Identity Forum Appoints New Leaders to Steer Digital Trust and Security

REDWOOD CITY, CA – January 23, 2026 – The Identity and Access Forum today announced its 2026 Steering Committee, a move that signals a coordinated push to solve the most complex challenges in the digital identity landscape. Comprised of influential leaders from global payment networks, technology manufacturers, and specialized consultancies, the committee is tasked with guiding the industry toward a future of secure, interoperable, and privacy-enhancing identity solutions.

The new officers elected to lead this charge are Henk Van Dam of Fime as Chair, Madhu Goundla of Oneproof as Vice-chair, and Jatin Deshpande of Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) as Secretary. They will preside over a committee that includes representatives from titans like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, IDEMIA, and HID.

This leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment. The Forum made significant strides in 2025, particularly in promoting the adoption of mobile driver's licenses (mDLs) across the United States. “Real progress in identity and access happens when every stakeholder can contribute and align on what ‘trusted and interoperable’ should look like,” said Sandy Mayfield, managing director of the Identity and Access Forum. “Our new Steering Committee members are committed to continuing our mission, delivering real-world guidance that will help every stakeholder navigate advancements in secure identity with confidence.”

The Architects of Tomorrow's Digital ID

The expertise embodied by the new officers reflects the Forum's multi-faceted approach to building a unified identity ecosystem. Chair Henk Van Dam represents Fime, a company at the heart of digital identity testing and certification. Fime has been instrumental in ensuring new technologies are both secure and interoperable, contributing to the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet framework and engaging in mDL pilots across 26 U.S. states. Their work focuses on rigorously testing systems to identify weaknesses before they can be exploited, a critical step in building public trust.

Vice-chair Madhu Goundla, the founder and CEO of Oneproof, brings an entrepreneurial and implementation-focused perspective. In September 2025, Oneproof achieved the largest commercial deployment of mDL verification technology in North America, integrating its software across over 15,000 devices in more than 7,500 business locations. This milestone marked a significant shift from small-scale pilots to widespread, real-world acceptance. Goundla’s prior experience as an enterprise architect for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation provides him with deep insight into the public-sector challenges of digital transformation.

Secretary Jatin Deshpande of G+D contributes over 25 years of experience in physical and logical access technologies. A recognized leader in smart cards and secure documents, G+D is a foundational player in the technologies that underpin secure identity. Deshpande, who also co-chairs the parent Secure Technology Alliance, is slated to speak at the upcoming Identity & Payments Summit on the burgeoning role of artificial intelligence in identity verification, highlighting the committee's forward-looking agenda.

Beyond the Physical Wallet: The mDL Revolution Accelerates

The Forum's claim of being a “leading voice” in mDL acceleration is substantiated by the tangible progress made by its member organizations. The push for digital credentials is no longer a futuristic concept but a rapidly unfolding reality. According to the Secure Technology Alliance, an estimated 90% of North American jurisdictions either have an mDL program or are actively developing one.

The primary benefit of mDLs lies in their ability to enhance both privacy and convenience. Unlike a physical ID, which reveals all information at once, a digital credential allows a user to share only the data necessary for a specific transaction—a concept known as data minimization. For age verification, an mDL can simply confirm the holder is over 21 without revealing their date of birth, address, or other sensitive information.

Oneproof's large-scale deployment in 2025 demonstrated that the infrastructure for accepting mDLs is scaling quickly, addressing a key barrier to adoption. Concurrently, companies like Fime are ensuring these new systems adhere to global standards like ISO/IEC 18013-5, which is crucial for ensuring an mDL from one state can be read and trusted in another. The Secure Technology Alliance is supporting this rollout with dedicated project teams focused on mDL integration in sectors like banking, healthcare, retail, and gaming.

Forging a Framework for Interoperability and Trust

Despite this progress, the path to a seamless digital identity future is fraught with challenges that the new committee is uniquely positioned to address. The digital identity landscape remains fragmented, with a patchwork of solutions that often cannot communicate with one another. This lack of interoperability creates friction for users and security gaps for organizations. A core mission for the Forum is to champion “trust frameworks”—the common rules, standards, and agreements that allow different identity systems to rely on each other's credentials safely.

Building this trust is paramount in an era of escalating digital threats. The rise of sophisticated deep-fake technology and AI-driven fraud has made robust identity verification a top priority for businesses, particularly in the financial sector. According to research from Discover, another committee member, merchants view digital identity as a critical tool for fraud prevention. The challenge lies in implementing strong security without sacrificing the seamless user experience that consumers now expect.

This is where the diverse composition of the Steering Committee becomes its greatest strength. By bringing payment networks, government-focused security firms like XTec, and identity specialists like Decipher.ID to the same table, the Forum facilitates the holistic dialogue needed to build systems that are secure, private, and user-friendly. The committee's work extends beyond mDLs to encompass IoT security and other forms of access control, reflecting a broad vision for a securely connected world.

The industry will get its first major look at the Forum's 2026 agenda at the upcoming Identity & Payments Summit, co-hosted by the Forum in Houston, Texas, from March 2-4. The event will feature an mDL Technology Showcase and sessions on the latest developments in secure authentication and modern transactions, including Jatin Deshpande's exploration of AI's role in identity. It represents a critical opportunity for stakeholders to engage firsthand with the leaders tasked with building the foundational trust layer for the next generation of the digital economy.