Winners’ Summaries 2022

Outstanding In-House Security Manager/Director 
Dwaine Nichol – City of Toronto

Dwaine Nichol, the Director of Corporate Security and Sergeant at Arms for the City of Toronto has led the City-wide Corporate Security Section for over 20 years. He has introduced the City-Wide Corporate Security Policy which centralized security across the City divisions. Under his leadership, there have been progressive promotional opportunities for staff, and he has been a dedicated proponent of certifications and standards. He seeks to constantly drive the program forward for the protection of all facilities, staff, and the public. Judges felt that Dwaine exemplifies the qualities of a good Director/Manager and his leadership, partnership and overall contribution stood out. They also said that overseeing security for a major municipal government is challenging and complimented Dwaine on his achievements commenting specifically on his energy and innovative approach.  

Outstanding Contract Security Manager/Director
Don Azcona – iGuard360

Don Azcona has done an exceptional job in developing and managing a security team. As a regional manager of iGuard 360, Don has greatly expanded the company’s operations in the province of British Columbia. His commitment to innovative ways of providing security in today’s rapidly evolving era has allowed his team to grow fast. This expansion has led to a continuous growth in revenue year over year as well as the acquiring of high value contracts throughout the region. His contribution to the team is notable; he often spends 12-14 hour days at the office looking for ways to improve the business operations and hunt for new contracts. The judges felt that Don showed strong leadership. Being an allrounder in a start-up is notoriously hard. Don has put in the hours and achieved excellence with perseverance and skill. 

Outstanding Security Team
Global Security Operations Center Team – Suncor

Suncor Energy Corporate Security formed the Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) in 2019 after adopting an enterprise-wide strategy focused on standardization, automation, integration, accountability, and analytics. A hybrid in-house/contract operation, the GSOC has been focused on reducing the duplication and disparity of security services throughout the enterprise, resulting in significant savings to the organization as well as achieving executive level support for the strategy, resulting in further financial commitments to the strategic vision. This has resulted in an evolution to a more proactive risk assessment and response culture that is positively impacting functions across all areas of Suncor.  Judges commented that there was clear evidence of a well-integrated and global enterprise security risk management program. As the centerpiece of the Corporate Security strategy, the GSOC has been leading organizational change that goes beyond just the security function, providing support services to HR, EH&S for investigations, Emergency Management for critical event management, travel monitoring and executive travel/high risk travel.

Outstanding Contract Security Company (Guarding)
Paladin Security

Paladin Security was established in 1976 in Vancouver, BC, to provide essential Security Officer services. From humble beginnings with four employees and one contract, Paladin has grown into Canada’s largest private full-service security company. With ten years as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, an award-winning culture, and named Best Employer by Forbes Magazine, Paladin is fully committed to its people. Paladin has been one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada over the past 26 years. Its success is a direct result of it championing a positive corporate culture, a commitment to training, and strong customer-savvy relationships.  Judges said that Paladin showed a strong family culture and their commitment to training and employee development is commendable. The focus on ‘team’ was evident in each and every piece of evidence that was provided – highlighting their claims of people being the difference to achieving excellence. 

Outstanding Security Training Initiative
Mental Health Awareness and Response Program – Cara and Gordon Miller – Stay Safe Instructional Programs Inc.

Stay Safe I.P. is a highly regarded and recognized provider of “court defensible” specialized training programs with a focus on “Training the Trainer” to deliver a cost-effective solution for front-line staff in a variety of industries including healthcare, security and special events. The SSIP are current, consistent, and compliant with Canadian legal authorities and industry “best practices”.  The M.H.A.R. program has already been delivered on-line and in-class to 100s of front-line personnel and has become a mandatory training requirement (with a number of SSIP programs) for all contracted security providers working for the City of Toronto. The feedback from front-line staff including security and healthcare professionals has been positive especially since it was designed and delivered from the perspective of those actually dealing on a virtual daily basis with those presenting with Mental Health issues.  Judges commented that is it an innovative program which addresses a need in a growing area of concern.

Outstanding New Security Product
Data Lab – Trackforce Valiant + TrackTik

TrackTik was founded in 2013 and quickly established itself as a market leader with the mission to seamlessly connect humans, workflows, and systems to deliver a better way of working to the deskless workforce through relentless innovation and leading-edge software. Today, deskless workers represent 80% of the global workforce, and TrackTik strives to improve their lives by empowering them with thoughtful cloud-based technology solutions, transforming the way they work. TrackTik’s integrated suite of automated tools fluidly connects frontline operations and back-office management allowing managers to follow the progression of field workers, reduce manual tasks, lower cost, and demonstrate value. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, with offices in the United Kingdom, TrackTik’s seamless data-driven technology promotes operational efficiency and boosts deskless workers’ productivity, job satisfaction, and retention.  Judges felt that the testimonial included really helped show how this product is benefitting the end user, recognizing that each user has specific needs and this product is adaptable. It also demonstrates progress in the field of statistical analytics and contained value-added tools.

Outstanding Young Security Professional
Serge Bergler – CASIS

Mr. Bergler’s is a founding member of CASIS Vancouver. From 2018 to present, he has been instrumental in rolling out our computer security policies, information security practices, and delivering a variety of information / cybersecurity courses to new CASIS members and corporate and government enterprises. Most recently Mr. Bergler has taken on the mentor role of developing open-source intelligence (OSINT) skills development for CASIS and its clients. As a result of this leadership and initiative – CASIS has been able to collect and correlate diverse datasets. Mr. Bergler now leads an international team of volunteers who conduct OSINT operations to identify emerging security threats. Each year he brings a fresh re-vitalization of the OSINT process. This is achieved by his personal self-taught skills for managing complex searches in the dark/deep web, being on various social media platforms, and (currently) working out the nuances of the ever changing information landscape.  Judges felt that Mr Bergler is bringing forward an evolving skill set that is greatly needed in security.

Lifetime Achievement
Sean Sportun – GardaWorld

Sean Sportun is an award-winning leader with nearly three decades of experience in the security industry. He developed an international reputation by focusing on crime prevention through community engagement, rather than enforcement. Working as Security Manager for Circle K Stores, Central Canada Division, Sean pioneered a new culture and created a philosophy of Crime Prevention Through Community Engagement. His programs, including Positive Ticketing and StreetArt, enhanced employee and community safety by notably reducing store robberies. Sean has volunteered with Crime Stoppers since 2002 and is currently Vice-President, National Accounts & Community Engagement at GardaWorld.

Judges commented that Sean has done some amazing work with Crimestoppers, Circle K and the police. He openly shares the strategies used and has spoken many times in-person and virtually to share the lessons learned. They also felt that utilising multiple means of communicating with multiple demographics and audiences Sean has demonstrated an ability to convey the principles of security from youth to Chief constable. They also said this statement spoke volumes about Sean’s ethos: “when you look at things differently, the things you look at change.”