Skip to content

Secure Horizons: An Immersive Experience for Senior Security Executives

Two days, small by design, built to go deep.

As the CSO role evolves, ASIS International offers an exclusive, intensive GSX pre-conference program designed to bring senior security executives together to collaborate, learn, and lead.

Secure Horizons 2026

Set against the powerful backdrop of the 25th anniversary of 11 September 2001, this year’s program in Atlanta, GA draws on extraordinary real-world stories of crisis, endurance, and transformation to help participants lead with greater clarity, resilience, and purpose.

You will also earn 10 CPEs for participating in the full program.

This program is sponsored by:

KSCP-Logo-V2-Stacked-Black-810.png

View the 2025 Executive Summary

Early bird pricing ends 26 June!

Register Now

Meet the Faculty

Gregory Shea - Headshot.jpg Gregory P. Shea, Ph.D

Gregory P. Shea, Ph.D. is the President of Shea & Associates and a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he specializes in organizational change, leadership development, and group effectiveness. With decades of experience consulting across multiple industries and with senior leadership, he is the co-author of several books and his writing has appeared in publications such as the Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review. He holds degrees from Harvard College, the London School of Economics, and Yale University.

Paul Brown - Headshot.jpg Paul Brown

Paul Brown is a retired New York City Fire Captain and third-generation firefighter with over 30 years of experience as a first responder, including multiple deployments with the FDNY Incident Management Team to natural disasters and wildfires across the country. Alongside his firefighting career, he has spent over 20 years in experiential and executive leadership education, speaking regularly on crisis management, resilience, and organizational change.

Who Attends

This event is open exclusively to CSO Center members and selected CSO guests — ideal for senior security executives navigating organizational change, leading through uncertainty, or looking to strengthen their long-term leadership resilience. This two-day program offers a rare and immersive environment to grow, reflect, and connect with peers who understand the unique pressures of executive-level security leadership.

Not a CSO Center member and interested in the 2026 program? Please reach out to the CSO Center at [email protected].

CSO-Secure-Horizons-2026.jpg

Arturo Blanco Porchas

Global Security Sr. Manager, Global Security, Owens & Minor

What I valued most about Secure Horizons was the candor in the room. Because it's invitation-only and limited to senior executives, people share things they simply wouldn't say in a larger conference setting. The case studies were challenging, the facilitation was exceptional, and the connections I made have already proven invaluable. I'm already planning to be back in 2026.

Program Schedule

This two-day program draws on extraordinary real-world stories of crisis, endurance, and organizational transformation
to help senior security executives sharpen their leadership edge, navigate change, and build resilience in themselves and their teams.

12 September 2026

Saturday centers on crisis leadership and organizational transformation, featuring retired FDNY Captain Paul Brown — a 9/11 responder who was present in both towers — drawing on Rising from Ground Zero, a newly book based on nearly 100 hours of interviews with first responders.

Time     Session
1:00 PM - 1:15 PM     Welcome & Program Overview
1:15 PM - 3:15 PM    

Rising from Ground Zero: The FDNY's Path through the Crisis of 9/11 to Transformation (Part 1)
This session draws on Rising from Ground Zero and the firsthand experience of retired FDNY Captain Paul Brown to explore how leaders navigated crisis, adversity, and transformation with open dialogue giving participants the opportunity to connect those lessons to their own organizations.
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM     Break
3:30 PM - 5:15 PM    

Rising from Ground Zero: The FDNY's Path through the Crisis of 9/11 to Transformation (Part 2)
Building on the foundations established in Part 1, this session will examine how the FDNY managed to transform itself, include initial consideration of Dr. Shea's Work Systems Model of Change found in the book Leading Successful Change: 8 Keys to Making Change Work.
5:15 PM - 6:30 PM     Reception

13 September 2026

Sunday opens with the remarkable story of Sir Ernest Shackleton, who led 28 men stranded in Antarctica for nearly two years and brought every one of them home, before moving into a focused exploration of Change Fatigue and a Dr. Shea's research-grounded framework for implementing organizational change that sticks.

Time     Session
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM    

Analysis and Overview of Program Reflections, Outcomes, and Objectives
9:15 AM - 10:45 AM    

Leading through Extended Challenging Times: The Case of Ernest Shackleton
This session mines the two-year Antarctic expedition for practical, story-grounded lessons in leading through prolonged adversity, while also addressing change fatigue—helping participants recognize it in themselves, their teams, and their organizations.
10:45 AM - 11:00 AM     Break
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM    

Change Fatigue
This session explores the sources, symptoms, and remedies of Change Fatigue, drawing on Your Job Survival Guide: A Manual for Thriving in Change by Shea & Gunther, published by the Financial Times, to offer practical insights on how to succeed more often at leading organizational change.
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM     Lunch
1:15 PM - 2:45 PM    

Leading Successful Change (Part 1)
This session equips senior security executives with a sharper ability to recognize and address the human dynamics that most often derail change efforts, drawing on real-world examples to bring the challenge into sharp focus.
2:45 PM - 3:00 PM     Break
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM    

Leading Successful Change (Part 2)
Building on the foundations established in Part 1, this session introduces the systems-based framework drawn from Leading Successful Change: 8 Keys to Making Change Work — a research-grounded and directly applicable model that will help participants design and implement organizational change that sticks.
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM     Highlights & Calls to Action

Throughout both days, pre-work and open dialogue ensure participants shape the conversation
around the leadership lessons most relevant to their own organizations.

Stay Informed

Want to learn more about Secure Horizons?

arrow_upward