Secure Code Warrior founders named NSW Entrepreneur of the Year

Secure Code Warrior co-founders Pieter Danhieux and Fatemah Beydoun have been named the winners of the Pearcey Foundation 2026 NSW Entrepreneur of the Year.

The cybersecurity company, founded 11 years ago in Sydney, has grown from a startup to a business with over 200 staff, boasting more than 600 clients globally, including major banks, telecommunications companies and government departments.

While Danhieux and Beydoun were unable to receive the award due to a commitment overseas, Secure Code Warrior director of communications Catie McHugh was on hand to accept on their behalf.

"Innovation comes from a desire to improve current standards, to challenge the status quo, and in our case, envision a world with safer software and more secure code," McHugh said.

"At Secure Code Warrior, we have always believed in the power of nurturing and upskilling the next wave of security-conscious developers when they have the opportunity to grow, to lead, and contribute to higher quality, secure software.

"Let's continue supporting, uplifting, and inspiring one another as we nurture this sometimes very difficult journey together."

Pearcey Foundation awards honour ICT entrepreneurship in New South Wales and across Australia, with former winners traditionally invited to present the awards.

This year, 2021 winner Laura O'Reilly presented the award. O'Reilly, together with her brother Jordan, founded Fighting Chance and Hireup, platforms that help people living with mild to severe disabilities find purpose and receive the appropriate care they require in day-to-day life.

The start-ups were born from the extreme frustration the family experienced navigating the NSW Government's program for supporting people with disabilities on behalf of their brother Shane, who lived with cerebral palsy.

"People told us it would be too risky. 'People with disabilities can't manage it for themselves,'" O'Reilly said.

"We just knew through our experience that it was nonsense. And we were fortunate. It was lucky, but we timed it with the NDIS, and it was a problem in our family that was also shared by hundreds of thousands of others, and so it just took off like a rocketship."

Next generation of ICT leaders impress

The Pearcey Foundation runs the Young ICT Explorers Program, giving school-aged budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop their technology ideas, with the cream of the crop selected to present in front of audiences. 

Antara Chi and Eleanor Ha, Year 6 students at St Andrews Cathedral School, showed maturity and composure well beyond their years, impressing the audience with Project OWL, which aims to stop plastic pollution from entering the nation's oceans.

Year 10 Knox Grammar School student, David O'Mara, developed Dialcaching, a Pokemon Go-like scavenger hunt revolving around Australia's network of 14,000 unloved payphones. Conceived out of adolescent boredom, Dialcaching hands out points based on arriving at a payphone before other people and boasts over 1000 users.

The future of ICT in Australia is certainly bright with this level of talent and entrepreneurial spirit among our next generation.

Also held on the night was the University Incubator Pitching competition, featuring up-and-coming founders pitching their start-ups to a panel of three judges.

Jonathan Salgo was victorious, impressing the judges with Found, the platform he created that connects people living with a disability to care workers to provide personalised care.