Michael Johnson to open Infosec

​Champion sprinter and Olympic gold medallist, Michael Johnson, will deliver the opening keynote at this year’s Infosecurity Europe event www.infosecurityeurope.com/en-gb.html) running from 20-22 June 2023 at ExCeL London.

Now a successful entrepreneur, author, sports pundit and philanthropist, Johnson is one of the most celebrated sprinters in track and field history, holding four Olympic gold medals, eight World Championship gold medals, and numerous other accolades.  Widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, Johnson will share insights from his incredible journey, both on and off the track, the values of goal-setting, adversity, performing against competitors, perseverance and how these same principles can be applied in cybersecurity.

Since retiring from the sport, Johnson has founded both Michael Johnson Performance (providing training and consulting to professional athletes, sports teams and youth athletes around the world) and more recently, Michael Johnson Young Leaders.  The latter educates and provides young people who have faced and overcome adversity, with the tools to achieve a better future for themselves and their communities.

Michael Johnson has also gone on to establish himself as a leading corporate motivational speaker and has achieved success as a television commentator and personality, working for BBC sport since 2001.

“I’ve said before that life is often compared to being like a marathon, but in fact, it’s like being a sprinter – long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments with which we are given an opportunity to perform our best,” says Michael Johnson, Four-time Olympic Gold Medallist.

“Being a high-performance athlete isn't just about the sprinter, but the effort that goes into becoming one, the team around you, the competition and the challenges along the way.  It’s about working with them and trusting their insight, the analytics, and setting benchmarks. When you meet those goals, you strive for more, always looking for the next threat, the potential for someone to be one step ahead of you.  In cybersecurity, the journey to success should follow this same mentality,” continues Johnson.  “Having the ability to remain agile, lead and be lead, and accepting that there will always be challenges to overcome, will enable you to get over the finish line.”

“We are honoured to have Michael Johnson join us at our conference and look forward to his inspiring and motivational message,” says Nicole Mills, Exhibition Director, Infosecurity Group.  “In the infosec world, every second counts.  It’s a race against bad actors to secure your organization; with speed, teamwork and drive making the difference between success and fatal attacks.  Athletes must deal with multiple setbacks, whether it be injuries or defeats and his talk will be a great opportunity to hear about these and how he relates this to the unexpected challenges and threats within cybersecurity.”

The race is now on to secure tickets for this unique opportunity to hear Olympic-level insight in the flesh for the opening keynote at 10:00am on the 20th June 2023 at ExCeL London.  To register for a free ticket see: www.infosecurityeurope.com/en-gb/lp/register-to-attend.html?