Gilbert is the CEO and Chairman of Enovise Group, a global cybersecurity consultancy, and the Founder of Africa Cyber Defense Forum. With over a decade of experience, he has provided cybersecurity advisory services to financial institutions, governments, and military agencies across Africa and beyond. Gilbert is also a Senior Advisor on African affairs at the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace + International Studies (London). He has spoken at major global conferences like Raisina Dialogue and GITEX Africa. Through initiatives like the cyberGen program, he is dedicated to bridging Africa’s cybersecurity skills gap, with a goal of training 100,000 cybersecurity professionals over the next decade.

Ignus is the Managing Executive of Cyber Security at Liquid C2, where he leads a team of 60 specialists across Africa, overseeing the company’s cyber security strategy. With a career in cyber security dating back to 1988, Ignus has held senior roles at Nanoteq, BCX, and Nexio before joining Liquid C2 in 2021. He established Africa's first Cyber Security Fusion Centre, integrating SOC, NOC, and COC services, providing cutting-edge monitoring, incident response, and threat intelligence. Ignus also spearheads cyber risk advisory services, helping clients improve their cyber security posture through managed services, strategic guidance, and best-practice frameworks.

Sithembile Songo has been crowned as the CISO of the year, 50 Top of Mind Global Executives, one of the top 50 cyber professionals, one of the top 100 global women in cybersecurity, international speaker, one of the Top 100 influential women, mentor and is serving as a member of the board and advisory board member. She holds a Master of Science in Information Security from the University of London.

She has been specializing in information security for more than 20 years now and her experience is augmented by several leadership roles in both public and private sectors, including Financial, Telecom, Public Sector, Consulting firm, Energy sector and other State-owned entities.

Sithembile currently works as the Chief Information Security Officer, CISO, heading the information security pillar at the state-owned energy entity, which produce 95% of South Africa’s electricity. Her strategic role primarily focuses on protecting the national critical infrastructure from potential cyber-attacks, thus preventing a negative impact on the economy. She also enables secure business operations, including secure generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, which depend on operational technology (OT) that largely depends on secured computer networks and systems to produce electricity. She was recently nominated by her team and won two highly commended women of year awards at her workplace.

She has spoken at major local, national and global conferences, like GITEX AFRICA, GITEX GLOBAL, GISEC Global, Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B), World CyberCon META, Cyber Security for Energy and Utilities, ENLIT Africa, Africa Tech, Digitizing Africa, Solar and Storage, ITWEB, CISO AFRICA, etc.

She is passionate about cybersecurity and enabling organisations to achieve their business objectives in a secure manner to fulfil their mandates. Besides her extensive experience in other information/cyber security domains, she has also played a pivotal role in defining and implementing robust information security strategies to protect organisations against the increased attack surface, in support of the swift digital migration initiatives and hybrid mode of working, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Grant Hughes is a prominent cyber leader and mentor, making a significant impact on Africa's cybersecurity industry. Formerly the security manager at The Foschini Group (TFG) and Head of Cybersecurity at Engen, Grant is known for mentoring at scale, writing insightful blog articles, and launching a cybersecurity chapter in Cape Town aimed at improving the industry and reducing barriers to entry. He regularly hosts podcasts, writes for international journals, and was named a Top 40 Under 40 global leader by Cyber News Magazine. Grant is a trusted expert on local radio stations and uses social media to raise cybersecurity awareness.

Dr. Harrison Nnaji is a seasoned Data and Information Security Strategist with over 17 years of experience in cybersecurity, risk management, and IT operations. He has successfully led cyber and information security strategies across industries like banking, telecommunications, and OEMs. Dr. Nnaji holds a B.Eng in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, four Master’s degrees, two focusing on cybersecurity, and a Ph.D. in Management and Organizational Strategy. An industry influencer, mentor, and global conference speaker, he is known for delivering impactful solutions to emerging challenges while promoting ethical cybersecurity practices.

Nithen Naidoo, Co-CEO and Founder of Snode Technologies, is a distinguished figure in South Africa's cybersecurity sector with over 20 years of experience. He has significantly impacted the industry by developing innovative AI-driven threat detection and response systems, positioning Snode Technologies as a leader in advanced cybersecurity services. Nithen's expertise and forward-thinking approach have earned him recognition, establishing him as a visionary in protecting digital assets.

Throughout his career, Nithen has achieved numerous accolades, including winning the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge and the SA Innovation Summit 2020. He was a national finalist for the 2020 Entrepreneurship World Cup and received the AfricArena Emerging Entrepreneur Award in 2021. In 2024, Snode was honored with the Black Industrialist Award for Innovation, solidifying its status as a trusted name in cybersecurity across the region.

The individual must demonstrate visionary leadership, guiding their organization’s cybersecurity strategy with foresight and clarity.

The leader should showcase innovative approaches to addressing cybersecurity challenges, developing and deploying cutting-edge technologies and methodologies.

The individual’s contributions should have led to measurable improvements in the security posture of their organization, such as reduced incidents, enhanced threat detection, and improved response capabilities.