Veteran cybersecurity leader and AI literacy champion recognised among the world’s most influential innovators for his mission-driven work in AI education, governance, and equityÂ
— AfricurityAI, a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business specialising in AI literacy, education, and cybersecurity, today announced that its Founder and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), Stephen D. Pullum, has been named to the Forttuna Global 100: The Power List 2026. The recognition places Pullum among an elite group of global leaders whose contributions are actively shaping the future of technology, society, and human capability.
The honour follows a string of high-profile accolades for Pullum, including CIO Today magazine’s Top 50 Global Icons 2026, a USA Today feature on his perspective on AI and everyday life, and previous recognition as one of the Top 5 AI Leaders Driving Impact in 2024. For a man who began his technology journey standing before military mainframes in the late 1980s, the recognition is less a destination and more a milestone on a mission that has never slowed.
From Mainframes to a Global Mission
Pullum served 27 years in the United States Air Force, working across what is now known as the Cyber domain from 1984 to 2012. Honoured with the USAF Commendation Medal and Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, he spent nearly three decades building the foundational expertise that would later fuel AfricurityAI’s creation.
“I stood in front of mainframes that processed data so fast that other mainframes had to parse it,” Pullum recalls. “I understood data, the zeros and ones of communications, and the security of that data. And I realised the world in general did not. At that point, I felt a responsibility, as if I had been given a gift.” That sense of responsibility has anchored every decision he has made since.
Founded in 2021, AfricurityAI was built on the principle that AI literacy is not a luxury but a necessity, and that underrepresented and marginalised communities deserve access to the same knowledge and tools as any boardroom. The company operates as a People over Profits organisation, providing much of its educational work on a pro bono basis.
Closing the Gap: AI Literacy for Everyone
One of AfricurityAI’s most tangible community initiatives is its AI Literacy for Seniors programme, a 10-page guide supported by a 77-page workbook designed to protect older adults from online threats and digital exploitation. Pullum has long argued that hackers and bad actors disproportionately target this demographic precisely because of the gap between how fast technology evolves and how slowly accessible education follows.
The programme is one of several community-facing projects developed under Pullum’s leadership, alongside AI literacy resources tailored for low and no-income communities and a growing suite of AI governance frameworks and certification pathways, including the AI Governance Certifier (AIGC) Framework and the AI Security Career Taxonomy, which maps technical, operational, and governance roles in the AI security space.
In partnership with AI CERTs, AfricurityAI now operates across more than 76 countries with a network of over 100 certified partners and more than 200 trainers. Pullum himself is a certified AI CERTs Authorized Training Partner and a sitting Board Member of the AI CERTs Certified Trainer Board of Directors, with authorisation to train across healthcare, education, and the legal profession.
A Career Built on Credentials and Conviction
With more than 70 professional certifications spanning AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, fintech, and emerging technologies, Pullum’s credentials are as extensive as they are earned. He holds, among others, the Artificial Intelligence Management Professional (AIMP), Certified Artificial Intelligence Expert (CAIE), AI Governance Program Architect (AIGA), Certified AI Solutions Architect (AISA), AI Content and Marketing Specialist (AICMS), and Certified LLM Developer. Each certification, he is clear to emphasise, was obtained through the full requirements of the awarding body.
His governance work extends to some of the most influential AI bodies in the world. He participates in the European Union AI Office Code of Practice Plenary, the US National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC), World Economic Forum AI initiatives, the MIT AI Risk Initiative, the Cloud Security Alliance AI Initiatives, and the OWASP AI Exchange. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Executive Strategic AI program at Houston Christian University in Texas, and is a Senior Member of the IEEE, representing ten of its groups and societies.
Internationally, Pullum has also built meaningful partnerships in the Philippines, working alongside Training and Management Company ETX PH and participating in the IEEE Computer Society Philippine Chapter and the Quantum Computing Society of the Philippines. He is a Distinguished Toastmaster of the Maharlika Toastmasters Club in Manila.
Ethical AI, Defined on Human Terms
Central to Pullum’s philosophy is a firm belief that artificial intelligence must remain in service to humanity, not the other way around. He distinguishes between Actual Intelligence, the intelligence of human beings, and Artificial Intelligence, and cautions against a race toward artificial general intelligence that does not account for the profound ethical and existential questions it raises.
“We are a truth-in-disclosure company,” he says. “We cannot eliminate bias, racism, or inequality from algorithms entirely, but we can strive for transparency and ethical practices.” His approach to security is equally grounded: “Cybersecurity is a mentality,” he says, a principle shaped over four decades that now informs how he trains individuals and organisations to think about AI risk.
Pullum’s vision for the next decade is clear: workforce upskilling at a global scale, with organisations choosing to modernise their people before automating their roles away. “The major focus must be workforce education and upskilling,” he says. “This is the mission to be undertaken by every organisation globally. Before laying off for profits and automation, upskill and modernise.”
At its heart, the mission is personal. Pullum describes his purpose as facilitating the sharing of humanity, for humanity, with particular care for those who are still finding their footing. “My only goal is to forget not those who aspire to fly who need a word of wisdom and confidence,” he says, “from Old Eagles like myself.” It is a philosophy forged in the Air Force, refined across four decades of technology leadership, and now directed at a world that needs it more than ever.
Media Contact & Further Information
Website: https://www.africurity.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenpullumafricurityai
Contact Info:
Name: Gianmarco
Email: Send Email
Organization: Xraised
Website: http://xraised.com
Release ID: 89191317
If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify us (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours.
