TAPA EMEA President & CEO honoured with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in Germany’s Outstanding Security Performance Awards

TAPA EMEA’s President & CEO, Thorsten Neumann, has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award in the German Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs) 2025 and will be inducted into the OSPAs’ new Security Hall of Fame in recognition of his personal contribution to advancing the security industry.

The Security Hall of Fame recognises security professionals who have excelled at what they do. They are judged over a career and are all winners of OSPAs’ Lifetime Achievement awards across countries and regions. These professionals have been recognised by experts in the areas where they have worked and were chosen by judges nominated by the leading security associations and interest groups.

Marcel Saarloos, Chair of TAPA EMEA, commented: “On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire TAPA EMEA Family, I extend our congratulations to Thorsten on this outstanding and thoroughly well-deserved achievement. We all have first-hand experience of Thorsten’s passion, energy, and drive to raise awareness of the importance of supply chain security, and to deliver the best support to our members. And, as he himself always says, more will come!”

Thorsten has over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in the Industrial Loss Prevention & Security industries. After joining the Transported Asset Protection Association’s (TAPA) Board of Directors in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region in 2003, he went on to serve as Chairman of TAPA EMEA between 2006 and 2019 before being appointed as the supply chain security and resilience Association’s first-ever full-time President & CEO in 2020. In the past five years, TAPA EMEA has achieved unprecedented growth in its membership and across all areas of its member engagement, including security standards certifications, training provision, intelligence sourcing, networking events, and industry participation.

Thorsten is also a NATO Civil Expert for Transportation, Communication & Cyber Threats.

Earlier in his career, Thorsten spent 10 years with Motorola and 7 years with Nokia, initially as Head of Supply Chain Security and, ultimately, holding the position of Chief Security Operation Officer. Following the acquisition of Nokia in 2013, he joined Microsoft, holding Director roles in Europe and the United States.

“I am deeply honoured to receive this prestigious industry award. Over 20+ years as a security professional, it has been my privilege to work alongside so many other inspiring, prominent and passionate security leaders, and I continue to do so, through my work with TAPA EMEA, as a NATO Civil Expert, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the federal association ASW Germany, and the Chair of ASW North Germany,” Thorsten said. “I am extremely proud to receive this recognition and excited by the opportunities and potential to achieve still more in the security industry.”