Following the ID4Africa 2024 AGM in Cape Town, Nicola Sudan from Reconnaissance interviewed Dr Joseph Atick, co-founder and Executive Chair of ID4Africa. The interview, for ID & Secure Document News™, covered a range of topics, including Dr Atick’s pioneering work in biometrics, the origins and growth of ID4Africa, the challenges and progress of digital identity systems across Africa, and the need for depoliticising identity programmes (see IDN November 2024).

In just five years, TOPPAN Security has emerged as a real force in the global identity solutions market. Backed by TOPPAN, one of the world’s largest technology companies, TOPPAN Security has made strategic acquisitions and tactical moves, notably expanding its footprint in Africa. With the recent launch of the new Ethiopian ePassport, the ongoing construction of a state-of- the-art facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the recent acquisition of Citizen Identity Solutions from HID, the company is clearly on an upward trajectory.

Dr Joseph Atick is renowned for his pioneering work in the field of biometric identification, particularly in facial recognition technology. He is considered one of the founding figures in the development of biometric systems and has contributed significantly to making biometric identification widely accessible and usable.

Antoine Grenier is a seasoned leader, who built his strong background in engineering on large international projects.

In a year that is predicted to see the continued shift from physical to digital identity management, ID & Secure Document News™ interviewed Marc- Julian Siewert, CEO of Veridos, to help us assess the impact of the transition.

So far this year, I have interviewed two of Veridos’ senior management team for ID & Secure Document News™ – CEO, Marc-Julian Siewert and CFO, Dr Christian Thywissen. Both executives stressed the identity solutions company’s goal to be completely CO2 – neutral by 2040.

In this occasional series of interviews, we ask leading figures in the world of ID and secure documents their opinions on some of the pressing concerns facing the industry today.

The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in any large company is to provide financial stability to the organisation through leadership in financial planning, accounting, budgeting and reporting. But as this far-reaching profile of Dr Christian Thywissen, CFO of Veridos, shows, the role can take you into many other areas of business activity.

Veridos is one of the key players in the industry, so Francis Tuffy – editor of IDN – sat down with Marc-Julian, newly appointed CEO and Chair of the Management Board, to learn a little more about the leader and his strong purpose.

Matt Cole, the newly appointed head of Public Security & Identity activities at IDEMIA, works at the interfaces of physical & digital identity and public & private sector services. ID & Secure Document News met up with Matt (virtually) to learn some more about his ideas and plans for the future.