Ato Abie Sano is a visionary financial leader and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), the nation's largest financial institution. With over two decades of executive experience, he has been a driving force behind the modernization, digital transformation, and financial inclusion strategies within East Africa's banking ecosystem. His distinguished career includes a highly successful tenure as the President of Oromia Bank, where he pioneered the country's first interest-free banking services, before returning to lead CBE in 2020. Under his strategic guidance, CBE achieved historic institutional milestones, including pushing aggregate deposits past the unprecedented one trillion Birr mark and expanding its digital footprint across millions of users. An alumnus of Addis Ababa University with an MBA from the University of London, Ato Abie combines deep macroeconomic expertise with a forward-thinking approach to institutional governance. At our upcoming event, he will deliver executive insights into the intersection of financial infrastructure security, digital trust, and the future of banking. Drawing from his firsthand experience navigating systemic shifts in financial technology, his address will highlight proactive frameworks for protecting enterprise networks against emerging cyber threats. This session offers attendees a rare opportunity to learn from one of the region's foremost architects of modern financial infrastructure.

Matthew Piddington leads the EMEA Business Development and Sales organisation, where he focuses on accelerating regional growth, strengthening member value, and expanding ISC2’s presence across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Working across functions and with stakeholders at all levels, he helps drive strategic alignment, refine go-to-market execution based on member and customer insight, and enable teams to deliver meaningful outcomes for cybersecurity professionals worldwide. Before joining ISC2, Matthew built a career spanning sales leadership, services strategy, and business development across the technology and professional learning sectors. He previously served as Vice President of Services at Westcon-Comstor, where he led education and services strategy across multiple regions, and also held senior commercial and sales leadership roles at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, Reed Learning, and QA. He is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing future leaders, and fostering collaboration, trust, and innovation to help organisations and professionals succeed in a rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.’

Seyoum Damtew is an experienced professional with a strong background in computer engineering and information security. He holds an MSC in Computer Engineering from Addis Ababa University and a BSC in Electrical Engineering. Seyoum has accumulated 14 years of work experience at Ethiotelecom, one of Ethiopia's leading telecommunications companies. During his tenure at Ethiotelecom, Seyoum held various positions, starting from a junior engineer and progressing to a senior engineer. He played a key role as the lead in the Ethiotelecom Transformation Engineering Program (TEP1 and TEPII) within the IP core engineering wing. Additionally, he served as the Security Operations Center (SOC) Manager, overseeing security operations within the company. Currently, Seyoum is Vice President Information System Security at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). In this role, he is responsible for ensuring the security of the bank's information systems and safeguarding the organization against potential threats. Seyoum's expertise extends beyond his professional roles. He has been involved in practical system integration projects, including Compass area security and network configuration for institutions such as Addis Ababa University (6kilo, 4 kilo, and sefereselam campuses) and the Ethiopia Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA). Furthermore, Seyoum has a passion for sharing his knowledge and has provided professional training in various domains. He has conducted courses in Information Security Management (ISM) at BITS College and has taught CCNA and CCNP courses at institutions such as Ethiotelecom, Microlink, Neuronet Cisco Academy, and universities like Addis Ababa University, Adama University, and Dilla University. His training expertise covers a wide range of topics, including information security management, networking (CCNA, CCNP, MPLS/IP, MPLS TE), certifications such as CISM and CISSP, crisis management and business continuity (ISO 22301), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS), and more. Seyoum has delivered training programs to various sectors, including financial institutions, banks, Ethiotelecom, the National Bank of Ethiopia, and universities. Overall, Seyoum Damtew's extensive experience in information security, system integration, and professional training showcases his expertise and commitment to the field.

Magalie Anderson is a passionate advocate for youth empowerment, gender inclusion, and digital innovation, driving technology-enabled development across the African Union (AU). Through her leadership of the AU’s Management Information Systems Directorate, she has championed the strengthening of digital infrastructure, improved data management systems, and accelerated technology adoption to support the Union’s operations and advance the aspirations of Agenda 2063. Magalie has been instrumental in advancing initiatives that empower young Africans to shape the continent’s digital future. These include the AU Go Gal programme, which supports young women innovators in science, technology, and entrepreneurship, and the African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship, which enables talented young Africans to co-create and implement digital solutions across AU departments and Member States. Her work reflects a commitment to placing youth-led innovation, inclusion, and digital transformation at the heart of Africa’s development agenda.

Jonathan has 30 years’ experience of living and working in Africa, advising banks and software vendors on strategies to ensure that they successfully meet their customers’ evolving needs. He is the Africa & Middle East Director for Vyntra, an award-winning fintech providing advanced AI solutions that help over 130 banks around the world to manage their transactions and protect against fraudulent activities that target their customers and their accounts. Jonathan is recognized in the banking industry for promoting innovation and helping financial organizations to benefit from new technologies. He now advises banks on how AI and big data solutions can enhance banking intelligence and effectively prevent cybercrime.