The countdown is on for Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2026. From 14 -16 September, the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta will host the annual flagship event of ASIS International and the most comprehensive gathering of security professionals anywhere in the world. With attendees from 100 nations, GSX is less a conference than a full recalibration of how the industry thinks, operates, and prepares for what comes next. This year, attendees can look forward to more than 200 education sessions, organized across tracks that reflect the full spectrum of modern security challenges.
For a sneak peek at what's in store, we caught up with Justin Jackson, CPP, PSP, to learn more about his upcoming session: Why Specialization Isn’t Everything: How Unconventional Paths Build Better Security Professionals
How did you become interested in your topic?
It started with a question I couldn’t shake: why did the parts of my career that felt the most “off-script” end up mattering the most? I noticed a pattern—skills I picked up in one environment kept showing up as exactly what I needed in a completely different one, often in ways I couldn’t have predicted. Range by David Epstein gave me language for something I’d been living but couldn’t explain. My path didn’t look like a straight line, and for the first time, that made sense instead of feeling like something I had to apologize for.
Tell us about your presentation and why security professionals should have this topic on their radar?
Security is what Epstein calls a “wicked” learning environment—the rules change, threats evolve, and you rarely have complete information. In that kind of environment, the research is clear: generalists tend to outperform early specialists, because they’ve already solved similar problems somewhere else and know how to apply it. This session breaks down that research and then gets practical: how do you actually build that range, how do you talk about it so hiring managers and promotion committees recognize its value, and how do you keep developing it once you’re already in the field? It matters because a lot of talented people are being screened out—or screening themselves out—based on a narrow idea of what a “qualified” background looks like.
What advice would you give security professionals interested in this topic?
Audit your own path before you explain it to someone else. Most people undersell their background because they’re trying to make it sound like it was always heading toward security. Don’t do that. Name what each experience actually taught you—even if it feels unrelated—and then make the connection explicit. The translation work is on you, but once you do it, it’s a real advantage, not a workaround.
How do you see this issue evolving in the next 2-5 years?
I think we’re going to see hiring and promotion practices catch up to what the research has already shown. As security challenges become more interconnected—physical, cyber, geopolitical, insider risk all overlapping—organizations are going to need people who can move across those lines fluidly. The ones that figure this out will build teams with range on purpose, not by accident—and that’s going to be the difference.
Why do you attend GSX?
It’s the one place where the conversations happening in my world—law enforcement, corporate security, global partnerships—are all in the same room at the same time. I come back every year with a different perspective than I left with, and usually a few ideas I didn’t know I needed until someone said them out loud.
To learn more about GSX and to register, visit here.
