The Life Safety Alliance (LSA), an organization dedicated to enhancing global life safety and security through partnerships and collaborations, released the names on its inaugural Top 40 Global Thought Leaders in Security and Life Safety. More than 25 of the honorees are from the United States. 

Based in Medford, N.J., LSA is a not-for-profit organization open to all members of the security and life safety community. The organization’s new Top 40 distinction is said to represent an effort to bring enhanced objectivity, transparency and rigor to the process of identifying influencers and thought leaders in the field. 

An initial list of contenders was compiled after reviewing the credentials of hundreds of professionals in the life safety and security fields. LSA said it reached out to almost 200 candidates who were identified as among the most prolific and active thought leaders in the industry. Candidates were offered the opportunity to supply evidence of the requested criteria to better capture their activities. For those who didn’t respond, LSA searched for the information on LinkedIn and other social media platforms, blogs, professional publications and websites, conference agendas, and other open-source information repositories. 

The recognized contenders covered the spectrum from life safety, physical security and cybersecurity to risk management, loss prevention and intelligence. Honorees include practitioners, service and technology providers, researchers, academics and other professionals from more than a dozen countries. 

Candidates scores were calculated using a proprietary algorithm based on a variety of criteria, including conference presentations, webinar and podcast appearances, LinkedIn reach, courses taught, volunteer leadership positions held, among others, covering the period of Jan. 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024. A formula weighed these criteria and issued a final tabulation. 

The inaugural group actually includes 41 honorees. An honorary award was granted to Andrii Lukashenko in Ukraine, who demonstrated extraordinary dedication to thought leadership while also serving in Ukraine’s armed forces in its war against Russia. 

Those who made the list will receive an LSA challenge coin commemorating their achievement as well as a virtual certificate. 

In alphabetical order, honorees from the U.S.:

• Brian Allen, Bank Policy Institute
• Charles “Chuck” Andrews, Friends of Chuck
• Chuck Brooks, Brooks Consulting International
• Eric Sean Clay, Memorial Hermann Health System
• Shawnee Delaney, Vaillance Group
• George De Marco, DECO Ventures LLC
• Carlos Francisco, Corporate Security University
• Michael Gips, Global Insights in Professional Security
• Paul Goldenberg, Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing / University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute (USA/Canada)
• Merlin Guilbeau, Electronic Security Association
• Read Hayes, University of Florida, Retail Loss Prevention Research Council
• Kasia Hanson, Intel Corporation
• Morgan Hertel, Rapid Response Monitoring
• Jonathan Kassa, ZeroNow
• Kirk MacDowell, MacGuard Security Advisors
• Bruce McIndoe, McIndoe Risk Advisors
• Kavya Pearlman, XRSI-X Reality Safety Intelligence
• Matthew Porcelli, Harvard Protection Services
• Bruce Schneier, Counterpane Systems / Inrupt, Inc.
• Confidence Staveley, CyberSafe Foundation (USA/Africa)
• Sandra Stibbards, Camelot Investigations
• Peter Warmka, Counterintelligence Institute, LLC
• Tim Wenzel, Kroll

Honorees from other countries:

• Rachel Briggs, The Clarity Factory (UK)
• Miranda Coppoolse, MC Global Security (Netherlands)
• Chris Cubbage, My Security Media Pty. Ltd., Amlec House Pty. Ltd. (Australia)
• Terry Cutler, Cyology Labs (Canada)
• Jane Frankland, KnewStart (UK)
• Florian Haacke, PORSCHE (Germany)
• Yolanda “Yoyo” Hamblen, The Security Circle and Cyber Security Leadership Podcasts (UK)
• Mike Hurst, HJA Consulting / International Foundation for Protection Officers (UK)
• Totti Karpela, Peace of Mind Threat Management Company Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• Andrii Lukashenko, Smart Risks Solutions Ukraine LLC (Ukraine), Honorary
• Dr. Adewale Peter Obadare, Digital Encode Limited (Nigeria)
• Kevin Palacios, HELPS Latam (Ecuador)
• Phelim Rowe, CTG Intelligence (UK)
• Dr. Gavriel “Gav” Schneider, Risk 2 Solution Group (Australia)
• Sarb Sembhi, Virtually Informed Limited (UK)
• Alison Wakefield, University of West London (UK)
• Harold Wax, Pepsi Co. (Canada)

“We are delighted to announce the results of what we expect to be an annual recognition of the top thought leaders in life safety and security,” stated Becky Lane, acting CEO of LSA. “It was an extremely competitive process, with so many of the candidates sharing impressive evidence of influence and thought leadership.”