In this live Executive Checkpoint podcast recorded at the ASIS ISE Latin America & Caribbean 2025 event, host Tino Urbina interviews two industry leaders: Brittany Gally, former chair of the ASIS Global Women in Security Community and security consultant, and Lee Alton, Vice President for LATAM at Concentric and author of The Kindness Games. Brittany discusses the urgent need for AI adoption in security, framing the choice as "buy, build, or get run over" and emphasizing the importance of governance, vendor risk assessments, and the lack of AI expertise among security teams. She shares findings from a survey of 60 CSOs showing 67% of AI spend is on threat mitigation while only 3‑5% goes to training, and calls for proactive learning among women and newcomers. She recommends free, multilingual AI certification programs (e.g., Google’s) and promotes upcoming community initiatives: the Global Security Exchange (GSX), a Women in Security Masquerade Ball in New Orleans, and five $2,000 scholarships for certifications. Lee Alton shifts the focus to human‑centric leadership, describing his philosophy of trust, kindness, and gratitude. He highlights his involvement with the ASIS Foundation, a 5K fundraising run, and his book The Kindness Games. He stresses that reputation is built on relationships, that trust must be earned, and advises emerging professionals to network relentlessly and prioritize personal connections over titles. Both guests stress community building, mentorship, and the role of inclusive networks in shaping the future of security.
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Welcome to Executive Checkpoint, the live podcast for security professionals. Each week, we explore industry trends, challenges, and insights with leading experts. This is your insider access to the minds driving change in our industry.
Welcome to Executive Checkpoint. Today we're live at ISE Latin America and Caribbean, and today I'm with Brittany Gally. Brittany is former chair of the Women's—
the ASIS Global Women in Security Community.
That is a long name.
It's a mouthful.
It's a mouthful. So I'm talking to visionaries and leaders in the industry, and you came across with amazing ideas and incredible energy. So I want to bring you along for a good conversation and tell us a little bit first about you, where you started your career in security and how you arrived to be a CEO of your own organization.
Well, thank you, Tino. And you did an amazing job speaking, by the way.
Thank you.
Excellent topics in AI, but also the security industry, which you You and I had a good conversation the other night at the pub, which was that, you know, the adoption of AI in this industry is a need and a necessity versus a want-to and think about it later tactic. And that was kind of the interesting part I thought about your speaking engagement was, you know, how are they going to do it, right? And of course, I think we're best friends when we— and we agree on the governance piece of it, right?
Yeah, no kidding.
And that's the hardest hurdle. But no, so I actually started in security industry about 10 years ago. And 3 years ago, I was the chair for the Globe for Women in Security, as we mentioned, and did consulting after that. Right. So one of the hot topics I'll say from my CIO and CSO perspective is that, or at least what I'm seeing in the AI space, is that it's really the buy it, build it, or get run over. Right. It's one of those 3 options. We don't have an option now to ignore it. And as you can see, especially like conferences like this, there is no topic that's off limits with AI. It's now, it's how am I going to implement it? Who's going to implement it for me? And who am I going to buy it from, right? 'Cause again, we're not AI experts, we're security people. So that mantra has to change of, I can't build this myself.
You know what we talked about? So what's the shortcut, right? The shortcut is find experts.
Yes.
Via, you know, manufacturing, you know, they're going to have to bring their own experts and maybe their own technology.
Right.
As well as consultants that are becoming experts and that can guide you along on that process, right?
Absolutely.
So what's your experience now when you talk to, you know, the C-level groups and you're explaining that they need to evolve? What's— how do you get around the risk of new technology?
Yeah.
Tell us a little bit about that.
So in, I'll say, IT and security world, your biggest hurdle is always your IT risk assessments. Always, right?
Right.
Well, now we know with the AI piece that they've added their own governance inside of that. The companies to watch out for are the ones that haven't thought about that yet. Those are the red flag companies, right?
Right.
The other thing I'm seeing from the C-suite is we're doing a better job of evaluating what our vendors are doing with AI. Meaning I have 350 technology vendors or security vendors. Okay, I've reached out to each one of them before, forget about when the contract renewal is, I've reached out to each one of my vendors and said, hey, what are you doing with AI? I need to know this for our compliance and regulatory things. And what are your guardrails, right? What's the governance model your company has put in place? And then that gets filed away or put in a folder for audit or whoever it is. But those pieces, you're seeing a very clear divide of who's paying attention and who's not.
Right. And you know, I think that we said the word governance, but it's not just that they have a concept of what they want to do, is then that gets passed along to your partners, your consultants, your suppliers, and carries on. You have an interesting view because you have a global relationship, right? That's the reason we're here. And by the way, Brittany is a great connector. I probably met half of the people here. Thank you.
You're welcome.
Really appreciate it. So your take on, you know, the future of security and where we are, especially being a leader for women in an industry that used to be, yes, uh, Latam and Caribbean.
Yes.
Where do you see, uh, the newcomers You know, men, women, young men and women coming in.
So one of the coolest things that I did last year, actually right before this conference, was I spoke on women in security and AI and where the path was headed. And what I did was I went out and did a survey of like 60 CSOs, and I said, where are you spending money in AI? And from that survey, right, what they attributed their spending to was really fascinating. Like 67% of it was attributed to threat. There was only 3 to 5% was attributed to training and education in AI. So, what we're seeing is they're solving lots of, you know, reactive problems with AI.
Very common in the industry, right?
Which is very common, right? It's a security thing. It's the way IT works too, right? And then on top of that, okay, well, it's great we're doing that, but where's everything else fall? Right? And so what I'd like to see in the women in security world, especially, and the next gen or the young professionals, is for them to say, go to their managers, like approach their managers and say, I'm interested in AI, how do I learn more? Or how can we learn more about that as a group or a team? That is going to drive—
Yes.
Success of AI in security.
Right.
Not, I think that the top-down approach, they have so much to worry about. that they're not going to push and pull people into AI, right, from the security space. So we as, again, women in security, minorities, whatever it is, need to actually pull ourselves up and approach the topic and say, I want to learn more, Mr. Manager, how do I learn more?
Right. You see, it's beautiful. Don't wait.
Don't wait.
Ask for it, right? Especially when you're new in the industry. Because the honest truth is we have this in general, we like to do things that are proven and tested, right?
Yes.
And I think that having newcomers lead that and take ownership of it is going to be the best solution.
Exactly. And that's my advice is like, you know, take ownership of your future, your future roadmap, right?
I love that.
AI is the easiest way to gain Unbeatable knowledge between you and your colleagues or you and other teams, right? It's a brand new topic.
Especially with the age gap. Let's face it.
Especially with the age gap, right? And Google actually has one of the best AI certificate programs I've seen out there. I don't know if anybody, if you've seen it yet.
It's a free—
It's free. It's completely free. And in all the languages that anybody needs. And it's one of the best, I'll say most comprehensive because obviously they have everything to do with AI internally, right? I mean, they have a complete division set up for it.
Right.
So, so that's why I said is if anybody's ever wondering, it's exactly start there because that on your resume is going to do leagues, especially 5 years from now.
Fantastic. Well, I was going to ask you what, what advice you give someone, you know, that came natural to you. So, um, what's next for you? What are you going next? What projects do you have coming up?
Yeah, so we have, um, I mean, it's a bunch of IT security cyber stuff. And then there's also, like I said, GSX is coming up in September.
Right, I'll see you guys there.
We're doing a massive Women in Security Masquerade Ball in New Orleans, thanks to all the contributors from the industry who wanna see it be a success. And we're also giving away 5 $2,000 Women in Security scholarships for certifications. The reason is, is because why not? We need more women in the boardroom, in the security space, and this is one way to get them there. Get your certification, And climb the ladder.
Yeah, and join an organization, right?
Join a network.
We are here, and I think this connection and, you know, synergy only happens when you meet great people.
Absolutely. You said it.
Great. Thank you so much. You're a pleasure to be around.
You too.
Folks, thanks so much for joining us, and you'll get to see more of visionary leaders in this MAGNET event. Welcome to Executive Checkpoint. I'm on site today at a magnificent event. It's called ISIS Latam, and I'm today with Lee. Lee, it's been a pleasure meeting you. How do you pronounce your last name?
Alton.
Alton. Okay. Lee has a tremendous great story. He was one of the speakers for the event, and we got connected, I think, like six months ago on LinkedIn, and it was great to meet him in person and also get to know his great story. But Lee, tell us a little bit about your background, what you're currently doing, where are you located, which makes that interesting.
Yeah.
Because you're originally from England, right?
Exactly.
Yeah.
So, yeah. So thank you so much for asking. Originally from the UK, moved here in January— sorry, June of 2016. So I now live in Querétaro. I was previously in Mexico City. I'm ex-military. Now I'm the vice president of LATAM for a fantastic US-based company called Concentric. And we've recently just incorporated here in Mexico, and we're looking at growth opportunities in Mexico and all throughout Latin America.
Great. And what brings you to ASIS aside from being a member and speaking?
Yeah, well, I mean, fantastic question. So I'm all about community, and I actually do sit on the ASIS Foundation fundraising and marketing committee. So the foundation is a standalone entity that is also aligned with all of the basic principles of what the ASIS International HQ are trying to do.
Right.
So what we're trying to do is complement that and always focus on the community by giving out grants, helping, you know, let's say people less fortunate than us, security research. And what I really love and why I'm really here is the people, right? Because I love the people and I always want to give back to the community.
Right. And, you know, one of the things that I really enjoy about your presentation, it was a great keynote, is that, you know, sometimes in security we forgot that we help people primarily, and taking care of ourselves and each other is a tremendous thing, not just who we protect, but also ourselves. So tell us a little bit about your take on why that presentation, you know, touched so many people.
Yeah, I mean, great question. So I always focus on the human side of security. It's a passion for me. I love humans. I love people. I always want to meet new people. That's why we connected and we'll spend more time personally together. One thing that I didn't share with the audience is that I'm also an author too. So I'm an author of a book called The Kindness Games. So I'm all about kindness, grace, gratitude, and always trying to lift others up. Yeah, my presentation yesterday was built around human-centric leadership, building up trust, giving safe spaces to your team so that they can flourish and recognizing that you're only just a cog in the wheel.
Right.
We may have these fancy titles, but that doesn't mean that we're more important than our teammates.
Right.
So what I love to do is always give my teammates the floor, always give them the opportunity to grow. always give them the opportunity to fail because that's where the growth is. So my secret sauce is always focusing on the humans because I think that that's the most important factor.
You make a comment and I thought it was very valuable. Stephen— what's his name? Stephen Covey's son, R.K. Covey. He wrote a book talking about the speed of trust.
Yeah, right.
And you were talking about the value of trust.
Oh, absolutely.
And so there is a really good correlation between business, trust, and relationships.
Yeah.
Tell us a little bit about that take.
Yeah, for me, trust is everything. And at the end of the day, one thing that I say, if you lose trust, then you're finished.
And in this industry, absolutely.
Well, no, absolutely. I mean, especially in the security industry, I would say the biggest pillar and foundation is built around trust. Relationships is everything to me. So my reputation, I would say, leads in front of me. Most people know who I am because of the philosophy and the principles and the ethics that I apply and the way that I give grace to others. So, yeah, I mean, for me, trust is paramount. It's so important. But I also say it's a bit like respect. It has to be earned, right?
Right.
It's a mutual kind of give and take, a process. where you need to grow together. So yeah, I always focus on trust. I always focus on respect, kindness, caring for others. A lot of people think that that's very soft and fluffy. Well, I'm an ex-military guy, but at the end of the day, I've realized the power in leaning into those human relationships.
And, you know, to prove a point, Yes, it sounds all of that, but I've witnessed how many people approach you even before the presentation just because you'll find him smiling all the time, which is just a given, I think. But so what's next? What are you going to be next? What are you doing? Where can people find the book?
Well, great question. So what's next? More of this, more human connection, building my network, as people always say. Your network is your net worth.
Absolutely.
My main focus probably over the next few years is to lift others up, is to give back to them. What's next and what's on the horizon is I'm going to be going to ASIS International Global Security Exchange, GSX, in New Orleans. I'm going to be there. I'm also organizing a run, uh, and a walk, which is a 5K fun run, uh, to help raise money for the foundation again so that we can give back to the community and continue to lift others up. So if anybody wants to sign up for that race, there's only 3 more spots left, so you've got to be quick because we've had to cap it at 100. About the book, you can find The Kindness Games on Amazon or also at Barnes Noble online. So That's it from me.
Great words of wisdom. There's a lot of our audience that are young and upcoming. They're looking to do, you know, some— become a fast leader in this industry. What's your advice to those folks?
My advice, and I always say this, is network, network, network. It's easy for me to say now because I have built a reputation. People know me, and as you said, they approach me. But what I try to do to teach to my young teammates is just reach your hand out. And I also teach people not to go up to and say, hey, who are you? What do you do? You know, for me, it's important to focus on the personal relationships.
Right.
You know, and, and, and as you now, now know, so I introduce myself as Lee, uh, and I create environments for people to thrive. I'm not Lee, the vice president of Concentric. even though that's what it says on my label. So the biggest piece of advice is try and get to know as many people as you can.
You will be amazed how many people like Lee that have many years of experience will extend a hand and lift you up, as you explained. Lee, great pleasure.
Appreciate you, my friend.
Thank you so much. We'll see you in the next Executive Checkpoint. We'll continue to talk to visionaries and leaders at ASSIST Latin American and Caribbean. Thanks.
