Community Champions

Something that goes without saying is that we are only one part of the ecosystem. There are many people and organisations which do amazing work within the community. This could be one person being the change they want to see, organizations which believe in doing their part for the community or both! This page is to celebrate the organizations that we see making leaps and bounds in helping bridge the gap alongside Project Pioneers.

This list isn’t via any order or importance or greatness. We believe that the individuals and organizations on this list play their own part in making such an impactful change either to smaller groups or to the masses. (If you are featured on this list and would rather not be, please reach out to us here and we will be happy to accommodate)

Mark Higgins (Gloucestershire College)

Mark is a prime example of a career veteran that is using his wealth of knowledge to aid the next generation. After carrying out various management positions and being the “IBM Watson Internet of Things, EMEA Practise Leader” (translating to ‘An absolutely massive role at a huge company’), Mark is sharing his industry knowledge with the lucky students of Gloucestershire College. Within the local community, Mark is not just a standard lecturer but a brilliant mentor and changemaker. He is able to consistently identify the needs of students and provide them with the knowledge that they need to not just maintain their career but grow it.

If you ever cross paths with Mark as Taylor did, ask him about his “Passion Presentation” sub-assessment which he curated. He understood communication in this modern world is key and that for some it’s a really difficult thing! As such, he provided his students with the opportunity to nurture their communicative skills with audiences and from such an act, potentially helped steer the careers of many many people.

Mark is a highly skilled individual both personally and technically and regardless of where he lands in the world, he is sure to continue making a positive change.

Randall Mason (Fortinet)

Randall is another career veteran on this list and definitely, a CSR competitor to watch out for. Randall has an unspoken tenacity to help both the future generation, the current workforce and those who need it. Randall currently works as a Senior Manager at Fortinet and within the community is the face of Fortinet’s outreach with CyberFirst. People like Randall come once in a blue moon as it’s difficult to come across people with such a burning passion for positive change.

Whilst holding down his management role, Randall can be seen at countless CyberFirst events in both a leadership and contributor capacity and is really making a name for Fortinet with the next generation. We at Project Pioneers can see Fortinet being a key changemaker in future and this couldn’t be done without such a passionate captain at the helm.

There is no such thing as a mountain too high for Randall and he’s been a firm believer in Project Pioneers from day 1. With Randall Mason, the best way to describe him is what this space if you can catch up to him and he is a true changemaker and role model.

Daniel Cannon (North Green Security)

Keeping up the theme of community champions, we have the famous Daniel Cannon. He wears many hats but is best known within the community as the founder of North Green Security. Daniel is a visionary who knows how to help the next generation. It would do him a disservice to say that he’s a regionally specific champion as he’s in one place for one week and another for the next!

Daniel has a real presence within the events scene both speaking and participating. If you catch a moment to follow his socials, you can find him jumping from town to town sharing his wisdom and leading in his field. Another priceless asset of Daniel’s is his ability to share the glory. He is a prime example of outreach selflessness and will happily share his knowledge for any chance he gets.

A memorable example of his practical outreach demonstrations is his work with pen-testing with students. If/When you finally cross paths with the amazing Daniel Cannon, ask him about it and regardless of the way we explain it, it won’t do his work the service it deserves

Abby T

From the start. Abby was a key member of the Project Pioneers journey. With presenting at the launch event, representing the Project Pioneers image and supporting early road mapping Abby has been a key member for the journey. Abby has worked in representing cyber and STEM since they were completing their GCSEs all the way through to them working in the industry today!