Bio: Keri Leicher is the Group Head of Risk Intelligence Services at Castor Vali, a position she has held for more than five years. She leads multidisciplinary teams of analysts based in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and the UK, delivering political, security and operational intelligence that enables organisations to manage risk and pursue business opportunities across the continent. Based in South Africa, Keri is responsible for the strategic direction, growth and business development of the service line, working with clients across multiple sectors throughout Africa. With over 16 years of experience in risk, she is a regular speaker on doing business across Africa. She holds two Master's degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Session Title: Three Trends Shaping Africa's Security Landscape
Session Summary: How has Africa's security landscape evolved over the past decade, and where are the next hotspots emerging? Through data-driven analysis and case studies from Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique, this presentation examines the changing dynamics of violent protests, conflict and terrorism, and maritime insecurity, offering insights into the risks most likely to shape Africa's security environment in the years ahead.
Bio: Ian Cameron is a South African politician, Member of Parliament, and prominent crime activist. He serves as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police and is a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Keynote Address Title: Hollowed-out Policing in South Africa
Session Summary: In a country grappling with high crime rates, capacity challenges, and evolving security threats, this session will examine the state of policing in South Africa and what meaningful reform could look like in the years ahead.
Bio: Anselem Martin is a seasoned Director with over 25 years of expertise in the ATM, banking, cash‑in‑transit, and security industries, including more than 20 years in leadership roles. Holding a Master’s degree in Business Management alongside other professional qualifications, he has successfully expanded businesses across South Africa and the wider African continent.
Keynote Address Title: Rethinking Cash‑in‑Transit Security: Eliminating the Reward to Reduce Crime
Session Summary: Exploring innovative approaches to tackling CIT crime and shaping the future of secure cash logistics.
Bio: With more than 15 years of experience in innovation, operations, and business transformation, Christian is the Head of Risk Solutions at SBV South Africa, where they help organisations manage operational risk through integrated digital and physical security solutions. Their expertise spans process optimisation, robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and business transformation. Prior to joining SBV, they held leadership roles at Absa Group, delivering large-scale automation and process reengineering initiatives. A certified Scrum practitioner, they are passionate about driving operational excellence and enabling organisations to achieve sustainable, technology-driven outcomes.
Session Title: The Hidden Risk in People
Bio: David Little is the Chief Risk Officer at SBV South Africa, where he leads enterprise risk strategy, governance, and organisational resilience across one of Africa's leading cash management and security solutions providers. With extensive experience in risk management, operational resilience, and business transformation, David is passionate about helping organisations navigate emerging risks while driving innovation, strong governance, and sustainable business performance.
Session Title: The Hidden Risk in People
Bio: Shiphrah Wairima is a Cybersecurity & Responsible AI leader, speaker, and advocate for human-centered digital safety. She works with leaders, organizations, women, and underrepresented communities to make cybersecurity and AI ethics accessible, practical, and empowering.
With a strong focus on education, leadership awareness, and affordability, Shiphrah helps organizations and communities navigate digital risk without fear or complexity. Her work bridges the gap between technical expertise and human impact — translating cybersecurity and AI governance into clear, actionable insights for non-technical audiences.
She has empowered 500+ individuals into tech and freelancing pathways and regularly delivers keynotes, training, and workshops for SMEs, institutions, women-focused initiatives, and community leaders. Shiphrah is deeply passionate about empowerment — ensuring women, leaders, and communities have the knowledge, confidence, and resources to thrive safely in the digital age.
Session Title: Cybersecurity on a Budget: What Actually Matters for SMEs
Bio: With more than 18 years of experience in global security and risk management, Adedji has led security, resilience, and crisis management programmes across more than 20 countries throughout Africa. Having held leadership roles supporting organisations including American Express, Meta, Coca-Cola HBC, ABB, and Procter & Gamble, they specialise in Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM), business continuity, crisis response, and multi-country security operations. An active leader within ASIS International, they are passionate about advancing the security profession and championing security as a strategic business enabler that drives resilience and organisational success.
Session Title: From Crisis Response to Enterprise Resilience: Leading Through Uncertainty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Bio: Rebecca Nyariki is a Compliance and Administration Associate with expertise in regulatory compliance, operational governance, and project administration. She specialises in maintaining compliance frameworks, supporting organisational operations, and managing risk, vendor, and incident processes to ensure operational integrity and audit readiness. Passionate about collaboration within the security industry, Rebecca is committed to advancing good governance, social justice, and inclusion.
Session Title: From Crisis Response to Enterprise Resilience: Leading Through Uncertainty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Session Title: From Crisis Response to Enterprise Resilience: Leading Through Uncertainty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Bio: Simon is the Director of Global Security and Asset Protection for Africa at The Coca-Cola Company, where he leads enterprise security, asset protection, fraud prevention, investigations, and business continuity strategies across the region.
With over a decade of experience in corporate security and enterprise risk management, Simon partners with business leaders and law enforcement to mitigate risk, strengthen organizational resilience, and protect people, assets, and operations. He holds CISSP, CPP, PSP, PCI, and CFE certifications.
Session Title: From Crisis Response to Enterprise Resilience: Leading Through Uncertainty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Bio: Stella is a Security and Enterprise Risk Management professional with over 15 years of experience across the banking, consulting, and energy sectors. She specializes in corporate security, security risk management, Security by Design (SbD), fraud prevention, and governance, with expertise in embedding security into major capital projects and critical infrastructure.
Stella has successfully led security risk assessments for large-scale energy developments and is recognized for delivering measurable business value through risk-based security strategies, fraud reduction, and operational efficiencies. Her ability to integrate security, finance, and enterprise risk management enables organizations to enhance resilience and support strategic decision-making.
Session Title: Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Defence & the Future of Security Operations in Africa
Bio: Security Solutions Manager at a market leading Fintech, South Africa. ASIS
International Member - ASISSA Chapter 155 Board Member & Education Head.
OSPAs Southern Africa 2024 & 2026 Winner and Global OSPAs nominee.
Session Title: Innovation in Security - Panel Discussion
Bio: Danie Taljaard is the Head of Banking Operations at Smartlock, where he drives turnkey high-security locking solutions. He is responsible for overseeing banking operations and delivering innovative security systems that meet the evolving needs of the industry.
Session Title: Innovation in Security - Panel Discussion
Bio: Hendrik Basson is the Head of Technology at Smartlock, driving IoT, cloud, and managed services for intelligent access management at enterprise scale. He leads the development and implementation of innovative technology solutions that enable secure and efficient access management across enterprise environments.
Session Title: Innovation in Security - Panel Discussion
Bio: Vonnie Cachia is the Managing Director of Mutual Austen Safe and Security, a proudly South African business specializing in the design, manufacture, and delivery of innovative physical security solutions for the banking, retail, commercial, and cash management sectors. Passionate about building trusted partnerships and driving innovation, Vonnie is committed to delivering security solutions that protect businesses and stand the test of time.
Session Title: Innovation in Security - Panel Discussion
Bio: Grant Hughes is a recognized cybersecurity leader who is passionate about helping organizations build lasting cyber resilience through technology, leadership, culture, and human risk management. Holding a master's degree in Information Security and globally recognized certifications including CISSP, CCSP, CISM, CISA, CEH, and SSCP, he has extensive experience in cybersecurity strategy, governance, risk management, security architecture, and operations.
He is a regular contributor to the ISACA International Journal and ISC2 Insights and serves as the founding President of the ISC2 Cape Town Chapter. Recognized among Top Cyber News Magazine's 40 Under 40 (2024) and winner of the Cyber Leadership Institute's Global Competition (2023), Grant is committed to advancing cybersecurity leadership and resilience across Africa and beyond.
Session Title: Human Risk Management
Bio: Samuel Fiakpui is an experienced security professional with extensive expertise in security management, investigations, physical security systems, crisis management, intelligence analysis, emergency management, and CCTV. He has a proven track record of delivering strategic security solutions across diverse environments.
Samuel holds the Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Professional (PSP), Professional Certified Investigator (PCI), and Certified Security Consultant (CSC) credentials. He also holds a Diploma in Adult Education from the University of Ghana and a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration from GIMPA. He is a member of ASIS International and the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC).
Session Title: Predictive Protection: Using Surveillance Detection to Disrupt Attack Planning Cycles
Bio: Deonatius Abraham is a seasoned Safety, Security, and Business Continuity professional with more than 20 years of experience in risk management, threat assessment, and resilience planning. He has led security and continuity strategies across luxury hospitality and major events, delivering operational excellence in high-risk environments.
His achievements include leading the Radisson Blu Hotel to three consecutive Gold Premium Safe Hotels Audit results, guiding the Mount Nelson Hotel to a 100% Safety, Governance, and Security Audit rating, and maintaining zero armed robberies across multiple properties under his leadership.
Deonatius' expertise spans corporate security, business continuity, investigations, VIP protection, event security, control room operations, and health and safety, with a proven ability to protect people, assets, and reputation.
Session Title: Hospitality & Tourism Security: Current threat landscape for hotels and guest-facing operations
Bio: Ernst Strydom is a former South African Police Service officer with extensive experience in hostage and suicide negotiation. Following his retirement in November 2022, he has continued to consult in the fields of crisis negotiation and security while furthering his expertise in psychology and life coaching.
Ernst is passionate about applying his experience to support individuals and organizations in managing high-pressure situations and building resilience.
Session Title: Kidnapping Prevention & Response in South Africa
Bio: Byron Cabrol is the Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Dragonfly, a Dow Jones company. In this role, he leads the company's regional efforts, supporting organizations with intelligence, risk analysis, and strategic insights to help them navigate the complex political, security, and business landscape across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Session Title: How the threat posed by Islamist militants will evolve in Africa over the coming year
Bio: Viraj Pattni is a Senior Associate in Castor Vali’s Risk Intelligence Services division. He possesses eight years of experience in political and security risk analysis. Prior to joining Castor Vali, he participated in simulations run by Wikistrat and led Intelligence Fusion's (now Sigma 7) Africa coverage between 2018 and 2023.
Viraj holds a bachelor's degree in International Security and Disaster Management and a master's degree in Emergency Planning and Management from Coventry University.
Session Title: How the threat posed by Islamist militants will evolve in Africa over the coming year
Bio: Fella J Obala is a security and intelligence professional with nearly a decade of experience supporting organizations across East Africa, Southern Africa, and the Sahel. As Head of Information and Research at SF Group, she leads strategic intelligence initiatives that enhance operational safety, crisis response, and informed decision-making in complex operating environments.
Specializing in geopolitical risk, crisis management, and intelligence analysis, Fella is recognized for translating complex security challenges into actionable insights. She is a regular speaker at leading industry forums, including ASIS SASCON and the OSAC Regional Conference, and is committed to advancing intelligence-led security practices across Africa.
Session Title: How the threat posed by Islamist militants will evolve in Africa over the coming year
Bio: Derica Lambrechts holds a PhD in Political Science. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and a research associate at the Centre for Research on Democracy at Stellenbosch University.
She is an experienced political risk analyst and organised crime expert. Her research interests include interactions among domestic non-state actors, the state and society; organised criminal groups as domestic non-state actors; and political security risk analysis.
Session Title: Security Under Strain: Africa's Evolving Threat Landscape
Bio: Daniel van Dalen is a Senior Analyst at Signal Risk, a political and security risk management firm focused on Africa. He is responsible for analysing and forecasting economic, political, and security risk developments across selected countries on the continent and supports the management of a team of analysts producing Signal Risk’s research and client deliverables.
Van Dalen has worked in the risk industry for nearly a decade and is a specialist on Africa’s Great Lakes region, with particular expertise in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is regularly sought out for commentary on political and security developments in Africa by international media organisations.
Session Title: Security Under Strain: Africa's Evolving Threat Landscape
Bio: Jervin Naidoo is a political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa, specialising in the political coverage of the DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and several East African countries. Before joining the private sector, Jervin honed his expertise in academia and research at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Political Science, the Institute for Security Studies, and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime.
He holds an MA in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick. His areas of expertise include security and intelligence, foreign policy, and the illicit economy.
Session Title: Security Under Strain: Africa's Evolving Threat Landscape
Bio: Chris Galvin has been Head of Communications & Outreach at the Responsible Security Association – ICoCA since 2018. With more than three decades of experience working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, covering environmental, governance, and social issues across three continents, he has dedicated the last seven and a half years to promoting responsible business practices in the private security sector.
ICoCA’s mission is to promote responsible, transparent, and accountable private security practices worldwide that respect human rights, international humanitarian law, and the rule of law, safeguarding communities through robust oversight, collaboration, and capacity building.
In his role, Chris engages with key stakeholders who have the influence to shape and promote security industry practices. He was educated in the UK and holds master's degrees from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, and the University of Edinburgh.
Session Title: Introducing ICoCA
Bio: Dave Dodge is an internationally recognised risk management and security professional with extensive experience spanning law enforcement, critical infrastructure, government, and corporate security.
A former senior detective with London's Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), he later served as Chief Advisor to Group Security at Eskom and has played a leading role in developing international security standards through ASIS International.
Holding CPP, PCI, and PSP certifications, Dave now consults globally on enterprise risk management, business improvement, and management systems implementation and auditing.
Session Title: Introducing ICoCA
Bio: Lucien Chetty is the CEO of Secure Cab and Skye Global, an international security company headquartered in South Africa with operations across more than 45 countries in Africa. The company provides diplomatic security for several UAE embassies and delivers comprehensive security solutions for major events, including those under the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as well as executive protection services for the CAF President.
With more than 34 years of experience in the security industry, including prior service in the South African Police Service, Lucien has built scalable and resilient operations that combine advanced technology, local intelligence, and human-centred protection.
He is also an experienced international speaker who has addressed audiences at numerous high-profile events, including ASIS Europe, Secures in Dubai, and, most recently, as a guest on the prominent US podcast The Security Equation, discussing security dynamics during the latest conflict in the Middle East.
Session Title: Secure E-Hailing Mobility in Africa: Addressing Crime Risks and Building Human-centered Safety Standards
Bio: Prof. Elmarie Biermann is the Director and founder of the Cyber Security Institute in South Africa. She specialises in ISO 27000 and guides organisations in identifying and managing cyber risk, data privacy, and information integrity.
Elmarie has extensive educational and research experience and has partnered with universities and institutes to develop specialised, customised cybersecurity training for global audiences. She has built the Cyber Security Institute into a premier regional training and consulting firm and is recognised as a leading thought leader in the cybersecurity field.
She holds a PhD in mobile agent security and is a recognised speaker at conferences on cybercrime, cyber risk management, and cyber intelligence. Elmarie has also held an Adjunct Professorship at the French South African Institute of Technology in Cape Town, focusing on the security aspects of nanosatellites, as well as an Extraordinary Professorship in the Department of Strategic Studies within the Faculty of Military Sciences at Stellenbosch University.
She enjoys collaborating on global and industry research projects.
Session Title: Cracking the Vault of Tomorrow: What Every Security Leader Needs to Know
Bio: Maeson Maherry is the co-founder of Wyzetree, where he focuses on cryptographic governance, digital trust infrastructure, and post-quantum cryptography transition. He was part of the founding team behind LAWtrust and has decades of experience in digital signatures, PKI, and cryptographic infrastructure across South Africa, the USA, the UK, and Europe.
His current work helps organisations prepare for quantum-safe migration through cryptographic discovery, governance, and practical post-quantum cryptography transition planning.
Session Title: Cracking the Vault of Tomorrow: What Every Security Leader Needs to Know About Post Quantum Crypto Risk
Bio: John Andrew Musundi is the Managing Director of Sicuro Group Africa, leading risk management, intelligence, and brand protection operations across the African continent. A former Military Intelligence Officer with more than a decade of experience, he specialises in security risk, investigations, travel risk management, and crisis response, supporting multinational organisations operating in complex environments.
John is a recognised speaker on African risk, corporate security, fraud, and governance.
Session Title: Corporate Security Is Evolving Into Civilian Operational Intelligence
Bio: Zaynab Hoosen is a Senior Africa Analyst and Chief of Staff at Pangea-Risk, where they specialise in country risk analysis, political forecasting, and macroeconomic trends across East and Southern Africa. In addition to leading analysis on political stability and economic developments, they play a key role in streamlining business operations and fostering cross-functional collaboration within the organisation.
Prior to joining Pangea-Risk, they worked at Oxford Economics Africa, developing expertise in the intersection of politics and economics across the continent, before joining S-RM as a Strategic Intelligence Analyst, where they delivered bespoke intelligence and risk advisory projects for clients across multiple industries.
Passionate about the relationship between government policy, business, and society, Zaynab provides organisations with practical insights to support informed decision-making in Africa's dynamic and evolving risk landscape.
Session Title: Before Civil Unrest Erupts: Turning Political Intelligence into Security Action
Bio: Matthieu Metivier is a French-South African researcher based in Cape Town and serves as Crisis24’s Southern Africa intelligence analyst. His recent analytical and academic work has focused on the risks posed by informal mining, kidnappings for ransom in South Africa, and youth-led protest movements in sub-Saharan Africa.
He notably co-authored "Mozambique LNG Restart Faces Elevated Security Risks amid Persistent Insurgent Threats" for Crisis24 and GardaWorld. Prior to joining Crisis24, Matthieu worked in Brussels as a development policy researcher.
He holds a master's degree from King’s College London and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Session Title: Disinformation Is Information – Using disinformation in information-limited OSINT contexts
Bio: Speranza Kubai is a close protection officer and security operations practitioner with experience in field safety, crisis awareness, and people-centred protection across East Africa. She has supported operational security initiatives, delivered personal protection training, and worked with women and youth to strengthen safety awareness and resilience within communities.
An award-winning emerging leader, Speranza received the 2025 OSPA Outstanding Young Security Professional Award and serves in leadership roles with ASIS Women in Security Kenya and Women in Safety Excellence.
As a speaker, moderator, and mentor, she is passionate about advancing inclusion, empowering young women in security, and promoting a human-centred approach to protection across Africa.
Session Title: Human-Centred Security – How Empathy, Lived Experience, and Community Insight Strengthen Protection in Africa