ASIS News: Meet Your 2024 Leadership 

With 2024 just around the corner, ASIS welcomes a new class of security leaders to its global and regional boards.  

Cy A. Oatridge, CPP, rises to the position of president for 2024, and Joe M. Olivarez, Jr., will take over as president-elect. Eddie Sorrells, CPP, PCI, PSP, joins the executive committee as secretary/treasurer, and Peter J. O’Neil, FASAE, CAE, remains as CEO.  

Learn more about the members of the executive committee: 

President 
Cy A. Oatridge, CPP 
CEO, OSG 

Oatridge has been an ASIS member since 1994, and in 2019 he served as president of the ASIS Foundation Board of Trustees. With more than 25 years of security management experience, he started his own protective service company in 2003. 

President-Elect 
Joe M. Olivarez, Jr.  
Vice President of Operational Centers of Excellence and CSO, Jacobs  

Olivarez has been a member of ASIS since 1989 and served as the chair of the ASIS CSO Center Board in 2019. Olivarez has more than 30 years of security experience overseeing and consulting to Fortune 500 and government enterprise security programs. 

Secretary/Treasurer 
Eddie Sorrells, CPP, PCI, PSP 
President, DSI Security Services 

Sorrells has been a member of ASIS since 1998 and served as a community vice president and as the chair of the ASIS Bylaws, Governance, and Policies Committee. With more than 30 years of experience in the security services industry, Sorrells now creates content promoting and discussing the private security industry while maintaining his position as president of DSI. 

Chief Executive Officer 
Peter J. O’Neil, FASAE, CAE  
CEO, ASIS International  

O’Neil assumed the position of CEO of ASIS International in January 2016. Prior to joining ASIS, O’Neil served as CEO of the AIHA. He has served in several executive volunteer leadership positions over the past 20 years in ASAE, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for-profit customer advisory boards, and various other association management organizations.  

New at-large directors for the global board are Wilson Esangbedo, CPP, of Nigeria; and C. Joshua Villines, CPP, PSP, PCI, of the United States. Continuing as at-large directors are Axel Petri, CPP, of Germany; Danny Chan, CPP, of Singapore; Karen Frank, CPP, of the United States; and Rick Kelly, CPP, of the United States.  

Serving as ex-officio representatives to the 2024 global board are leaders from various ASIS volunteer groups, namely:   

• Lisa Oliveri, CPP, PCI, of the United States, representing the CSO Center Board (voting member)  
• Maria Teresa Septien, CPP, of Mexico, representing the ASIS Foundation Board of Trustees (voting member)   
• Phillip Bratton, CPP, PSP, of the United States, representing the Professional Certification Board (non-voting member)  
• Lisa DuBrock, CPP, of the United States, representing the Professional Standards Board (non-voting member) 

In addition to the existing North American and European regional boards, this year ASIS International seated the first Latin American Caribbean Regional Board, with Pablo Colombres, CPP, serving as the chair. Colombres, along with the North American chair, Mark J. Folmer, CPP, PSP, and the European chair, Erik de Vries, CPP, PSP, will serve on the Global Board of Directors. 

The implementation of all three regional boards has helped ASIS continue in its mission to serve its members as best as possible, but ASIS continues to strive to reach each member at every corner of the globe. 

ASIS is in the early stages of establishing another regional board representing Asia Pacific Oceania that will be seated in 2025. ASIS also continues to work with the Middle East North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa to transform regional advisory groups to cross-country representative steering committees as they continue to work toward developing a regional board in those regions.  

To learn more about ASIS global governance and the board appointment process, see the global and regional governance strategy. 

Register for Leadership Exchange 

If you are an ASIS volunteer, you won’t want to miss the annual Leadership Exchange. The event is all virtual and will take place over three days from 30 January to 1 February 2024, with each day featuring one 90-minute session. The event is open to all ASIS volunteers, and ASIS highly encourages your participation! 

Day 1: Engaging the Next Generation of Members and Volunteers. In this session, ASIS invites a generational expert to present on their academic research and to discuss how ASIS can use this knowledge to attract and retain members of younger generations. 

Day 2: ASIS Strategic Plan. This session will walk through ASIS’s new strategic plan launching in 2024 and discuss how the plan will be implemented and what this means for the future of the organization. 

Day 3: ASIS Volunteers Town Hall. Join us for the first Volunteers Town Hall of the year! Attendees will hear from ASIS leadership about their goals for the upcoming year and how volunteers can help support those efforts. 

Don’t miss out—register for Leadership Exchange today! 

Is It That Time of Year Already? Apply to Present at GSX 2024! 

Believe it or not: yes, it is. Submissions for GSX 2024 proposals are open now and will close on 22 January 2024, so don’t miss out on your chance to present! GSX 2024 will take place from 23 to 25 September 2024 in Orlando, Florida. 

The topics for consideration for next year’s conference are active assailant and workplace violence; cybersecurity; data protection, privacy, and transparency; diversity, equity, and inclusion; digital transformation; ESRM best practices; insider threats; security leadership; security technologies; and soft target protection. 

The opportunity to present is open to all ASIS members and global security practitioners. All applications will be reviewed by a selection committee, and accepted speakers will be notified in mid-April 2024. Submit a presentation proposal now! 

If you want to be more involved in the selection process, the call for reviewers is also open now, closing 22 January 2024. Any selected reviewers will help evaluate submissions both digital and in-person content at GSX 2024. Apply to be a reviewer today! 

Renew Your Membership 

2023 is almost over—that means it’s time to renew! This is your last chance to renew before your membership will lapse on 1 January 2024. 

Your ASIS membership provides you with access to a global community of security professionals through Connects, free online access to all ASIS standards and guidelines, and discounts on certifications, GSX registration, and anything in the ASIS store. 

And if you aren’t already a member—join now!