The premier global security conference brings together leading experts in the security industry for three days of education, innovation, and connection.
ASIS International has opened its 2026 Global Security Exchange (GSX) conference at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The event continues through September 16 and features more than 200 education sessions and over 500 exhibitors from more than 150 nations.
GSX 2026 Opens With Security Leadership
The conference opened with two days of pre-conference programming on Saturday and Sunday, including ASIS Volunteers’ Day and the ASIS Awards of Excellence and Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs), which recognized excellence in security leadership, innovation, and service.
2026 ASIS President Eddie Sorrells, CPP, PCI, PSP, took the stage with a tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.
“The events of that day directly impacted people around 100 countries, reminding us that 9/11 was not an attack on one nation, but a moment of global consequence.”
Sorrells emphasized how the events of September 11 helped shape the modern security profession and highlighted the importance of public-private collaboration.
“That understanding has helped define and move us into the modern era of the security profession. Public-private collaboration, once perhaps seen as helpful, is now essential to how we anticipate threats, strengthen resilience, and respond when lives and livelihoods are at stake.”
Sorrells left attendees with a call to approach the future with curiosity, agility, and optimism.
ASIS International CEO Bill Tenney also joined Sorrells on stage and spoke about September 11, 2001, as a pivotal moment in the evolution of the security profession. He emphasized the importance of future-focused leadership rooted in connection and human impact.
“Beyond the policies, technologies, and operating models that followed, September 11 did something deeply human. It brought this profession closer together.”
Tenney added:
“I have seen this profession from different vantage points: as a veteran, in government service, in the private sector, and now in the privileged role of leading this extraordinary organization. Each experience has reinforced the same truth: security cannot advance in isolation.”
Peter Diamandis Opens General Session
Peter Diamandis, MD, Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation and Executive Founder and Director of Singularity University, opened Monday’s General Session, sponsored by Allied Universal.
His keynote focused on the mindset shifts required of security leaders in a world of accelerating change. Diamandis discussed how exponential thinking and emerging technologies are reshaping security challenges while creating new possibilities for protection, resilience, and organizational transformation.
He energized the audience with a vision of technology’s role in building the future.
“The takeaway right now for everybody in the security business is reinventing your agent-governance program,” he said.
GSX Exhibit Hall Welcomes Security Industry
The exhibit hall welcomed more than 530 organizations from more than 15 countries.
The show floor features four dedicated exhibit-floor learning stages, including the Career HQ, X Stage, Threat Intelligence Zone, and School Security Zone, offering attendees focused programming within the exhibition.
Monday’s Game Changer session, “The Next Generation of Leadership: What Tomorrow’s Security Leaders Need to Know,” featured Jeremy Baumann, CPP, Joe M. Olivarez Jr., and Manish Mehta, and was moderated by Rachel Briggs.
The session highlighted how corporate security teams can use data-driven insights, emerging trends, and industry benchmarks to strengthen organizational planning, drawing on insights from the annual CSO Survey from The Clarity Factory.
Education Covers Key Security Priorities
GSX education sessions cover topics across the security profession, including intelligence, organizational resilience, information security, site security, supply chain security, personnel security, investigations, executive protection, and governance.
For the first time, ASIS International is offering the ANSI/ASIS School Security Standard to all K-12 schools in Georgia, the conference’s host state, free of charge.
Tuesday GSX 2026 Program Highlights
Tuesday’s GSX lineup includes a range of general sessions, expert discussions, Game Changer programming, and education sessions.
General Session
Upgrading Your Decision-Making With AI And Data
Press Availability
Interview opportunities with ASIS International subject matter experts on school security, executive protection, intelligence, and more.
Game Changer
What To Watch: Mapping Risk Priorities Using ESRM
Education Sessions Preview
- Drugs, Arms, and Human Trafficking: When Organized Criminal Groups Use Your Shipments for Smuggling Illicit Cargo
- The Rise of Physical AI: How to Leverage 3D Spatial Intelligence in Modern Security
- What to Watch: Mapping Risk Priorities Using ESRM
- Lead With Hospitality: Transforming Security Operations Into Experience-Driven Risk Management
The GSX program also includes ASIS Celebrates! at the Georgia Aquarium.
Global Security Exchange (GSX) is a global event for security professionals, celebrating more than 70 years of advancing the profession. Powered by ASIS International, GSX brings together the global security community for education, networking, and innovation. GSX 2026 welcomes security leaders, practitioners, and solution providers from around the world to Atlanta, Georgia, for three days of learning, collaboration, and discovery.
Learn more at GSX.org.
ASIS is a source for learning, networking, standards, and research in the security profession. Through board certifications, Security Management magazine, and Global Security Exchange (GSX), ASIS provides members and the broader security community with intelligence and resources to protect people, property, and information assets.
Learn more at ASIS International.
Internal Links URLs:
https://security.world/category/physical-security
https://security.world/category/access-control
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What Is GSX 2026?
GSX 2026 is the annual Global Security Exchange organized by ASIS International, bringing together security professionals, technology providers, and industry experts.
2. Where Is GSX 2026 Being Held?
GSX 2026 is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
3. How Many Exhibitors Are Participating?
The event features more than 500 exhibitors, with the exhibit hall welcoming more than 530 organizations from more than 15 countries.
4. What Topics Are Covered At GSX 2026?
Education sessions cover intelligence, resilience, information security, site security, supply chain security, personnel security, investigations, executive protection, governance, AI, and emerging security technologies.
5. What Is New For Georgia Schools At GSX 2026?
ASIS International is offering the ANSI/ASIS School Security Standard free of charge to all K-12 schools in Georgia for the first time.
Source: gsx.org