Carey Boethel, 38
Vice President, Business Unit Head for Security, Siemens

Like many executives in the security industry, Carey Boethel didn’t graduate from Texas A&M looking forward to a career in security. An architecture student, he happened to catch on with Schiff & Associates, where “I had two terrific mentors very early in my career, Gary Schiff and Jim Francis,” he says, “both of whom taught me the basics of security design, engineering and risk mitigation.” He’s taken that early instruction and built a career on combining security with business efficiency and understanding a customer’s entire operation, first and foremost. At Siemens, he finds himself with tools at his disposal to show the C-level that building systems don’t have to be a sunk cost. This mentor process, he says, is vital to the growth of the industry, despite increased efforts in college recruiting. “The best way to navigate this industry is to align oneself with someone who can help guide decisions,” he says. “My hope is that by the end of my career, there are a few young industry leaders who will have considered me a mentor who made a difference in their careers.”

Michael Bourque, 35
Fire Alarm Manager, HB Alarm

HB Alarm was founded by “my grandfather in 1971 before I was born,” says Michael Bourque. His father worked there and his uncle, John Bourque, is the current president. “When I was growing up it’s all my family ever talked about, and working for the company has become the course for me as well.” Bourque began his career installing burglar alarm systems in 1996. After The Station nightclub fire three in 2003, HB Alarm “was instrumental in bringing wireless fire alarm systems to Rhode Island,” Bourque says. “We’ve carved out a niche for ourselves in this market.” Today, Bourque runs HB’s fire alarm business. Plenty of young people work at HB, but, like many family-owned businesses, most are members of the Bourque family. “There are a handful of [younger] guys who work here [who did not grow up in the industry],” he says. Bourque predicts more will be attracted as the industry’s technology becomes more sophisticated. “Technology is what young people are interested in. That’s what I think will draw more young people.”

Jeremy Brecher, 33
Vice President, Operations and Information Technology, Diebold

An entry-level summer job in college, at Diebold acquisition Antar-Com, hooked Jeremy Brecher on security with the technology: “It was tangible,” he says. “It was hardware and software, the whole gamut of technology.” It didn’t hurt, either, that his work at Antar-Com put him side-by-side with Fortune 500 companies’ IT departments, whose best practices he soaked up like a sponge as he learned to make security friendly to the operation as a whole. He also knows from that experience that IT guys are “below the line,” Brecher says. “They’re a necessary evil.” But, in security, they can be above the line. “You’re the person we want to grow and have more of,” he says to potential IT hires, “and this gives you versatility, seeing all kinds of storage, servers, software - you get a bigger picture IT experience here in security.” Brecher may indeed by a security lifer because here “you can have daily successes - you’re protecting your own family and friends. You could deploy a great web site, or a data center, but it’s so hard to have daily wins and physically touch it. In security, you are what you make yourself. Your vision can define something new.”

Jordon Brown, 36
Regional Manager, GuardTronic

At 14, Jordon Brown was already pulling wires for his dad’s security company. Not too many years later, he found himself managing his own central station in Arkansas. He had always been fascinated by central stations, by “all the information taking place at one spot,” he says. “I was just always amazed that somebody sitting in one spot could know everything that was happening about all these different accounts all around the world.” Brown says to promote the security industry to young people, “We have to make it like an electrician’s job, where we promote in high school that not only is it a good summer job but a good career choice.” Brown volunteers teaching training and certification programs, has been lauded by the NBFAA for his work, and hopes to inspire other young people through education. “When I’m done,” he says, “I want people to say, ‘I did a better alarm job from what I learned from Jordon Brown.’”

John Corliss, 39
COO, Defender Direct

John Corliss and Defender president (and 20-under-40 alum) Dave Lindsay worked together in the 1990s. They’d fallen out of touch, but when he was mulling a move, Corliss called Lindsay. “He talked me into coming out to Indianapolis,” Corliss says. “I started here in January of 2006.” The largest ADT dealer in the country, Defender has grown to 1,500 employees in 11 years. “We recruit a lot of young people in installation and sales,” he says. Defender has extensive training programs that encourage career growth through personal growth (see accompanying story, page 1). It’s an approach Corliss believes should be adopted by more companies who want to not only attract young people, but keep them as employees. “Many people have been here since day one,” he observes. Corliss doubts he’ll ever “quit working” but when he does, he says he’d like to be remembered as a teacher. “I’d like people to say, ‘I learned a lot from John. He was able to teach me some things that made me be better person, helped me provide for my family, and help other people.’”

Acy Forsythe, 33
Central Station Manager, SentryNet

Acy Forsythe, a director-at-large for the Alarm Association of Florida, claims his entry into the industry was “a fluke.” Forsythe began as an IT guy. “My wife moved to Austin, and I started working for a software company called ABM. They wrote automation software for central stations,” Forsythe says. The transition to operating a central was a natural one. Forsythe says there is an untapped resource right under the industry’s nose. “We need to pull from all of those unemployed IT pros that don’t have jobs because of the dotcom fallout and overseas outsourcing,” he says. “The IT guys don’t know about this industry as an option … We need to recruit through IT trade magazines, because there is a pool there, and they are extremely unemployed.” What does he want his legacy to be? “I’d like to be remembered at all,” Forsythe chuckles. “I’d like to be remembered for bringing new technology into the security industry … new technology that wasn’t thought of as being in the security realm.”

Cindy Harkins, 25
Director of National Account Installation, UAS

As if her day job doesn’t keep her busy enough, Cindy Harkins fills her nights working toward a degree at the University of Pennsylvania. What do her fellow students think of her as she studies everything from business to chemistry and biology? “As a science nerd, I have this crazy urge to tinker and problem solve. The technical aspect of the industry satisfies that urge for me,” she says. But, “When you say security, they all think I’m a security guard and I carry a gun,” she laughs. Yet, “the news is constantly flooded with stories about house fires and local robberies. Rarely is there any mention of the central station operator who dispatched the fire department in less than a minute and saved lives as a result. It’s important to make those achievements public.” Harkins’ achievements are worth acclaiming, too. She’s worked her way from summer office assistant in high school to being the central point person coordinating all of UAS’ many ongoing national account installations. Her focus on the customer has been vital in that rise: “It’s essential,” she says, “that customers walk away with faith in the rapport that we’ve established during the installation process.”

Robert Hofmann, 35
Business Development Manager, Convergint Technologies

Robert Hofmann entered the security industry by way of Germany. A member of the United States Air Force in 1994, he was given a special duty assignment to work in the alarm zone, where his focus was on fire and security systems. When he left the Air Force in 2000, it was a natural transition to work for an access control company, and eventually find his way to Convergint as a business development manager. Hofmann believes that to attract young people, this industry should look hard at the IT world. “Convergence, that’s a word that’s been thrown around the industry for a couple of years,” he says, “and as we go down that road, it’s important to attract some of the young IT professionals that are skilled and interested in IT.” Hofmann hopes to give back to the industry at least as much as he’s taken out of it. “I still have a great mentor that mentors me once a week or whenever I need him,” he says. “He’s been such a huge impact on my life within this industry that I owe it to him to pay it forward and take the things I have learned and take somebody and give him or her the keys to success.”

Sam Jaddi, 35
Chief Technology Officer, Stanley Convergent Security Solutions

Working at ADT during the 9/11 aftermath, Sam Jaddi realized the security industry was not only growing, but lacked tough leadership as it related to the future of the industry. Everybody had been doing the same thing for dozens of years. He says the industry has really started to evolve within the last eight years, however, “and the technology has matured enough to where we need to start looking at how we integrate and converge to provide the services of tomorrow,” he says. To attract young people to maintain that evolution, Jaddi thinks three things should be done: Executives need to invest time to go to colleges and build awareness of the industry with talented students before they graduate; industry leaders need to realize there are many more roles now than before, as convergence and integration occurs; and security should capitalize on the fact that technology is a way of life for young people, and they represent the customer demands of the future. “In the 1980s and 1990s, there was no way of looking at the Internet as an industry; security has the opportunity to put itself on the map in a similar way,” he says. Jaddi hopes to contribute to that evolution and see its fruition.

Andy Johannsen, 39
Director of sales, VES central station, VES Fire Detection

Andy Johannsen let his fingers do the walking to begin his security career. “I decided to change careers in 1993, and called some local alarm companies I found in the yellow pages,” Johanssen says. “Two weeks later, I was a service technician for Advent Security, in Oreland, PA.” Johannsen feels strongly about fostering proactive growth, and feels the path to good industry stewardship is active recruitment and hands-on training. “Unfortunately for the industry, many people move up through the ranks of a family business,” Johannsen says. “Vocational schools with electrical or computer courses of study are a great resource. Some even teach alarm systems.” Over a16-year career, Johannsen has been a service tech, a manufacturer’s sales rep and an alarm company owner. At the end of the day, he wants nothing more than to have made a difference. “It’s why I got into security. I want to be proud of my straightforward, honest dealings and friendships with colleagues, dealers and customers. I just want to do my small part to protect and save lives.”

Brendan Lally, 32
President/Owner, IRL Systems

Brendan Lally came to America from Ireland on something of a lark: “I got my green card through the lottery,” he says, “so I decided to give America a chance for six months.” Once in New York City, he got a position with fire installer Crossfire thanks to an electrical engineering background, and things clicked. “I just fell in love with fire alarm,” he says. “I think I might do that for free.” However, he found his services in demand and began rising up the ranks before, with help from his former Crossfire employers, starting his own business. Seven years in, IRL Systems (get it? Ireland-IRL) services the five boroughs with three men in the field, plus himself and back office, but a new operations manager has him confident he can triple the size of the business in short fashion - if only he could find some good workers. “I often judge a person just on the speed they walk at,” he says. “If he’s dragging his heels just to get a coffee, he’s not going to be running when he’s on the job.” While the firm’s work ethic has won the company national sales awards from its vendor, it’s hard to keep up: “A lot of people want a job,” Lally says. “Not many want to work.”

Jorgia McAfee, 28
VP of Operations, Crime Prevention Security Systems

Jorgia McAfee was born with security on the brain, as her parents have owned their own security company since 1975. At 16, she began working part-time for them, but with an eye on the theater, as she hoped to be an actress. She now combines the two passions, performing at local theaters and as vice president of operations at the family company. “I ended up getting more practical when I took college courses and switched my major to business,” she says. “The older I got the more I valued what we do as a business, protecting lives and property.” She thinks the industry should capitalize on opportunities to promote itself at college campuses as well as on social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube. She says she hopes her legacy is that she continues to build the business her parents started by celebrating individuals. “I want to be known for recognizing the individual achievements of innovators of technology,” she says, “the individuals achievers within our company, and the individual needs of our customers.”

Trevor McEnaney, 33
General Manager, Knight Security

Trevor McEnaney was born into the security industry. His grandfather was Howard Wolfurst and his uncle is CSAA president Bud Wolfurst. He did not jump right into the business after school, however. He went to the Berklee School of Music where he studied jazz guitar and played in a rock band. He transitioned from music to business with a job at a finance company for four years before coming back to help his father run Knight Security. Getting outside experience, and particularly learning about finance and proper accounting, has given him valuable perspective, he says. McEnaney said his work with the NBFAA’s Young Security Professionals Group “is the start” of carving his own name into the industry. Through that work, he’d like to “elevate awareness and give the Mom and Pops some competitive resources on multiple levels.” Business transition is an area of interest for McEnaney because, “my whole premise in getting involved in the industry was to help my family transition the business.”

Jeremy Pixton, 32
President/Owner, Platinum Protection

Jeremy Pixton began working in the industry doing door-to-door sales for Safe Home Security (now Pinnacle) as an undergrad. He was the top sales rep, a recognition he achieved at subsequent companies. Three years ago, he teamed with three others to launch Platinum Protection, a summer-model security company. One of Pixton’s objectives has been to “change the image of the door-to-door industry” by hiring the best people and training them well. Platinum shuns the common practice of offering a signing bonus to sales reps, which “changes the focus from 100 percent money to a focus on the quality of customers,” along with the sales process, “and attracts high quality sales people,” he says. The company has amassed more than 100,000 accounts, and Pixton credits the quality of the sales reps for that success. “Young people want to be involved with organizations that are making a difference along with a lasting change in the world. Our product has that ability. It can change lives. I think we need to start emphasizing this more than the money that comes with the job,” he says.

Tracey Ritchie, 30
Director of Marketing & Dealer relations, United Central Control

Tracey Ritchie began her career in security as an assistant to the VP of sales at UCC and rose through the ranks. “I have a background in marketing and public relations, and it was through looking for a job in that market that I happened to stumble upon security,” Ritchie says “I’ve been with UCC for almost seven years now, and have learned so much more about security since I’ve been here.” Ritchie sees security moving in a much more technology-oriented direction and feels the future of the industry will depend on promoting its cutting edge. “We’re already beginning to attract the young, savvy techie crowd,” Ritchie says. “As security gets more into stuff like video and moves more into technology, I think we’ll continue to attract young, bright minds.” Ritchie, who serves on the board of the Texas Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, sees the importance of being involved. “I would like to be someone who has contributed to the industry as a whole,” Ritchie says. “I’d like to know I’ve contributed to helping our industry to grow.”

Lisa Roy, 37
VP global security and fire safety operations, Johnson Controls

In Lisa Roy’s case, she did sort of go to college to be in the security industry. “Controls theory was what I was drawn to,” she says, having studied electrical engineering and joining up with Johnson Controls 15 years ago as an application engineer intern. Now, after a left-hand turn into sales and time managing the government vertical for JCI, she has a global team and lives on Continental Airlines, going from Louisiana to Wisconsin to points around the world. The basic tenets remain the same, though: “It’s about how we might take a different approach to market,” she says, “coming from the customer perspective, driving their business needs instead of focusing on the technology.” As the industry embraces this “revolution of what it takes to be a security integrator,” she predicts, “you’ll see a better caliber of person, one who can articulate the value proposition to a customer who wants new security technology to better run their business.” “We haven’t explored security technology fully from the business side or the customer side, and I want to be around to watch that happen,” she says.

Josh Timko, 26
President, SafeNet Security

Josh Timko started in the security industry in 2003 as an intern, while pursuing a law degree in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement at the University of Akron. He says as soon as he got involved, he was hooked for life. Helping people stay protected gave him more satisfaction than any other career path he’d thought of. So when the boss said he wanted out and was thinking of selling, Timko stepped up with his partner to purchase the company. “I still get excited about all the new technologies and trends in our markets,” he says, and believes other young people could get excited, too. “You have to realize that most people do not go through high school planning on their future in the alarm industry,” he says, adding that it’s important the industry stress the endless possibilities that exist. Timko hopes his legacy is that he helped people feel safe and secure, and, “I want to leave knowing that every time I walked into a potential client’s home or business, I had an advantage over the next guy with my knowledge and ability to relate to the customer.”

Aaron Wahrsager, 27
COO, Smith & Wesson Security Services

Yes, Aaron Wahrsager has security in his genes. His father Warren has been in the industry since 1977, “so I more or less grew up into it. I’ve been working here probably since I was 12 or 13, in some capacity,” Wahrsager says. “I would go out with installers as a helper to get a feel for everything.” Not everyone has the opportunity to grow up in the industry, however, and Wahrsager feels more can be done to recruit new blood and fresh ideas. “I think the industry as a whole needs to portray itself as a professional industry. Some people have an impression that it’s a grimy, trunk-slammer industry,” Wahrsager says. “If people see a classier side, they’ll be interested in it.” Wahrsager isn’t anywhere near considering retirement, but when he does, his aspirations are simple. “When I leave this industry, I would like to think that I left it a better, more professional industry than when I got here,” Wahrsager says. “Overall, I want people to appreciate what I’ve done.”

Curtiss Weinstein, 36
President, Absolute Security

Fresh out of the service, Curtiss Weinstein sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door. “I was very good at it, but I hated it,” he says. He switched to selling alarms and, wanting to be an entrepreneur, became an ADT dealer. That was more than 10 years ago. Today, Weinstein is president of Virginia-based Absolute Security, the second-largest ADT dealer in the country. What would he like to leave as his legacy? “Not a mess,” Weinstein jokes. He wants to make good decisions that’ll benefit his company and his employees. “I’m 36 years old, I haven’t scratched the surface yet. I’m still figuring out what I’m trying to build,” he says. Weinstein is certainly doing his part to attract young people to the industry. Most of his 150 employees are young, and he’s hired and trained many in door-to-door sales, some who’ve stayed in the industry and others who’ve gone on to successful sales careers elsewhere. Weinstein says there’s no better “bootcamp” for business training than knocking on doors.

Leanne Woodhouse, 37
General Manager of Marketing and Dealer Relations, SecurTek

Leanne Woodhouse began her career 10 years ago with a then-nascent SecurTek as a dealer channel manager. “I haven’t moved around a lot. I’ve been there from the beginning,” She says. Woodhouse feels the industry will face increasing difficulty attracting bright newcomers without proactive action. “I think if we want to get more young people we need to let them know that this is a career option - it’s not usually top of mind,” She says. “It’s working with community colleges or other educational facilities, where someone goes to get their low voltage electrical training, working with business schools, bringing in young people on practicums or internships.” As for the future, Woodhouse is modest. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with some great people,” she says. “I would like it if the people I’ve learned from were able to say they had the opportunity to grow or learn something as a result of working with me. It is a sign of my success when people that work with me become even more successful.”