Optic Security Group promotes Vicki Barber to key director role

Optic Security Group, an Australia and New Zealand-based security integrator, has announced the promotion of Vicki Barber to the newly created position of Group Brand Strategy & Innovation Director. Vicki, who joined the company in 2021, brings over 25 years of experience in strategic and creative marketing management across various industries.

According to Ferzad Bharucha, CEO of Optic Security Group, Vicki’s contributions have been significant in shaping the company's marketing strategies and enhancing brand presence. "Over the past three years, Vicki has demonstrated exceptional capability, leadership, and dedication. Her contributions have been instrumental in shaping our marketing strategies and enhancing our brand presence," said Bharucha.

In her new role, Vicki will oversee brand management, marketing, product innovation, customer experience, and bid management governance. She will also head a newly established product innovation division. This division aims to revolutionise the company's solutions by identifying and integrating innovative security, risk management, and organisational resilience technologies. The division will work to operationalise these technologies for the benefit of Optic's customers.

The new division features high-profile hires, including renowned CCTV and video surveillance technologist Vlado Damjanovski and award-winning security risk specialist Nicholas Dynon. Vlado, based in Adelaide and often known as the author of the "CCTV Bible," will assume the new role of Product Innovation Manager. He will leverage his extensive international career and technical expertise to identify, test, and introduce emerging technologies to Optic's offerings. These technologies include advanced analytics, generative AI, surveillance cloud, biometrics, virtual and augmented reality, and other data-driven capabilities.

Auckland-based Nicholas Dynon, who is a widely recognised author and commentator on security risk, will take on the role of Innovation and Risk Manager. Nicholas will support the division's focus on emerging technologies through research, governance activities, external communication and awareness campaigns, and customer-focused risk advisory services.

Ferzad Bharucha believes the combined expertise of Vicki, Vlado, and Nicholas will ensure the delivery of thoroughly researched and robustly tested security innovations tailored to customer needs. "Together, this new team will drive a step change in our marketing, communication, and product innovation capability. Our customers are rightly risk-averse yet interested in how emerging technologies can deliver better and more cost-effective security outcomes. Our new product innovation capability will deliver to them the advice and de-risked solutions to address their security threats and support their business goals well into the future," Bharucha added.