Nicholas is Innovation & Risk Manager at Optic Security Group and Chief Editor of Line of Defence Magazine and New Zealand Security Magazine.

As a security risk professional, Nicholas works with organisational leaders to evaluate and mitigate the risks they face so that they can achieve their goals with confidence. Having edited New Zealand’s leading security sector publications over the past decade, he is a widely respected communicator on enterprise, public, and national security affairs.

Nicholas’ security risk journey has taken him from border security engagements in East Asia and the Pacific Islands to collaborating with security academics internationally and conducting security reviews for several key critical infrastructure organisations closer to home.

He is particularly interested in the increasingly 'converged' nature of risks and the new challenges posed by security burden shifting from the state to the private sector.

In addition to having chaired several risk and security sector conferences, Nicholas has shared his insights on key challenges and trends in security at a range of events, including New Zealand Defence Industry Association fora, ASIS International chapter meetings, Asia Pacific Security Institute events, the 2019 and 2021 Securing NZ's Borders, Facilities & Public Spaces conference, and 2023 Protection of Australasian Cultural Assets Forum.

A licenced security consultant with extensive private sector, government, and military experience, Nicholas is an Associate Protection Professional (APP), a Certified Counter Terrorism Practitioner (CCTP), and the recipient of the 2022 New Zealand Outstanding Security Performance Award (OSPA) for Lifetime Achievement.