Australia’s top cybersecurity leaders and their teams have been recognised at this year’s CSO30 Awards.
Held in conjunction with the CIO50, the CSO30 Australia Awards is aligned to Foundry’s global awards program and celebrates the leading individuals and organisations delivering cybersecurity initiatives that have changed the way the business is protected.
Along with their cybersecurity initiatives, nominees were also evaluated based on how they collaborated with and influenced their stakeholders to improve cybersecurity and resilience within the enterprise. Judges also assessed their contribution to the wider cybersecurity community beyond their organisations.
At the gala CSO30 celebration in Sydney last week, two individuals were recognised with Business Value and Leadership awards for outstanding contributions to cybersecurity.
In the Business Value category, Shaun Martin of Aware Super claimed the top award. Martin was recognised for his proactive, intelligence-led approach as CISO, which has delivered measurable organisational value while protecting the retirement savings of Aware’s members – including many of society’s carers such as nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics.
Keyur Lavingia of Village Roadshow was highly commended in this category. Since joining the organisation, Lavingia has led an integrated cybersecurity transformation that has significantly strengthened operational resilience, compliance maturity, and risk posture.
In the Leadership category, Manasseh Paradesi, formerly of Tyro Payments, took the top honour. Recognising that organisational resilience depends on sustainable expertise, Paradesi championed stakeholder engagement and implemented comprehensive mentoring programs both internally and across the broader industry.
Joss Howard of Scyne Advisory was highly commended in this category. During a period of major organisational transformation, Howard built the cyber team from the ground up, with a focus on diversity, capability uplift, and sustainable career pathways.
Meanwhile, an emerging leader was recognised with the 2025 Next CISO Award. Duné Sookloll, Cyber & Information Security Officer at Horizon Power, won this year’s award, with Jumar Pando, Cyber Security Operations Manager at Emeis Cosmetics Pty Ltd (Aesop), also named as a finalist.
CSO30 Australia Awards 2025 honourees (in alphabetical order):
Hani Arab, Chief Information Officer, Seymour Whyte
Sameera Bandara, General Manager Cybersecurity – APAC,Programmed and PERSOL
Gary Barnden, IT Security Manager, Pacific National
Nick Bellette, Director – Information Security and Risk, Custom Fleet
David Buerckner, Chief Information Security and Risk Officer, Probe Group
James Court, Chief Security Officer, Cleanaway
David Geber, General Manager Information Security & Risk, Rest
Joel Earnshaw, Senior Manager – Cyber Security, Perenti
Chris Grisdale, Head of Information Security, hipages Group
Daryll Holland, Head of Technology and Information Security, Alii Technology Group
Andrew Hottes, Chief Digital Information Officer, Cranbrook School
Jocelyn (Joss) Howard, Chief Information Security Officer, Scyne Advisory
Bob Kombora, Head of IT Operations, Vulcan Steel
Shane Laffin, Group Chief Information Officer, Dulux Group
Keyur Lavingia, Head of Security, Village Roadshow
Chris Mace, Chief Technology Officer, NSW Nurses & Midwives Association
Shaun Martin, Head of Information Security, Aware Super
Dan Maslin, Group Chief Information Security Officer, Monash University
Nathan Morelli, Head of Cyber Security and IT Resilience, SA Power Networks
Christopher Neal, Group Chief Information Officer, Ramsay Health Care
Nicole Neil, Head of Information Security, Fresh Clinics
Laura O’Neill, Head of Advisory & AssuranceFujitsu Australia Limited
Manasseh Paradesi, former Chief Information Security Officer, Tyro Payments
Maria Paz, Chief Technology Officer, Epworth Health
Moet Sela, Technology and Cloud Services Manager, Catholic Healthcare
Scott Sorley, Chief Information Officer, University of Southern Queensland
Sandeep Taileng, Information Security Leader, State Trustees Victoria
Noel Toal, former Chief Information Officer, DPV Health
Wouter Veugelen, Head of Cybersecurity – Australia, FTI Consulting
Indika Wimalasiri, Chief Information Security Officer Praemium
Leron Zinatullin, Chief Information Security Officer, Linkly
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