AI Security Leader
Sal
Janssen
30 years helping enterprises sleep at night — across AI, critical infrastructure, fintech, energy, and banking in 16 global markets.
Melbourne, Australia
AI Security Leader
30 years helping enterprises sleep at night — across AI, critical infrastructure, fintech, energy, and banking in 16 global markets.
Melbourne, Australia
About
As a calm, decisive AI Security leader with 30 years of experience, I specialise in building and maturing security programs that hold up under real-world scrutiny — audits, regulators, boards, and threat actors alike.
My career spans AI, critical infrastructure, fintech, energy, banking and BPO across 16 global markets. I've led security operations managing 9,000+ assets, driven enterprise-wide DevSecOps transformations, and consistently delivered some of the most demanding compliance certifications in the industry — year after year.
What sets me apart is the ability to translate complex security risk into clear business language. I'm equally comfortable presenting to a board as I am getting into the technical weeds with an engineering team.
Domains
Building enterprise-scale AI security programs that address emerging threats before they materialise — from adversarial ML to model supply chain integrity.
Deep expertise across global frameworks — ISO 27001, PCI-DSS 4+, SOC I & II, HIPAA, and GDPR — translating regulatory complexity into operational clarity, simultaneously.
Scaling SOC coverage from 100 to 9,000+ assets, embedding security across the SDLC, and building high-performing security teams from the ground up.
Experience
Certifications & Frameworks
Research Focus
"Amateurs hack systems, professionals hack people."
— Bruce Schneier
Sal's research investigates the intersection of generative AI and adversarial human manipulation — particularly how large language models enable hyper-personalised phishing, vishing, and influence campaigns at scale. Backed by a freshly issued certification in AI-driven social engineering defence (LearnQuest, April 2026), this work informs both defensive tooling and enterprise awareness programs, helping security teams anticipate the next generation of threats before the indicators of compromise become yesterday's signatures.
Community & Volunteering
Swimming Australia — Volunteer contributor supporting the development of competitive swimming at the national level.
Security Awareness — Building training programs that give organisations a fighting chance against AI-powered social engineering.
Melbourne Security Community — Contributing to the local ecosystem through knowledge sharing and mentorship of the next generation of security professionals.
Connect