Ahead of ISC2 Security Congress 2025, taking place in Nashville and online October 28-30, we take a closer look at the recipients of this year’s Global Achievement Awards who will be recognized at Congress for having demonstrated commitment and achievement in their cybersecurity careers.

2025 GAA Recipients: Organization Awards – Career Achievement Awards

ISC2 Rising Star Professional Awards

These awards recognize the accomplishments and contributions of up-and-coming professionals who have made a significant impact in the cybersecurity industry early in their career.

  • Americas: Zinet Kemal, CC – Zinet is a cybersecurity career changer from the legal field, as well as a multi-award-winning cybersecurity practitioner, TEDx speaker, LinkedIn Learning instructor and a three-time published award-winning children’s book author. She is also the recipient of 11+ professional awards and featured in various media outlets. Zinet is a Senior Cloud Security Engineer at the Mayo Clinic.
  • Asia-Pacific: Ray Lin, CISSP, CCSP, CSSLP, SSCP, CC – Ray has been working in the software industry for nearly two decades, specializing in building teams and developing new products from the ground up. He has held cross-functional executive roles across a diverse range of U.S. and Asia-Pacific organizations. Ray has also translated and published seven well-known books on agile methodologies. He is a CISO at iFUS System Consultants.
  • EMEA: Segun Ebenezer Olaniyan, CC – Segun is a seasoned information security specialist with expertise in information security risk assessment, third-party risk management, cybersecurity policy and process development. He is a published author known for his exceptional Cybersecurity Career Development Books and has trained over 70,000 people on Cybersecurity Essentials across Africa. He is dedicated to promoting and encouraging the widespread adoption of cybersecurity best practices, including in his role as an Information Security Analyst at Kraken Technologies.

ISC2 Mid-Career Professional Awards

These awards recognize individuals at the mid-career stage – who have 6-14 years of work experience directly related to cybersecurity – who have demonstrated commitment and achievement in their profession.

  • Americas: Vincent Sritapan, CCSP – Vincent is a highly active and respected leader with more than a dozen years of experience in developing and deploying workable security solutions to government agencies and private-sector organizations, as well as leading efforts to ensure U.S. national defense security. As an adjunct cybersecurity lecturer, he provides impactful mentorship to his students by preparing them to be tomorrow’s leaders. In addition, Vincent is a Supervisory IT Specialist for the Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
  • Asia-Pacific: Chu Cheng Lai, CISSP, CCSP – Chu Cheng has led transformative cybersecurity initiatives since 2017. He introduced a company-wide information security supervisor system and implemented the NIST Cybersecurity Framework—culminating in Taiwan’s first third-party NIST CSF certification from BSI. With prior roles in banking and telecom, he combines technical depth with strategic vision to elevate cybersecurity maturity across the financial sector. He is the Head of Information Security at Fubon Life Insurance Company.
  • EMEA: Akintokun Omowumi, CISSP – Akintokun has consistently driven impactful security initiatives that safeguard critical national and international infrastructure. Her contributions span across government, financial services and healthcare, ensuring compliance, security and resilience in high-stakes environments. She is deeply committed to developing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals alongside her role as an Application Specialist for NHS Scotland.

ISC2 Senior Professional Awards

These awards recognize individuals who have significantly contributed to the cybersecurity workforce by demonstrating a leadership role in their profession. The recipients of this award are senior professionals with at least 15 years of work experience directly related to cybersecurity. 

Americas: Sean Connelly, CISSP – Sean has more than 25 years of experience in IT and cybersecurity, including two decades supporting U.S. federal IT initiatives. Sean is a co-author of several foundational cybersecurity publications and has served as a member of the Technology Modernization Fund Board. He is a Director of Global Zero Trust Policy at Zscaler where he leads zero trust strategies for global partners across government and critical infrastructure sectors.

Asia-Pacific: Anthony Lim, CSSLP, CC – Anthony is a pioneer of cybersecurity and governance in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. He has nearly 30 years of professional experience as a business executive, consultant, instructor, auditor, advocate and academic. He’s been involved in the growth of several ISC2 exams in South East Asia, he was the first instructor in the region for the CSSLP and the CCSP, and he’s been an active member of the ISC2 Singapore Chapter. Anthony is a Fellow, Cybersecurity Governance & Fintech at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

EMEA: Dr. Dimitrios Patsos, CISSP – Dimitrios is a distinguished cybersecurity leader with more than two decades of multifaceted experience across industry, academia and global professional communities. A long-time ISC2 volunteer and past President of the ISC2 Hellenic Chapter, he led a digital first policy to include the Greek diaspora. Dimitrios actively mentors professionals and supports initiatives like Women in Cybersecurity, national cyber awareness campaigns and university outreach programs. He is a Senior Security Specialist at Microsoft.

We will be celebrating this year's winners throughout ISC2 Security Congress 2025. Find out more and register.

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