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Luke Bencie Keynotes Suncoast Connect Symposium
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, had the pleasure of keynoting the Patterson Foundation’s annual technology event, Suncoast Connect: Thriving in the Digital Age Symposium. With over 300 people in attendance the beautiful ORA Conference Center Ballroom, Bencie kicked off the symposium following the gala dinner. The two-day event featured Luke discussing his sixth book on security, The CARVER Mindset: How to Think Like a Spy.
The Digital Access for All initiative explores the efforts of multiple sectors working to enhance access to technology that connects people in ways that foster inclusion and well-being. It focuses on three elements that are essential to digital access:
· Connecting: The ability to connect to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet
· Devices: Possessing the right device for one’s needs
· Skills/Support: Having access to the necessary training and support to use devices and programs effectively while solving technical issues when they arise
A big thank you again to The Patterson Foundation for all their great work.
SMI and USF Attend US Special Operations Command Prayer Breakfast
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, along with University of South Florida Director of Special Projects and External Affairs, Jay Riley, and former NBA referee, Bob Delaney, recently attend a special prayer breakfast at US Special Operations Command, in Tampa, Florida. Delaney was the morning’s keynote speaker, sharing with the crowd his message on the importance of self-care and resiliency for military personnel and their families. The morning was highlighted by comments by General P. Fenton, who has served as the 13th commander of USSOCOM since August 2022. SMI and Bencie were honored and extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend such an important event.
SMI Trains the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the CARVER Methodology
SMI recently completed a CARVER Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment Training Course at the Park MGM Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of note, the Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board sent multiple special agents to attend. CARVER is a unique analytical tool because it provides both a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the threats, vulnerabilities, and probabilities of attack towards an asset. It is a unique skill that was perfectly tailored for the students in the course. The mission of the Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board is as follows: The Nevada Gaming Commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board govern Nevada's gaming industry through strict regulation of all persons, locations, practices, associations and related activities. We protect the integrity and stability of the industry through our investigative and licensing practices, and we enforce laws and regulations, while holding gaming licensees to high standards. Through these practices, we are able to ensure the proper collection of taxes and fees that are an essential source of revenue for Nevada.
SMI Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie, Named to Success Magazine’s 2025 Women of Influence
SMI is proud to announce that our Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie, has been awarded as a Finalist for Success Magazine’s 2025 Women of Influence. Success Magazine’s annual Top 25 ranking recognizes trailblazing women who are not only shaping the present but are also laying the groundwork for future difference-makers to thrive. The women honored through the Women of Influence campaign are building networks of support and collaboration that empower others to succeed. They understand that true leadership is about creating space for others to thrive, and in doing so, they’re fostering a culture of innovation and inclusion that benefits everyone. Congratulations to SMI’s own, Sarah Bencie for being named to such an impressive list.
Luke Bencie Delivers Leadership Workshop at the Annual Security Middle East Conference 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, proudly delivered his workshop entitled, CARVER Leadership, to attendees of the 2025 Security Middle East Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Voco Hotel. The workshop, which was certified through the University of South Florida’s Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education, provided attendees with a digital badge of completion and focused on the following strategic topics: How to Lead People in Global Systems, Strengthening One’s Ability to Influence, and How to Navigate Large-Scale Challenges with Enhanced Decision-Making.
Bencie’s upcoming book CARVER Leadership: Lessons from the Board Room, War Room, and Locker Room, will be out in the fall of 2025. Co-authored with former NBA referee, Bob Delaney, CARVER Leadership is an acronym for: Competency, Adaptability, Reliability, Vision, Empowerment, and Relationships.
SMI and USF Visit Saudi Aramco
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, along with University of South Florida Director of Special Projects and External Affairs, Jay Riley, recently met with the team from Saudi Aramco’s Industrial Security Operations Academy in Dammam. SMI has been in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for nearly two decades and is also proud to work with in-country partner, ICON Training Group. Discussions with Aramco revolved around enhanced training opportunities, particularly for AI as it relates to security. SMI and USF look forward to their next visit.
911 emergency personnel from Saudi Arabia boost their skills at USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sixteen first responders from Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, recently celebrated the completion of a University of South Florida Corporate Training Security Training Collaborative certificate program on Dec. 13 at USF Sarasota-Manatee, where they learned ways to improve their crisis response capabilities. These participants work at Aramco’s compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which is home to about 400,000 Aramco employees and their families.
This training initiative was prompted by the 2019 drone and missile attacks on the Aramco oil fields, which disrupted 5% of the global oil supply. USF Corporate Training partner, Security Management International, has maintained a longstanding relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, playing a pivotal role in facilitating the collaboration with Aramco. It marked the first training session conducted by USF for the Aramco Industrial Security Operations Academy.
Recognizing the significance of this initiative, USF President Rhea Law visited the participants during their two-week program. The curriculum focused on crisis response and emergency preparedness, covering a wide range of critical topics. Twenty subject matter experts from national security, law enforcement, and emergency management delivered sessions on areas such as active shooter incidents, crisis communications, managing drone threats, hostage negotiations, operational stress, de-escalation techniques, and incident command, among others. Notable speakers, including soft target expert and astronaut-in-training Dr. Jennifer Hesterman (U.S. Air Force retired); Katie M. Hill, the FBI’s Supervisor Special Agent in Tampa; and former undercover operative and NBA referee Bob Delaney, provided valuable insights to the participants.
“This was an incredible team effort,” said SMI Managing Director and USF Corporate Training Lead Instructor Luke Bencie. “We had six local law enforcement and fire department agencies, the Tampa and Orlando FBI Field Offices, two Emergency Operations Centers/ Dispatch Call Centers, and U.S. Congressman Greg Steube’s office. None of this would have been possible without the leadership of Vice Provost and Regional Vice Chancellor of USF Sarasota-Manatee Dr. Brett Kemker, and Mark Koulianos and Jay Riley, of the USF Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education.”
The USF Network Saudi Arabia has over 650 alumni and 118 currently enrolled students. Over 40 USF alumni currently work at Aramco. Since 2017, 37 faculty members have engaged in research, business, and/or creative endeavors in Saudi Arabia. Five USF students have studied abroad in Saudi Arabia since 2013.
SMI Speaks About Strategy at OSAC Middle East Conference
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, spoke about security strategy at the US Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Conference (OSAC) at the Hilton Dead Sea Resort in Jordan. The conference brought together delegates from 21 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
SMI Hosts CARVER Course Following Hurricane Milton
SMI recently completed its final CARVER Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment Training Course of 2024. Held at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus, the class was comprised of students from Bezos Academy, Ohio Department of Homeland Security, as well as private sector consultants. Because of the recent damage inflicted upon Florida – particularly St. Pete - a week earlier from Hurricane Milton, it was a smaller than usual class. However, for those who did attend, it was a challenging and productive three days of security assessments and strategic decision making. Congratulations to all those who earned their Certified CARVER Assessment Professional (CCAP) designation.
SMI Hosts CARVER Course Following Hurricane Milton
SMI recently completed its final CARVER Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment Training Course of 2024. Held at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus, the class was comprised of students from Bezos Academy, Ohio Department of Homeland Security, as well as private sector consultants. Because of the recent damage inflicted upon Florida – particularly St. Pete - a week earlier from Hurricane Milton, it was a smaller than usual class. However, for those who did attend, it was a challenging and productive three days of security assessments and strategic decision making. Congratulations to all those who earned their Certified CARVER Assessment Professional (CCAP) designation.
SMI Nominated for Security Consultancy of the Year
SMI is proud to announce that for the third time in 14 years, we have been nominated as Security Consultancy of the Year by the Security and Fire Excellence Awards in London. SMI Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie, had this to say about the prestigious consideration, “This nomination reflects our outstanding SMI associates. Without them and their daily contributions, there is no award… in fact, without them there is no SMI either.”
Luke Bencie Interviewed on “Beyond the Blog” Podcast
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, was interviewed by host Kiarra Louis on the “Beyond the Blog” podcast. As the keynote speaker for the October 15, 2024, Patterson Foundation Dinner, which hosts the Suncoast Connect Technology Symposium, Luke will be discussing The CARVER Mindset: How to Think Like a Spy. The mission of the Patterson Foundation is to strengthen the efforts of people, organizations, and communities by focusing on issues that address common aspirations, foster wide participation, and encourage learning and sharing. On the podcast, Luke explained how he has personally seen the importance of spreading access to technology on the continent of Africa, among other places, and why it can become a geopolitical advantage.
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SMI Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie, Interviews “The Godfather of CARVER” in Vegas
This past week, SMI Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie sat down with co-creator of the CIA’s CARVER Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology, Leo Labaj, in Las Vegas to discuss the origins of this time-tested security tool.
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SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, Moderates Security Panel in KSA
SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie recently moderated a panel discussion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for The Security Middle East Conference entitled “Preparing Security Professionals for Major Events and Increased Tourism in Saudi Arabia.”
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SMI Trains Multiple Agencies in Vancouver in Preparation for FIFA World Cup
The SMI training team recently returned from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where they trained four different law enforcement/transportation agencies in the CARVER Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology. As CARVER was used to assess previous World Cup events, the Canadian government recognized its value for the next FIFA tournament.
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SMI Attends USF Ribbon Cutting
SMI Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie, and SMI Managing Director, Luke Bencie, recently attended the ribbon cutting of the new dorms located on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. This will allow students from those dorms to work close to the SMI offices located at the USF Research Annex.
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SMI Trains Multiple Agencies in Vancouver in Preparation for FIFA World Cup
SMI’s Managing Partner, Sarah Bencie, recently sat down to shoot a new corporate video to promote the University of South Florida’s Security Training Collaborative (STC). The STC is a public/private partnership between USF and SMI – envisioned by Ms. Bencie – to provide students with a “Washington DC experience.”Â