During the annual CLARCIEV meeting, held in October 2025 in San Salvador, ID & Secure Document News™ sat down with Fernando Velasco Aguirre, President and National Registrar of the Registro Nacional de Personas Naturales (RNPN) of El Salvador, to learn more about his vision for identity in the country as well as the region as a whole. Among other achievements, Mr Velasco led and implemented the current design of the Salvadoran identity card (Documento Único de Identidad – DUI), both within El Salvador and abroad.

Alice Vermeulin is Director of Innovation and R&D at TOPPAN Security, where she leads the development of next-generation secure credential technologies. With an engineering background in the graphic industries and experience spanning Europe and North America, she specialises in security solutions for identity and payment systems, covering product development roadmaps, card and passport manufacturing processes, qualification testing and standards, and intellectual property strategy.

Since 1 July, Bernd Kümmerle has been serving as Chief Executive Officer of Veridos, a global leader in secure identity solutions. With nearly 30 years of experience at Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), he brings deep industry expertise and a clear strategic vision to the role. We spoke to him about his first 100 days in office, the future of secure identity, and Veridos’ role in shaping it.

Driving digital transformation, Ms Selamawit Dawit has played a pivotal role in elevating Ethiopia’s global presence and modernising its public services. Now serving as Director General of Ethiopia’s Immigration and Citizenship Services (ICS), she brings a wealth of experience from diplomacy, public administration, and policy leadership, having previously served as Director General of the Diaspora Agency and State Minister of Tourism.

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.