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2018 Post Event Report
Conference Chair
Yves Abadinan Kouassi
Regional Specialized Officer
 INTERPOL

Mr. Yves Abadinan KOUASSI has been working as a Regional Specialized Officer in charge of counterterrorism at the INTERPOL Regional Bureau For West Africa based in Abidjan, since 2006. As an assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. KOUASSI completed a master’s degree in Adult Education in Birmingham, England in 1993. During his career, he worked at the Ivorian training college for Education before joining the Police. As chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. KOUASSI worked at the Ivorian CID for 6 years, in charge of international police investigations at the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Abidjan. Right now, he is in charge of trainings on international police cooperation and counter terrorism matters. International organizations such as UNODC, ECOWAS, ISS often call for his experience in trainings on international peace and security issues Mr. KOUASSI has published two manuals on: The Understanding of the phenomenon of terrorism in West Africa, and Easing International police cooperation with INTERPOL Police capacities.


Keynote Speakers
Parfait Onanga-Anyanga (Panel Chair)
Special Representative of the UN Secretary General
UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)

Parfait Onanga-Anyanga is a senior international civil servant with 25 years’ experience working in the United Nations to advance peace and development in the world. He currently serves as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). In taking up his assignment in Central African Republic, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga brought with him extensive experience with the United Nations in conflict-affected areas, including his role as the Coordinator of United Nations Headquarters Response to the Boko Haram crisis. Previously he served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi and Head of the United Nations Office in Burundi, as well as Assistant-Secretary-General and System-Wide Senior Coordinator on Burundi. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga was a career diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of his native country, Gabon, completing his service at the rank of ambassador.


Speakers
Mark Cockfield (Panel Chair)
Managing Director
 Gladius Tactical LLC

Mark Cockfield currently is the Managing Director of Gladius Tactical LLC. He retired after 30 years of service in the U.S. Army Special Operations Community. More recently, he developed numerous Counter Terrorism Train and Equip packages (totaling $270,000,000.00 annually) for the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCAF) to conduct training with African specialized units in support of real-world missions and operations. His steadfast focus on training for each mission over the years has given him the reputation of the highest caliber leader in the Counter Terrorism community. He also has one of the most comprehensive networks of suppliers, covering virtually the entire war fighting spectrum.
Colonel Mariko Mamadou
Technical Director
 Maritime Organization of West & Central Africa (MOWCA/OMAOC)

Colonel Mariko MAMADOU is the Director of Maritime and port affairs and graduated from the School of Maritime Affairs Administration Officers in Bordeaux and earned his Masters in Maritime Administration from the World Maritime University of Malmö in Sweden. He was the Director of Maritime Cooperation and Seafarers at the Ministry of Transport in Côte d'Ivoire for 7 years. In this capacity, he participated in the Ivorian delegations, to work for the International Maritime Organization (IMO), UNCITRAL, UNCTAD and the West and Central African Maritime Organization (MOWCA). He chaired the Expert Committee of the Regional Academy of Science and Technology of the Sea of Abidjan and is a trainer of the Maritime Labor Inspectors. Since 2012, he has been seconded by the Ivorian Government to MOWCA as Technical Director. He is responsible for monitoring projects aimed at strengthening cooperation within the subregion and between the subregion and external partners, including the integrated subregional network of the Coast Guard function, the Center of Information and Communication, the Regional Maritime Code and the Regional Maritime Fund. He is also the focal point of the partner institutions with which MOWCA has Cooperation Agreements to promote maritime safety and security, notably the International Hydrographic Organization and the International Maritime Signals Association.
Moussa Idi
PSSM Expert
 UN Regional Centre for Peace & Disarmament in Africa (UNREC)

Moussa Idi currently serves the UN Regional Centre for Peace & Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) as PSSM Expert - Physical Security & Management of Government Stocks of Weapons and Ammunition, and is also a Senior Officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces in Niger. As PSSM Expert for UNREC, Mr. Idi is responsible for the development of technical documents, popularize new standard operating procedures, evaluate rehabilitated sites, train officers, sensitize decision-makers, and any other required duty. Within the Armed Forces, Mr. Idi has previously served as Deputy Central Director of Armed Forces Equipment, Head of the 4th Bureau of Air and Land, Representative of the Ministry of Defense and Military Staff, and Training of equipment officers (logistics) to French military schools.
Massimo A. Ramanzin
Project Manager
 International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Massimo possess more than twenty-five years of experience in Border Security, Operations and Management. More than seventeen years of experience working in post-conflict and developing countries within United Nations, European Union, OSCE and IOM. Expert in “Rule of Law” national strategic and legal frameworks, Massimo is an Integrated Border Management expert, with specific experiences in evaluation and implementation of IBM objectives, including trainings in the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East, Central and Western Africa, where he implemented US/EU/JP funded projects. During the last four years Massimo has been posted in Senegal were he coordinated the implementation of border security programs and counter terrorism community engagement projects, assisting in the implementation of these programs in Mauritania, Mali, Conakry, Niger and Gambia.
Mohamed Sahid Kamara
Director, Protective & Private Security
 Office of National Security (ONS); Sierra Leone

Mohamed Sahid KAMARA is a Senior Security Analyst at the Office of National Security (ONS) in Sierra Leone. He has served as Director, Provincial and Border Security; Director Monitoring and Oversight; Chairman Joint Maritime Committee; Secretary, Security Sector Reform Technical Working Group (SSRTWG, 2012). He received university education at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone in 1991. He has done series of post-graduate courses in security, intelligence and disaster management. He has participated in International Conferences and Expert Meetings in Maritime Security, Maritime Legal Issues; National Maritime Strategy Development and Border Security. He is currently working on reforming the private security industry in Sierra Leone through formulation and implementation of strong and effective regulations and a viable licensing system.
Daouda Conde
Director
 Ministry of Land Administration & Decentralization (MATD); Guinea

Daouda CONDE, magistrate, born in 1953 in Kouroussa in the north-east of Guinea. He trained at the Paris IAP where he did the short cycle, then the long cycle - former trainee at the Prefecture of Rhône Alpes in France in 1992; former Auditor at the Regional Chamber of Accounts, (Rhône Alpes, 1992), and at the Sorbonne, Paris (France). Mr. CONDE specializes in Public Administration and Administrative Litigation - former Public Prosecutor; former President of the Tribunal; consultant in Election, Democracy, Peace, Security and Development. Since 2012, he has been National Director of Administrative Regulations and Borders at the Ministry of Land Administration and Decentralization; member of the National Security Commission of Guinea, responsible for cross-border security strategy issues; President of the National Border Commission of Guinea; Vice President of the 2016 West Africa Border Management National Platform.
Michael Christian
Program Manager for Africa Operations
 Relyant Global LLC

Mr. Michael “Mike” Christian is the RELYANT Program Manager for Africa Operations, to include the Department of State AFRICAP III Contract. Mr. Christian served 30 dedicated years with the U.S. Army as a logistician, honourably retiring as Colonel. Mr. Christian holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Transportation & Management from East Tennessee State University. Mr. Christian has over 10 years of experience managing operations in Africa, to include serving as the Government Technical Monitor (GTM) assisting the U.S. Department of State with program oversight of over 12 AFRICAP contracts. Mr. Christian’s experience is coupled with his exceptional record of building organizational and team cohesion while planning and implementing multimillion-dollar projects in Africa. Mr. Christian understands the operational environment in Africa, and is always looking to expand our network of trusted and qualified local resources to support our growing footprint across the continent.
Dr. Ayité Marcel Baglo (Panel Chair)
General Director
 Agence Béninoise de Gestion Intégrée des Espaces Frontaliers

Marcel Ayité Baglo has served as the Director General of the Beninese Agency for Integrated Border Management (ABeGIEF) since 2012. He is also assistant professor of the universities and consultant to the World Bank. Dr. Baglo previously served as the Director General of the Beninese Agency for the Environment (ABE) from 1995 to 2006, Director General of the Administration of the Territory (DGAT) from 2006 to 2008, and Permanent Secretary of the National Border Commission from 2008 to 2012. In this last position, he coordinated the development of the National Border Development Policy (PNDEF) in 2011 and its implementation through the securing of border areas, the improvement of the living conditions of border populations and the promotion of cross-border cooperation. Expert of the United Nations Center for Counter-Terrorism, Dr. Baglo has been Chairman of the Board of the West African Border Management Exchange and Coordination Platform (PECoGEF) since 2015. Dr. Baglo has also contributed to numerous capacity-building sessions on the prevention of violent extremism, and achieved Doctor in Ecology at Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse 3 in France.
Philippe Pierre Gaston Prevost
Chief Joint Mission Analysis Center (JMAC)
 UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)

Mr. Prevost is an international staff member, currently serving within the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali. He joined the mission on 11th August 2013, just after the establishment of the Mission (1st July 2013), as Chief of the Joint Mission Analysis Center (JMAC). He brought his military experience with 39 years of service in the French Army, retired on 1st Aug 2013 with the rank of Brigadier General. During his military service, he served in Ivory Coast, Central Africa, Chad, Djibouti, Congo Brazaville, and Bosnia. He spent the last four years of his career (2009-2013) with the blue beret as chief of operations within MINUSTAH in Haiti and ONUCI in Ivory Coast. As the chief of JMAC since August 2013, he has been working on the impact of the situation in Mali on the MINUSMA mandate, analyzing more specifically the deployment and actions of the Compliant Armed Groups (who signed the Peace Agreement) and of the Terrorist Armed Groups. He has also the opportunity to study the impact of the intercommunity clashes, the banditry and trafficking activities on the MINUSMA deployment and strategy.
Dr. Amaechi Matthew Nwaokolo
Executive Director,Terrorism & Security Research Center
 The Roman Institute for International Studies

Dr. Amaechi Matthew Nwaokolo has a distinguished record of over 23 years of public service for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is an Alumni of J.F. Kennedy School of Government of the Harvard University, USA. Dr. Amaechi holds a Bachelors Degree in History, Masters of Letters in Strategic studies specializing in International Security, Certificate Diploma in International Terrorism and Political Violence, and a Doctorate Degree in International Terrorism and Political Violence. Dr. Amaechi is currently the lead consultant and Executive Director with The Roman Institute for International Studies, he is also a consultant with CGS an International non-Governmental Organization, and a consultant with various Security and Para-Military agencies. He is the initiator and Founder of the program titled ‘Window on Terror’ which is aired weekly on two Radio and a Television station.
Kanga Ewla Abdoulaye Kouame
Deputy Commander in Chief of CRS4
Ministry of Interior & Security; Cote d'Ivoire

Mr. Kouame, Police Commissioner with 20 years of Police, UN, INGOs and diplomatic field security experience. He is currently Deputy Commander in Chief of a specialized ivorian police unit, where he handles crowd control, public order and contributes to managing security operations towards international major events organized by the Government, conducting intelligence analysis, security risk assessment, and performing strategic coordination. Mr. Kouame also has a solid background on UN peacekeeping operations in Africa (DRCongo) and Caribbean states (Haiti) in leader positions. Early in his career he was at the disposal of the security department of US Embassy to Abidjan.
Dr. Faycal Bouzennout
Office of the Commissioner for Peace & Security
 African Union Commission (AUC)

Fayçal Bouzennout holds a PhD in International Law from the University Panthéon-Assas. He has written numerous articles on the theme of security in Africa in many French-language press organizations, including RFI. He is now serving in the Peace and Security Department of the African Union as an international civil servant.
Mickael Khalifa (Panel Chair)
Director of Sales - Africa
 Verint

Mr. Mickael Khalifa is the Director of Sales and Business Development in Africa for Verint Systems, a leading global provider of Communications and Cyber Intelligence Solutions. He has over 20 years of experience in the high tech, security and intelligence markets, and for the last 4 years has been heading the Africa regional activities at Verint. Mr. Khalifa holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Ponts- Et-Chaussees Engineering School in Paris, France.
Samir Himri
Reporting Officer,CMPCRD Division
 African Union Commission (AUC)

Samir Himri has been working in the Peace and Security Department (PSD) of the AU Commission for more than 3 years now as Reporting Officer within the the CMPCRD Division. Samir achieved a Diploma in Law and Political Science (2008-2011), and a Master II in Law and Political Science (2011-2013) both at the Algiers University III, Algeria specialising in security studies.
Florian Baalcke
Head of Security,Regional Bureau for West Africa (RBD)
 UN World Food Programme (WFP)

Florian is responsible for the security risk management in West and Central Africa of the world's largest humanitarian organization, the United Nations World Food Programme. Half of his 20 years of professional experience, Florian was engaged in humanitarian security. His special focus is information management; in his last post he was heading WFP’s Security Analysis at their HQ in Rome where he launched an artificial intelligence security project. A lawyer by training, Florian joined the United Nations after a career in the German Armed Forces.
Brahim Guekou Mohameden
Police Commissioner - Chief of Synthesis, Analysis & Operations
 General Directorate for National Security (DGSN); Mauritania

Mohameden Brahim Guekou, born December 30, 1964, serves as Police Commissioner at the General Directorate for National Security (DGSN) within Mauritania's General Directorate of Police. He joined the corps in 1993 and was assigned to the Directorate of State Security, which is a central intelligence department. In his direction he has served various departments including the Internal Intelligence Service, News Brief Editor and currently Synthesis Manager, Collecting, Analyzing and Exploiting Information.
Travis Heneveld (Panel Chair)
Director - United Nations & International Accounts
 Motorola Solutions

As United Nations' Account Director, Travis Heneveld oversees the delivery of business critical communication solutions to peacekeeping, emergency response and development agencies worldwide. Prior to joining Motorola's Europe, Middle East and Africa Strategy team in 2003, Travis spent several years as a Strategy Consultant driving new product & marketing initiatives for Fortune 100 companies such as Levi's, United Airlines, IKEA and Ericsson. A global citizen with living experiences in Europe and Asia, Travis is currently based in Nairobi. He is a BA graduate of Pomona College and holds an International MBA from the University of South Carolina.
Marimpa Samoura
President
 National Cell of Financial Information Processing of Mali (CENTIF)

Mr. Samoura serves as President of the National Cell Processing Financial Information of Mali. Before that, he was successively Assistant Director of the Prime Minister, Minister of Malians Abroad and, African Integration and Minister Delegate in charge of Budget. During a very long professional career, Mr. Samoura had to lead a project of major reforms of the management of public finances for Mali. He has also been an external consultant of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the capacity building of many countries (Guinea Bissau, Togo, DR Congo and Burundi). Mr. Samoura joined public service as an inspector of the Treasury and as such, climbed all the levels of the department: from the position of section head to the level of Treasurer Paying.
Colonel Modibo Issa Georges Keita
Chief of Brigade
 Specialized Investigations Brigade - Ministry of Justice; Mali

Colonel Modibo Issa Georges Keita serves as Chef de Brigade of Specialized Investigations Brigade, known as the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime Brigade of the Specialized Judicial Pole, attached to Mali's Ministry of Justice. During Colonel Keita's military career, he has served as Commander of the Koulikoro Gendarmerie Legion, Chief of Staff of the Director General of the National Gendarmerie of Mali, Advisor to the Director General of the National Gendarmerie of Mali, Head of the Investigation Department of the National Gendarmerie of Mali, Commander of the Kati Gendarmerie Company, and Adjoint to the Commander of the Kati Gendarmerie Legion.
Colonel Djadji Georges Ette
Commander - 3rd Legion of Territorial Gendarmerie (Bouaké)
 National Gendarmerie (MoD); Cote d'Ivoire

Colonel Djadji Georges Ette has served as Commander of the 3rd Legion of the Territorial Gendarmerie, in Bouaké (Central Ivory Coast), since February 2017. Previously, Colonel Ette commanded the Research Section of the National Gendarmerie, in Abidjan (2002 to 2011) and before then, the Documentation and Research Group until 2017 before being transferred to Bouake. He trained at Saint-Cyr (Coëtquidan) and the Ecole des Officiers de la Gendarmerie Nationale (Melun) in France, and holds a degree in Engineering (Sciences of the Matter) and a diploma of the Army Staff Course. He is a 49 year old married father of two children.
Martin Lavahun
Deputy Director-General
 Central Intelligence & Security Unit (CISU); Sierra Leone

Martin Lavahun serves as Deputy Director-General of the Central Intelligence and Security Unit, Office of the President - Sierra Leone. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Political Science and a Masters in Governance and Leadership both from the University of Sierra Leone. He is also currently pursuing a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with the University of London International Programmes. In addition to practical field experiences as an intelligence practitioner, Mr. Lavahun has undertaken counterterrorism courses with the United States Naval Postgraduate School, the Institute of Security Studies, Ethiopia and the Galilee College in Israel. Also, over the years, he has participated in various Counterterrorism workshops organised by bodies such as the UNODC, ECOWAS and the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) for which he serves as Secretary to Sierra Leone's Focal Point Chapter.
Dr. Kwaku Asante-Darko
Political Affairs Officer
 UN Office for West Africa & the Sahel (UNOWAS)

Kwaku Asante-Darko (PhD) is currently a Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS). His duties include monitoring and analyzing strategic peace and security and developmental related to electoral, post-conflict reconstruction, human rights, mediation violent extremism and other mandate-related tasks of UNOWAS. Prior to that he was a ‘Senior Expert on Conflict Prevention’ and ‘Coordinator of the African Union Mediation Support Unit’ (AU-MSU) at the Headquarters of the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2008 to 2016. Before then, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the South Africa Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) 2006-2008 on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) governance programme. Mr. Asante-Darko was a lecturer in the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), Johannesburg, South Africa; The National University of Lesotho, Roma, Kingdom of Lesotho; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana and Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Asante-Darko holds degrees in Social Science (BA 1986, MA 1991) from KNUST; International Relations (MA 1992) from Université Pierre Mendes France, Grenoble, France; Pedagogy of French as a Second Language (MA 1992) from Université Stendhal, Grenoble, France, as well as a Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities (2007) from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a Ghanaian national.
Dr. Luthando Prinsloo (Panel Chair)
Director Business Development Africa
 Airborne Technologies GmbH

Makhlouf Ait-Kheddache
Senior Fire & Physical Security Officer
 African Development Bank (AfDB)

Mr. Ait-Kheddache is a senior member of the African Development Bank (AfDB) security team with a dual role, Physical Security and Fire Safety. He is a specialist in Fire Safety with international experience in this domain. Currently, Mr. Ait-Kheddache is responsible for all fire safety issues in the Bank’s two high-rise buildings in Abidjan where he supervises a team of outsourced firemen. He ensures that all installations meet the international standards and that they comply with the local legislation. Prior to joining AfDB in 2013, Mr. Ait-Kheddache worked as Director of Security at Sorbonne University, Director of Security in the Health Care industry and several other organisations in France. He built this illustrious career on his military background.
Koos Joubert
Technical Advisor,Engineering
 DCD Protected Mobility

Koos Joubert is the Technical Adviser at DCD Protected Mobility with the responsibility for technical support and development of Mine Detection Vehicles and Armored Personnel Carriers. Prior to joining DCD Protected Mobility, Koos worked at Armscor where he was managing all the Landwards Programs and R&D Projects on behalf of the South African Defence Force. Notable is his 42 years of service at Armscor, he was one of the pioneers to develop Mine Protected Vehicles in South Africa. Koos received a diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Pretoria Technical College in 1974 and has achieved many post graduate training in several Engineering disciplines and Systems Engineering in South Africa and abroad. As an officer in the then SADF, Koos also has extensive military operational experience and has firsthand knowledge of the performance of vehicle product systems in operational conditions.
Joel Fournet
Africa Security Advisor
UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Lt Col Codjo Saturnin Obelakou
Director
 CPADD (Demining and Clearance Training Center)

Judd Devermont
Director - Africa Program
 Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Judd Devermont is the director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, he served as the national intelligence officer for Africa from 2015 to 2018. Mr. Devermont also served as the National Security Council director for Somalia, Nigeria, the Sahel, and the African Union from 2011 to 2013. Mr. Devermont spent two years abroad working at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria from 2008 to 2010. He also has lived in South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire. In addition, Mr. Devermont is a lecturer at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs. He has a master’s degree in African studies from Yale University and bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Timothy Lannan
Policy Advisor for Africa,Operations Division
 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

Timothy (Tim) Lannan joined the International Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium in 2007 where he is a Policy Advisor for Africa in the Operations Division. Tim is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, and the United States Naval Postgraduate School where he earned a Masters of Science degree in Defense Analysis in the fields of Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. Published works include his thesis, “Strategy-To-Tasks: A Link Between Canadian National Security Policy and Canadian Special Operation Forces’ Tasks”, his article published in the Canadian Military Journal, “Interagency-Coordination Within the National Security Community: Improving the Response to Terrorism”, and a chapter in Force of Choice: Special Operations for Canada entitled, “Towards Canadian Doctrine.” Outside of his professional commitment, he is devoted to a wife and three children and coaches a Division 2 Belgian ice hockey team.
Alisa Cameron
Deputy Mission Director for the Sahel
 USAID Senegal

As Regional Deputy Mission Director, Ms. Cameron oversees USAID’s Sahel Regional Office, which programs activities in Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Mauritania and Niger. Primary activities focus on reducing chronic vulnerability in the region by increasing economic well-being, strengthening institutions and governance, promoting sustainable natural resource management and climate-smart agricultural practices, and improving health and nutrition status.

Ms. Cameron has over 20 years’ experience working in development, working across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, where she developed, managed, and monitored complex development programs. She has guided strategic policy and advocacy dialogues and has a proven record of negotiation and development diplomacy. She previously led some of the largest USAID technical offices and oversaw a broad range of US Government Presidential Initiatives.

Ms. Cameron recently served as USAID Senegal’s Health Office Director. Previously, she was USAID’s Deputy Director for the Office of Population and Reproductive Health at USAID headquarters in Washington DC.
Benjamin York
Regional Security Director
 World Vision International

Benjamin York has worked with World Vision for four years as the Regional Security Director for the West Africa Region. His previous experience includes seven years in the U.S Army working on projects for the U.S. Department of Defense, before leaving the military in 2010. Today, Benjamin helps the WVI staff better understand the work environment and context where World Vision operates, so that they can make informed decisions and develop a culture of safety and security in West Africa.