The much awaited SECURITY TODAY KNOWLEDGE SUMMIT, now in its 15th year, is back, to spread security knowledge, deeper understanding of newer challenges and solutions to overcome these. A galaxy of security professionals, each a master of his/her field will talk to the industry and share their views on varied subjects that concern us all. In view of the Covid 19 restrictions, STKS, will this year be on a virtual platform, over two days on November 24 and 25, 2020.
“This year while we will miss the physical meeting of risk and security professionals, which is very important, at the Summit, the advantage of a virtual platform is that we are now able to include more international speakers as well as registered participants from over 17 different countries, for the first time. In the days to come, we expect these numbers to rise further. Since 2006 STKS has grown steadily and has truly turned into a quality global event from a regional event,” said SECURITY TODAY’s Editor-in-Chief, Mr. GB Singh.
This year, Day 2 of the Summit has been organised in association with the renowned Institute of Strategic Risk Management, (ISRM) UK, who have contributed by bringing in some respected and renowned speakers, including names such as Lord Toby Harris and Dr. David Rubens to discuss issues concerning Strategic Risk and Crisis Management – two domains which all progressive and aspiring physical security professionals need to be aware of and learn about, as security, from the traditional gates, guards, and guns approach has steadily moved into the realm of enterprise risk.
The proceedings will begin on November 24, 3.45 PM as hundreds of registered participants from over 17 countries will log in and subsequently hear the esteemed Keynote Speakers, Moderators and Panelists. Mr. GK Pillai, the former Union Home Secretary, Government of India and Chair of the SECURITY TODAY Advisory Board in his keynote address shall be speaking on“Countering Emerging Threats With Evolving Technologies”.
The second keynote address will be delivered by Mr. Rajan Luthra, Head Special Projects, Chairman’s Office, Reliance Industries and Co-Chair of the SECURITY TODAY Advisory Board who will share his views on ”Collaborating to make India the ‘Drone Hub’ of the World – Leveraging the Triple Helix Innovation Model”, as India is uniquely poised to gain a global leadership position in this fast emerging area of a vast opportunity.
The afternoon’s first panel discussion will be on “An End-User’s Awareness Guide for Using Drones for Surveillance, Security and Safety”. This is a very interesting session with highly informed panelists. The discussion will be moderated by Mr. Rajan Luthra and we have Mr. Amber Dubey, the dynamic Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, who is spearheading some key initiatives in the aviation sector – Mr. Akshya Singhal, Partner, EY Consulting Africa, India & Middle East – Mr. Ankit Mehta, CEO and co-Founder, ideaForge as panelists . The session will focus on how drones are being used by government agencies as well as public and private sector enterprises for surveillance, security and safety. The panelists will discuss these matters thread-bare and also how these remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) have delivered value in the Covid-19 pandemic response.
The panel discussion will be followed by a “FIRESIDE CHAT” themed – “Uneven Progress – Global Perspectives on the Security Landscape 2020” where Mr. Noam Perski, the Global Public Sector Lead of Palantir Technologies, a public American software company that specializes in big data analytics. Mr Perski has directed engagements in Intelligence, Defense and Law Enforcement and now oversees Palantir’s work with government agencies and institutions around the world. He will be in conversation with our Chair & Advisor, Mr. GK Pillai, the highly regarded former Union Home Secretary of India.
The second panel discussion on “Business Enabling Services: Getting Future Ready” will delve around how corporate services have innovated fast in the past months to evolve into a sustainable ecosystem in which business could recover from the aftermath of the pandemic, and what the future holds for the industry. The participants here will be Mr. Danny Chan, SRVP for ASIS International Region 13 & Senior Consultant Mastercard Inc. – Mr. Angad Rajain, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Peregrine who is responsible for the overall strategy planning and execution across all group companies of his organization and Dr. Rahul Kalia, Medical Director at International SOS.
The final panel discussion on Day 1 will be on “Open-Source Intelligence Tools Coming of Age” which will talk about data and its analysis in predicting risks and also about how many SaaS products are now maturing and being offered by Indian and global companies on a subscription based model. The discussion will be moderated by Mr. Jiwak Shiradkar, Product Security Director – Global Manufacturing, Nike, Vietnam who has been using these tools to mitigate risk for his organisation and brand . Accompanying Mr. Shiradkar on the panel will be Mr. Bruce McIndoe Founder, WorldAware and President McIndoe Risk Advisory, an expert who has many years of experience in this domain and Capt. Albert Louis the CEO of Specialist Advisory & Intervention Group, an accomplished professional in this area.
Day 2 of the STKS 2020 will begin with a keynote address by Lord Toby Harris, President of the ISRM, who will talk about “What lessons should we draw from Crisis Leadership during the last nine months of COVID”. He is one of the most experienced and respected authorities on national level policing and counter-terrorism in the UK and in 2020 was appointed as the Chair of the UK National Preparedness Commission.
This will be followed by the second keynote address by Dr. David Rubens, Executive Director of the ISRM on “Crisis Management: Are We Future Ready? Dr. Rubens is an expert on the strategic management of complex events, particularly within a multi-agency crisis management framework.
The first panel discussion of Day 2 will be on “Strategic Crisis Management: Lessons Learned From Covid” which will talk about how many of us experienced a nearly overnight lockdown at some point earlier this year. This session will discuss the changes and the impact that Covid-19 has had on various segments of the ecosystem globally and what we need to do in order to become more prepared and resilient against such disruptions in future.
This discussion will be moderated by Mr. Sethu S Raman, Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer at Mphasis who believes that ‘Catching ‘Black Swans’ and ‘Managing Gray Rhinos’ is the risk philosophy that has guided his professional journey. Other panelists include Cdr. (Retd) Subroto Mukherjee, a naval veteran with a rich experience of managing integrated facilities, security and administrative functions globally for Cipla. He is currently their Vice President & Head of FM, Administration & Security; Lt. Col. Kumar Vikram Singh, Head Security, Cushman & Wakefield. He manages approximately 400 sites all over India and is extensively involved in risk assessment, threat analysis and security designing of sensitive facilities. He is a Certified Protection Professional and a Professional Certified Investigator from ASIS International; Prof. Andy Towler, Managing Director & Founder of The Resilience Group Ltd, UK. He is a former senior police officer experienced in dealing with major incidents and making sure we learn our lessons from them. Passionate about how we can keep people safe when disaster strikes and Mr. Marcus C. Oxley, an engineer by profession who has worked across Africa, Asia and Europe in senior disaster management positions for international development organisations. Currently he is the Director Sustainable and Resilient Cities at AECOM.
STKS2020 will conclude with a very interesting and important panel discussion on “Learning From The Indian Experience: Management of Mega Cities” which will discuss how cities may be getting larger, particularly in the developing world, but that does not make them better. From supply crises to social disorganisation, political conflicts, pandemics and natural disasters to hazardous levels of pollution and rise in innovative forms of crime – the challenges that confront our mega-cities are many. The Panel will not only discuss some of these issues but will also attempt to share workable solutions to and explore if technology can help and be an enabler.
This session is being moderated by none other than Mr. O.P. Singh, IPS, the dynamic, prolific former Director General of Police of the largest state in India, Uttar Pradesh and the former DG of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards almost all airports in India along with other strategic sites of national interest such as Nuclear Power Plants, industrial complexes, rapid mass transportation systems. Mr. Singh has also been the former DG of the National Disaster Response Force, a special force which is called for managing relief operations in disaster prone areas. The Panelists will include Mr. Asim K. Arun, IPS, who is currently the Asst. Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police, in-charge of the UP’s 112 Emergency Response Helpline, akin to the global 911 helpline. He was incharge of UPs Anti Terrorist Squad who has also had the privilege of leading the Prime Minister’s Close Protection Team before that; Mr. Mahesh Narvekar, Director looking after the Disaster Management Unit of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai; Dr. David Rubens, Executive Director of the ISRM and Brigadier Richard Dennis, OBE are the other two speakers in this panel. Richard has over 40 years’ experience in the defence and security arenas and has specific expertise in the field of the complex issues associated with the safety, security and systems integration of major cities – and the added challenge of balancing the security imperative against the demands of a retail economy crippled by COVID 19.
The two day event promises to achieve its agenda of sharing knowledge with the industry and having experts of various fields discuss crucial issues that concern us al. The SECURITY TODAY KNOWLEDGE SUMMIT over the years has been an event that has been awaited by the industry and we will ensure that the high standards it has set for itself over the years will not only be met but possibly raised a shade higher this year. It is for the first time this year that the event has been laid open for participation for not just end users, CSO’s, CTO’s, CIO’s but also to the providers of security and fire services & systems and consultants, meeting a long standing demand of consultants and providers to include them too. Team SECURITY TODAY looks forward to seeing you all on the Webex virtual platform on November 24, 2020 from 3.45 pm onwards.
“The organisation of this event has not been easy in the current challenging times of the globally prevailing pandemic, however we have still managed support of our long time sponsoring partners, SIS Enterprises and Peregrine Guarding – both, leading security brands internationally, for which we are extremely grateful. Support from Prama, the premium video surveillance brand has come in for the first time, and is also gratefully acknowledged”, said Mr Singh. “And, last but not the least, we thank our supporting partners, the New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad Chapters of ASIS International, Pune Security Professionals (PSP), IISSM, and the Indian Police Foundation,” he added
“The support and collaboration which we have received from our Steering Committee members, under the able guidance of Mr. GK Pillai, our Chair and Mr. Rajan Luthra, our Co Chair and all members of the Steering Committee in crafting the agenda and reaching out to our esteemed top quality speakers and onboarding them has been truly remarkable,” said Mr. Singh.
Calling out individually all the names of the other Steering Committee members, “Mr. Hervirender Pal Singh, Director Global Security Operations, India and Middle East of The Walt Disney Company & Co-Chairman of the OSAC Mumbai Council; Capt. Suraj Shankhpal, Director Forensic, PwC India & Secretary of the OSAC Mumbai Council; Maj. Vivek Prakash, Vice President, Office of Global Security of Goldman Sachs and ARVP – South India of ASIS International; Mr. Ankush Maria the Associate Director – Security/Risk of EY Global & the Co-Secretary of OSAC New Delhi Council; Capt. Sanjeev Tiwari the Associate Director – Forensic of PwC India & Chair of the ASIS Mumbai Chapter; Mr. Manish Datta, Chair of ASIS Delhi Chapter; Maj. Sanbir Singh Keer , Senior Manager Corporate Security, APAC of Target Corporation Inc., and Ms. Aman Singh, Director 1st ASSET and Associate Editor, SECURITY TODAY & SECURITY UPDATE.” Mr. Singh said that all this would’ve not been possible without their unstinted support and their commitment to the private security industry.
