights. Shamane is a sought-after international keynote speaker in the fields of cyber security, leadership and the human connection.

19) Min Kyriannis, MD, EMD|JMK. JMK Grp

Min serves as Managing Director of EMD|JMK.  JMK Grp, a consulting firm founded by Ms. Kyriannis. In her previous role at Jaros, Baum & Bolles, Ms. Kyriannis had served as the Head of Cyber security and the Head of Cyber security and Technology Business Development where she pioneered and developed an industry-leading cyber security programme for building systems. Ms. Kyriannis has over 25 years working in industries involved with enterprise and converged systems, information technology, cyber security, physical security, and risk management across the globe.  She currently assists in developing best practices for a variety of different security programmes across different markets. She currently serves as co-President of Women In International Security – NY Chapter, Chair of SIA’s Cybersecurity Advisory Board and Vice-Chair of SIA’s New Product Showcase Committee, as well as being a member of the Advisory Board for SecuritySpecifiers.

18) Mahbubul Islam, CISO, HM Courts and Tribunal Services 

Mahbubul is a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP) and a highly skilled cyber security expert with a detailed grounding in personnel, procedural, physical, and technical security. In that period, he has led numerous agile and non-agile teams on security engagements in UK Government Departments. His passion and focus have been on building inclusive and diverse security teams that are able adapt to the dynamic changes within security, whilst delivering on Cyber, Technical, Governance, Risk and Compliance outcomes. Mahbubul is a member of the SABSA Institute, CIISec and The Security Institute. He is a keen supporter of mentoring programmes within the security profession, including helping with the development of the security professionals in the UK Civil Service. Mahbubul has been appointed a Non-Executive Director for the Security Institute as well as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). As the CISO for HM Courts and Tribunal Services, he remains committed to delivery of their Cyber Security initiatives.”

17) Clement Arul Jeeva, CEO, Kaapagam Technologies

A Principal Technology Architect & Security Professional with 22 years of IT experience in Security, Ethical Hacking, Cyber Security Framework, Security Risk & Governance, Systems Analysis, Design, Development, Secure Coding, Implementation, Digital Forensics and Project Management. Clement is founder and CEO of Kaapagam Technologies and Kaapagam Education Services and Chief Technology Officer for Regional Security Operation Center, Vigilant Asia. He is also a Security Consultant for many multi-national and leading IT companies in APAC region, a frequent speaker at security events and a recipient of several national and international cyber security awards.

16) Sai Honig, CCSP, CISSP

Sai Honig has worked in differing roles in various industries. Prior to information security, Sai was an aerospace design engineer and financial/ operational auditing. Sai’s IT experience is in the governance, audit, supply chain, risk management, and security.  Her industrial experience includes manufacturing, healthcare, education, and financial services. Sai has volunteered for Grameen Foundation. This foundation’s global efforts in microfinance and assisting those to access capital in order to improve their lives, their families and their communities. Sai’s volunteer efforts were recognized with The President’s Volunteer Service Award in May 2013 from then President Barack Obama. Sai served as board member of (ISC)² from 2017-2019. Sai is also co-founder of NZ Network for Women in Security.

15) Kendra Ross, Co-founder, Duo NZ Ltd

Kendra Ross is co-founder of Duo NZ Ltd, New Zealand’s first and largest cyber security distributor and PS Duo, a cyber security resourcing company for the channel. Kendra exited both businesses in 2019 and is now assisting in the expansion. Kendra founded 1st Tuesday in 2008, creating a forum for over 1,000 senior professionals to support this vision and in 2016 Kendra co-founded Project Wednesday, a platform for people considering cyber security as a career. In 2016 Kendra was appointed to the Establishment Board of NZ’s first CERT. She has also been appointed by Government onto several Taskforces on Cyber Security. In 2019 joined Tech Futures Lab Advisory Board and is helping shape Masters and Post Grad Programs in Technology and Innovation. Among the awards Kendra has personally received, the stand out for her was when she was the first female inducted into the NZ IDG ICT Innovation Hall of Fame in 2018.

14) Mary N. Chaney, Esq., Director of Information Security, ESPERION Therapeutics

Mary N. Chaney, Esq., CISSP, has over 25 years of progressive experience within the fields of Law, Information Security, Privacy and Risk Management. She graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio with her B.S.B.A in Information Systems and received her J.D. degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Ms. Chaney is a former Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) where she investigated cyber crime, obtained her Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification in 2008 and her Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) in 2019. In her corporate career, she has served as an executive in information security roles Comcast, Johnson & Johnson and GE Capital. Ms. Chaney has also owned her own cyber security and privacy law practice, The Law Offices of Mary N. Chaney, P.L.L.C., The Cyber Security Law Firm of Texas. Currently, Ms. Chaney, serves as the Director of Information Security for ESPERION Therapeutics, Inc.

13) Lauren Zink

Lauren Zink is an information security professional who has developed, expanded and maintained security awareness programmes for numerous companies. Most recently, Lauren was a contributor to the book “Rise of the Cyber Women: Volume 1”. Lauren is also a LinkedIn Learning cyber author of two security courses and has been published in numerous industry magazines and websites. She is a huge advocate for women in STEM & volunteers her time mentoring women as well as talking at schools, businesses & conferences. Lauren has served on different boards and is a member of various industry organisations. She has a time-tested ability to develop robust programmes and instill culture change in global environments and enjoys volunteering her time to share her knowledge to help develop the future of the security industry.

12) Kavya Pearlman

Well known as the “Cyber Guardian”, founder of the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI), Kavya Pearlman is an award-winning cyber security professional with a deep interest in immersive and emerging technologies. She recently launched a novel XRSI Privacy Framework for the XR and Spatial Computing domain. Kavya is constantly exploring new technologies to solve cyber security challenges. She has been named one of the top cyber security influencers for two consecutive years, 2018-2019. Kavya has previously advised Facebook on third party security risks during the 2016 US presidential elections and worked as the head of security for the oldest virtual world, “Second Life” by Linden Lab. Kavya is one of the top 50 speakers in the cyber security industry and constantly shares knowledge via webinars, conference talks, and blog posts around Application Security, Cloud-native technologies, Machine Learning, and immersive technologies such as XR.

11) Daniel Dresner, Professor of Cyber Security, University of Manchester

Danny Dresner is Professor of Cyber Security at The University of Manchester after 22 years with The National Computing Centre. Danny is a founder and director of The IASME Consortium, championing cyber security for small businesses, running the UK’s Cyber Essentials Scheme, and a cyber security programme for neurodiverse. Daniel also furthers cyber security for SMEs as part of the four-university Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry. Danny’s diverse, community-based approach to cyber security, runs exercises to help people learn how to cope with on-line harms. 2019 saw the launch of ‘Save the World (Wide Web)’ – an immersive experience to provide emotional inoculations against on-line harms that Danny designed with the Creative Learning Department of the University of Chester. Danny also revived The Ratio Club (a thought leadership group for cybernetics in which Alan Turing participated).

10) Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft Cybersecurity Solutions Group

Sarah Armstrong-Smith is a Chief Security Advisor in Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Solutions Group. She principally works with strategic customers across Europe, to help them evolve their security strategy and capabilities to support digital transformation and cloud adoption. Sarah has a background in business continuity, disaster recovery, data protection and privacy, as well as crisis management. Combining these elements means she operates holistically to understand the cyber security landscape, and how this can be proactively enabled to deliver effective operational resilience. Sarah has been recognised as one of the most influential women in UK Tech and UK cyber security and regularly contributes to thought leadership, industry publications and is a keynote speaker.

9) Elisabetta Zaccaria

Elisabetta is an award-winning entrepreneur, C-level executive, author and speaker with more than 16 years’ international experience in the cyber security, ICT, defence and national security industries. She was Board Member/Group CSO & COO (2006-2012) of Global Strategies Group, where she played a key leadership role as chief strategist turning the British start-up into a $600 million-revenue international business in six years. More recently she founded and served as Executive Chairman (2016-2019) of Secure Chorus, a not-for-profit membership organisation for multi-stakeholder cooperation in digital security by design. The importance of her work was recognised by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which funded Secure Chorus’ set-up as part of the UK Government’s £1.9bn transformational investment in the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy. Elisabetta takes a strong personal interest in supporting entrepreneurship and since 2014, has held the position of Entrepreneur Mentor in Residence at London Business School.

8) James Willison, Founder, Unified Security 

James Willison is a recognised International leader in Security Convergence and Enterprise Security Risk Management. James is Co-Chair, Smart Buildings Working Group, Internet of Things Security Foundation. He is a project manager of the IFSEC Converged Security Centre and a Vidsys consultant. He was a member of the ASIS/ISC (2) Security Awareness Standard working group and is a member of the ASIS ESRM Steering Committee. James was awarded the Imbert Prize for an ‘outstanding contribution to the Security Industry in 2011’ for his work on convergence with ASIS Europe and the Information Security Awareness Forum. He has more than 20 years’ of management experience in the physical and information security industry, including, Advisor on Convergence to the Mitie TSM Board, Senior lecturer in Security Management at Loughborough University, an ISACA Academic Advocate and Digital Security Expert with the European Union. He has co-authored three White Papers on ESRM, SMART GDPR Assurance for a Smarter world and Smart Buildings and Cities Security with his colleague and fellow convergence expert, Sarb Sembhi, sponsored by AXIS Communications and published by Unified Security Ltd.

7) Nkiruka Aimienoho, Cyber security, PwC

Nkiruka Aimienoho currently leads PwC’s cyber security, privacy, and business resilience services in Nigeria. Before this role, she spearheaded enterprise-wide information security certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISO 20000), maintenance, and capacity building efforts for over 50 blue-chip firms. Recently, Nkiruka was named one of the Top 50 Women in Cybersecurity (Africa). In 2019, CyberInAfrica recognised her as one of the remarkable women moving cyber security in the continent. Nkiruka is passionate about diversity and inclusion in security and has successfully mentored several ladies. Her non-for-profit societal contributions include InfoSec Amazons, which supports women in information security at entry and mid-career levels, and the ABCN – dedicated to helping companies and tech professionals build and fortify business resilience.

6) Terry Cutler, CEO, Cyology Labs

Terry Cutler is an international award-winning cyber security expert and Government cleared Ethical Hacker known for his catchy online videos, numerous television appearances, live public speaking events, extensive coaching products, and top-level consulting services. He’s also the author of the #1 Amazon Best Seller book “Insider Secrets to Internet Safety: Advice from a Professional Hacker. Over the past 20 years, he’s advised some of Canada’s largest companies on how to prevent and remedy internal and external security penetration. For the general public, he developed an effective online learning programme called Internet Safety University. With over 28,600 students from over 150 counties, he’s helped educate his pupils on cyber-crime, spying, security failures, internet scams, and the real social networking dangers that families and individuals face every day.

5) Sarb Sembhi, Virtually Informed

Sarb is a regular contributor to IFSEC Global, covering cyber/physical security issues, and vlogs about cyber security for SMBs and the security of Smart Built Environments. Together with Gerry Dunphy, James Willison and Vidsys, he is proud to have developed and facilitated the Converged Security Centre for the IFSEC event for several years. He is the Co-Chair of the IoT Security Foundation’s Smart Building Group, where he has jointly overseen the production of guidance for environment owner/occupiers, manufacturers, facilities staff and installers and integrators. He was a member of the recent BSIA Cyber Security Code of Practice for installers guidance paper. Sarb is the Thought Leadership Workstream lead for the newly created UK Cyber Security Council. He is also a Past President of the ISACA London Chapter and Past Chair of the ISACA International GRA Committee. Recently he founded a Growth Accelerator to assist start-ups businesses in cyber security, IoT, Smart Homes, Buildings, Cities, manufacturing and infrastructure.

4) Leticia Gammill, President & Founder, WOMCY

Leticia Gammill leads the Latin America and Canada Cybersecurity Partners team at Cisco, responsible for the strategy, positioning and enablement of cyber security solutions to Cisco partners, Service Providers and Distributors, as well as the implementation of channel programmes in the region. Leticia has 15 years of experience in the cyber security space, first with Cisco and then with Palo Alto Networks. Leticia’s management experience includes leading Avaya’s Business Development team for the Networking portfolio in Latin America and Canada, and leading the cloud platform partnerships at AppDirect, a cloud platform provider. She is the Founder and President of WOMCY, Latin America Women in Cybersecurity, an organisation focused in mentoring and developing special programs to promote careers in cyber security and increase the presence of female professionals in Latin America.

3) Adel Abdel Moneim

Adel Abdel Moneim is a registered ITU/ARCC Cyber security Expert, with over 24 years of experience in the IT/cyber security fields. Adel is an international certified trainer from Microsoft, ISC2, EC-Council, ISACA, PECB, APMG, CertNexus and CIW, having delivered hundreds of official training courses and workshops. Adel successfully provides consultation for large enterprise security projects in various government / industry verticals serving many reputable organizations and companies nationally, regionally and internationally. In a strive to continually rise cyber security awareness, Adel has dedicated hundreds of hours to voluntary work, providing the governmental sector, NGOs and the technical communities with his experience and knowledge.

2) Kevin Curran, Professor of Cyber Security, Ulster University

Kevin Curran is a Professor of Cyber Security, Executive Co-Director of the Legal innovation Centre and group leader of the Cyber Security and Web Technologies Research Group at Ulster University. He sits on the Advisory Group of the UK Cyber Security Council and the Northern Ireland Civil Service Cyber Leadership Board. He is also a senior member of the IEEE and a Fellow of the British Blockchain Association (FBBA). Professor Curran is perhaps most well-known for his work on cyber security, blockchain and networking evidenced by over 800 publications. Google Scholar lists his citations as 8020 with h-index of 37 and i10-index of 122. He is one of the most interviewed technology experts in the UK with over 2000+ interviews in recent years.

1) Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, Chair, African Union Cyber Security Expert Group

Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola is concurrently: Chair, African Union Cyber Security Expert Group (AUCSEG) – African Union Commission; Chair, Working Group on Cyber Incident Management and Critical Information Protection of Global Forum on Cyber Expertise; listed on the UNODA Roster of Experts for an online training course in “Cyber-diplomacy.”; Commissioner, Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace; Resource Person, ITU Arab Regional Cyber Security Centre through Oman National CERT (OCERT), Oman; Resource person, South East Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism, Malaysia. He is a founding member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – Computer Emergency Response Team and Chairman, Consultancy Support Services (CS2) Ltd., a Nigerian Cyber Security, e-Library and ICT Policy Consultancy Firm. He is working to kick-start the development of an Africa Cybersecurity Economic sub-sector employing knowledge workers who will profitably drive cyber security solutions value chains to solve current and future problems.

Security – Ones to Watch

Anne Leslie, Senior Managing Consultant, IBM Security

Passionate about responsible technology, Anne has spent much of her career at the intersection between financial services, regulatory policy and IT. She holds an Executive MBA from HEC Business School in Paris and the CCSP in Cloud Security from (ISC). Today at IBM, her focus is on Security Intelligence & Operations Consulting where she accompanies international corporations, particularly in the financial services sector, in transforming their security operations to keep pace with an ever-changing business and threat landscape. An accomplished public speaker, Anne is frequently invited to address audiences of executive leaders on topics of strategic relevance, such as cyber risk management and operational resilience. She is also currently leading several upskilling and ‘new collar’ initiatives related to Cyber Talent Transformation and the application of human-centered approaches and Design Thinking to some of the most wicked problems facing Security practitioners.

Josh Darby MacLellan, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst

Josh works as a Cyber Threat Intelligence analyst for a financial institution but didn’t start out in cyber security. He moved from the UK to study in Canada before starting his career in Toronto with a co-op position in corporate security, producing intelligence on physical security threats. Thereafter, Josh remained in corporate security within the financial sector, fulfilling roles in crime risk analysis, risk management, and threat intelligence. Wanting to broaden his skillset, he recently transitioned to the cyber domain where he produces intelligence with a focus on the virtual threat landscape. Josh is involved in a few industry associations, including ASIS where he joined the Young Professionals (YP) Council and secured the YP Committee Chairperson position in the Toronto chapter, as well as Assistant Regional Vice President representing YPs for ASIS Canada. In April 2020, he also joined (ISC) Toronto Chapter’s communications committee.

Aaron Ker

Aaron’s passion for security and fire safety became evident at the age of four when he demanded a fire extinguisher for his birthday. Now 29, he has managed the security programmes for the largest public and private developments in the history of the Province. Aaron studied Criminology at Simon Fraser Univeristy and is now pursuing a second degree in Computing Science at the Univeristy of British Columbia. Aaron is a licenced paramedic and first aid instructor. In 2017 he was instrumental in coordinating volunteer resources during the peak of the opioid epidemic. Aaron also actively provides pro-bono security consulting to survivors of domestic abuse. Outside of work Aaron enjoys lockpicking, olympic weight-lifting and playing the accordion.

Will Hucker, Redvision

Will Graduated from The University of Southampton with a first class Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. His skills were further developed at Fluor Ltd, where among his achievements, he was responsible for coordinating high value international Pipeline systems in Uganda. Will joined Redvision September 2019, and has been directly responsible for revolutionising development, production and promotion of its products. Will recognises, from a fresh perspective, the challenges of working within the very elite sector of the CCTV market. Over the next 12 months he will be overseeing a transition for Redvision from being a CCTV camera manufacturer to a Total Solution Provider. This new strategy is already bearing fruit with many vertical markets, including Public space, Prisons and Stadiums already specifying Redvision Total Solutions.

Tom Pickersgill, Co-founder, Orka

Tom co-founded Orka (formerly Broadstone) in 2016 with a clear goal – to radically improve the way workers find work, clear vetting and get paid. While in a previous role, Tom identified inefficiencies in the way shift workers were recruited and on-boarded in the facilities management sector and set about finding a way to digitise the entire hourly worker journey. In the years since, Manchester-based Orka has created an intuitive tech platform which removes barriers to entry for workers, while saving employers time, money and hassle. Tom has led the company through a period of rapid growth building a passionate and intelligent team, partnering with global security giants and helping tens of thousands of workers into shifts, while being recognised as one of the UK’s most exciting start-ups. Tom’s mantra is to turn challenges into opportunities and with an ever-growing team and more innovative products on the horizon, the Indiana University graduate says he’s only just getting started.

Fire Safety Professionals

15) Sir Martin Moor-Bick, Lead Judge, Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry

In June 2017 it was announced that Sir Martin Moor-Bick, a retired judge, had been appointed as the Lead Judge for the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower tragedy. He continues to oversee and run proceedings, with the inquiry currently in phase 2 of its process. He was a prominent author and contributor to the Phase 1 recommendations, published in October 2019. (From online sources)

14) Lorna Stimpson, LABC

Lorna has a real focus on fire safety despite being a multidisciplined building control specialist. She is a board member for the Joint Regulators Group. A lot of the work Lorna does is unseen and revolves around the sector response to Grenfell. She speaks passionately about improvement in the fire sector for the sake of those who rely on others for their safety. She is an advocate of the residents’ voice and has worked tirelessly on competence of building control and their ability to demonstrate their technical expertise. She is also working hard on the ‘safety case’ which is an area that will help keep occupants of high rise residential buildings safe. (Nomination reasoning)

13) Derek Gotts, Managing Director, Supply Plus Limited

Supply Plus Ltd designs, manufactures and supplies safety and fuel delivery equipment; based in Cambridgeshire. The Supply Plus brands are AS Fire & Safety ladders and vehicle gantry systems, Bayley ladders and Collins Youldon hose reels; these products are used by every UK Fire and Rescue Service. Derek successfully led Supply Plus through a complete management buy out in April 2019, re-establishing its independent market leadership and full management ownership once again. Derek is also the Chair of the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and has been active in this trade association for over 15 years, being elected Chair of the association in 2017. Derek has also been actively engaged with BSI and sits on several Committees.

12) Thomas Roche, Senior Consultant, International Codes and Standards, FM Global

Tom Roche is Assistant Vice President, Senior Consultant within the International Codes Group for FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers. Based in Windsor, Tom works to share FM Global’s knowledge and expertise to influence building codes and loss prevention standards. Prior to his current appointment, Tom served in a variety of engineering and engineering management roles across the UK. He has travelled extensively to support clients across the world to establish loss prevention policies and implement risk strategies all aimed at improving the resilience of their businesses to property risks. Tom works extensively within the field of loss prevention. In the UK he is the current Secretary of the Business Sprinkler Alliance, an organisation that promotes the use of automatic sprinklers in Industrial and Commercial premises. He is also the current Active Protection Director within the Fire Sector Federation. Through this role he promotes work on active fire protection systems and supports the review of regulations that impact fire safety within the wider Built Environment.

11) Colin Todd, MBE

Colin Todd is regularly retained as an expert witness in enforcement and prosecution cases associated with fire, either by the enforcing authority or defendants. He was an expert witness for the Crown in the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the Rosepark fire. He is currently appointed as an expert witness for the Public Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. He was also a member of the Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review Panel which advised Scottish Ministers on changes to the Building Regulations in Scotland in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. Colin serves on a number of British Standard Committees, is a Board member of the Fire Industry Association (FIA), Chairman of the FIA Fire Risk Assessment Council and the author of a number of British Standards Institution (BSI) publications, including PAS 79, the BSI guidance on fire risk assessment. Colin was awarded an MBE for services to fire safety in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List.

10) Russ Timpson

As well as directing the Tall Buildings Fire Safety Conference, Russ Timpson is the founder and CEO of Horizonscan – a company focusing on risk, resilience and client companies readiness for crisis events. Russ began his fire career with Kent Fire Brigade. On leaving the Fire Service, he took up the position of Head of Safety for Virgin Atlantic Airways, leading a multi-disciplinary team of safety, health and environmental specialists. In 1999, Russ was headhunted by BAA (UK airport operator) to lead the response to the major fire at Terminal 1, Heathrow Airport. In the following five years, he contributed to several major airport construction projects; including the skyway at Gatwick Airport and T5 at Heathrow Airport. Russ was awarded the HSE’s award for European Safety and Health at Work achievement 1998 and European Strategic Risk Management Award 2004, International Fire professional of the Year 2015. CIR International Risk Management Award 2017. Following the Grenfell Fire, RT is a regular expert contributor to media reports and broadcasts. He now works as a consulting resilience/business continuity advisor to several multinational companies.

9) Jon Pagan, Director of Fire Safety Engineering, International Fire Consultants 

Jon is an experienced Chartered Fire Engineer and Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers. He has been working in fire engineering since 1995, originally starting with Warrington Fire where he was eventually appointed as General Manager of the Fire Engineering division, a position which I held for several years. He accepted the position as Director of Fire Safety Engineering at International Fire Consultants in 2011. In technical areas, Jon is experienced in all areas of fire engineering, including fire strategies, smoke modelling, structural fire engineering and radiation analysis. Since 2013, he has also held the position of Chairman of the Fire Engineering Council of the Fire Industry Association. (From LinkedIn)

8) Luke Edwards, Director of Fire & Resilience, UK Home Office

Luke Edwards has been Fire and Resilience Director since February 2019 with responsibility for fire safety; fire strategy and reform; national resilience; and the COVID-19 response for fire and rescue services. He has gained extensive knowledge of bluelight services in his wide ranging public service career spanning nearly 20 years. He has worked at HM Treasury, HMRC and the Ministry of Justice and led work on police finance and efficiency at the Home Office. Immediately prior to taking up the role Luke undertook a fundamental review of ambulance service efficiency and effectiveness for Lord Carter of Coles and is also an Associate Non-Executive Director at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust.

7) Robert Thilthrope, Technical Manager, Fire Industry Association (FIA)

Robert joined the team in 2002 as Assistant Technical Manager, taking over as Technical Manager in 2005. Prior to joining, Robert worked for BSI and was responsible for National, European and International Fire Committees for fire extinguishing, fire detection and alarms, Fire Brigade Equipment and Portable Fire Extinguishers. Robert remains the current Chair of FSH/18 Fixed Fire Fighting Systems and CEN /TC191 Fixed Fire Fighting Systems and FSS/0 Services in fire and security. He is convenor of ISO/TC21/SC8/WG5 which is responsible for ISO/14520-1 and the guidance venting of gaseous fire extinguishing systems and ISO/TC21SC 8/WG8 CO2 Extinguishing systems.  He represents the FIA at European level – Euralarm Board, Services Section and TC Horizontal Compliance, which he chairs. He is also the Secretary for the FIA Extinguishing and Services Councils and subordinate working group. Within the UK, Robert represents the FIA on BRE’s Fire Suppression Industry liaison group and a number of MHCLG project groups managed by BRE. He is the current chair of FM Approvals Safeguarding Committee. Outside of the FIA Robert has been a serving Special Constable for 25 years, in the Metropolitan Police, City of London Police and Cambridge Constabulary where he is currently a Special Chief Inspector managing the Specials Learning and Development Department.

6) Sir Thomas Winsor, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Fire & Rescue Services (From HMICFRS website)

In October 2012, Sir Thomas was appointed as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary. He is the first holder of that office to come from a non-policing background. In July 2017, he was appointed as the first ever Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services. Sir Thomas graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1979 and is a lawyer admitted to practise in both Scotland and England and Wales. In private practice, he specialised in complex commercial projects, finance, public law and the design and operation of economic and safety regulatory systems for essential public services such as energy, water and transport. He was a partner in major commercial law firms in the City of London. Between October 2010 and March 2012, Sir Thomas carried out a review of the pay and conditions of service of police officers and police staff in England and Wales. The review was carried out at the request of the Home Secretary and was the most comprehensive for more than 30 years. Legislation to implement a significant proportion of Sir Thomas’s recommendations was passed in March 2014. Sir Thomas’s knighthood was announced in the 2015 New Year honours list. He is currently leading a reform in how the FRS complies with building fire safety regulations.

5) Chandru Dissanayeke

Chandru Dissanayeke is the Director of Building Safety Reform at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the UK Government. The Building Safety Programme established immediately after the Grenfell tower tragedy has the aim to make sure buildings are safe, and residents feel safe, now and in the future. He is responsible for reform of the building safety system, which involves strengthening regulation for buildings during their design and construction, extending regulations into occupation, establishing two new national regulators, and driving change in the behaviours practices across the sector. During his career he has held a variety of policy roles across five UK Government departments. Prior to joining the civil service, he had a career delivering projects and programmes within the financial, technology, manufacturing, and entertainment industries.

4) Michael Harper, MSC, CCMI, FRAeS, Non-Executive Chairman, Fire Sector Federation

Michael Harper joined Kidde Graviner Limited in 1984 and became involved in fire safety equipment for aircraft and military vehicles, and via a series of mergers and acquisitions became responsible for the Kidde division of Williams Holdings plc which supplied fire protection and fire safety equipment to a wide range of industries.

Michael was Chief Executive of Kidde plc from 2000 until 2005 when he retired from executive life and has since Chaired BBA Aviation plc (2007 – 2014), Ricardo plc (2003 – 2014), The Vitec Group plc (2004 – 2012) and served on the Boards of Catlin plc (2005 – 2010) and QinetiQ plc (2011 – present). He has been a member of the Aerospace Technology Institute Board since September 2014 and Independent non-executive Chairman of the Fire Sector Federation since 2018.

Michael became a Freeman of the City of London in January 2003.  He became a Liveryman of the Company in July 2004 and served as the Master in 2012/13.

3) Nick Coombe, MBE, Building Safety Programme Hackitt Lead, NFCC

Nick’s 39 years’ service for the London Fire Brigade has spanned many roles including, Head of Fire Safety Training, Enforcement Manager and Head of Fire Safety Policy. He has helped write DCLG guides and as the Chair of CFOA Enforcement working group helped produce policies and guidance on the RRO to Fire & Rescue Services. He is currently NFCC Protection vice chair and leads the Building Safety Programme. He is a member of the Joint Regulators Group and the newly formed Protection Board. He is a also member of the Industry Safety Steering Group led by Dame Judith Hackitt to hold industry to account on the progress of post Grenfell change. He was a founder member of the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council and is also the IFE lead assessor on Fire Risk Assessment Register of Auditors. He sits on various BS Committees. In 2019 New Years Honours lists he was awarded a MBE for services to fire safety

2) Dame Judith Hackitt

Dame Judith Hackitt is a chemical engineer and is currently Chair of Make UK. She is also Chair of Enginuity, the UK skills body for Engineering and Manufacturing  formerly known as Semta and senior non-executive director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, an organisation which exists to support and encourage innovation in Advanced Manufacturing. She is also a Board member of HS2 Ltd. Dame Judith worked in the chemicals manufacturing industry for 23 years, and became Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in October 2007, until March 2016. She was made a Dame in the 2015-16 New Year Honours for services to health and safety and engineering, in particular for being a role model for young women.

Following the tragic fire which occurred at Grenfell Tower in London in June 2017, Dame Judith conducted an independent review into Building Regulations and Fire Safety related to high rise buildings for the Government. She began her review in July 2017 and plans to implement her recommendations in full were announced in the Queen’s speech in October 2019. She now works as an adviser to Government  chairing the Industry Safety Steering Group holding industry to account to deliver the culture change needed and the Transition Board which is overseeing the setting up of the new Building Safety Regulator. She speaks and writes regularly on the need for industry to step up to its responsibilities for safety and quality.

1) Stephen Greenhalgh, Minister of State, MHCLG, Fire Minister, UK Home Office (Bio from gov.uk)

Stephen Greenhalgh was appointed an unpaid Minister of State jointly at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office on 18 March 2020, with his remit including Fire Safety, Building Safety Programme and the Grenfell recovery and public inquiry. Stephen served as Second Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London from 2012 until 2016. He was created Lord Greenhalgh of Fulham on 16 April 2020.

Nomination reasoning: “A fire minister that is actively working to engage with insurers which will finally help the general public.”