Tag: 20 under 40: Class of 2018

Curtis Kindred, 35Owner, president and CEO, American Defense SystemsBedford, TexasCurtis Kindred, owner, president and CEO of American Defense Systems, started the company in July of 2010, after joining the industry in 2008. The company now secures more than 35,000 locations across the country and has 200 employees and contractors.American Defense Systems is a Brinks Home Security dealer, with a 90 percent residential and 10 percent commercial account mix.Prior to joining the industry, Kindred served...

John Bekisz Jr., 31Systems integration manager, Securitas Electronic Security Inc.Elmsford, N.Y.John Bekisz Jr. is a systems integration manager at Securitas Electronic Security Inc. (SES), where he manages the engineering and integration of technology systems for one of the company's infrastructure transportation projects. The project encompasses a variety of security technology systems including video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, security systems management, network management...

Shannon Beritzhoff, 31Branch manager, First AlarmRichmond, Calif.First Alarm has five locations, and Shannon Beritzhoff is the branch manager of the company's Richmond, Calif., branch. She handles a lot of the day-to-day operations of the branch, including billing, service, fire inspections and installations.Beritzhoff came to work with First Alarm through the company's acquisition of Sentry Alert in late 2010, a company she joined just after college. “I've now been here for nine and a half...

John Butrim, 37Director of national accounts, ADT SecurityPompano Beach, Fla.As Director of national accounts for ADT Security, John Butrim focuses on the multi-family and homeowners' association (HOA) divisions, including sales, installation and customer service.“So we've got that sales function and then also here in Pompano we've got a team that handles the customer care, the liaison portion of the HOA relationship, so we work directly with the property managers and the board of directors...

Joshua Cummings, 38Director, engineering services, VTI SecurityBurnsville, Minn.As director of engineering services for national commercial integrator VTI Security, Joshua Cummings manages a team of 18 people responsible for all of the presales design support, post-sales documentation and jurisdiction permitting.He also heads up all of the training programs for VTI, such as training for engineering staff, field staff, and project management staff, for example, as well as bringing in customers and...

Jennifer Theobald, 34VP of operations, Rapid Security SolutionsSarasota, Fla.Jennifer Theobald, the VP of operations for Rapid Security Solutions, came to the security industry in an unexpected way.Theobald was a server in the city she still lives in, Colorado Springs, Colo.—the city where security software company Bold Technologies is based. “When I was in school, I was serving at a local bar and restaurant, and the leadership team from Bold would come in relatively regularly, and they...

Kevin Sopha, 36Director of security and video operations, University of Wisconsin-Madison Police DepartmentMadison, Wis.Kevin Sopha has worked on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus for 16 years and says that a desire to help people is what brought him into the physical security space.Sopha, now the director of security and video operations for the school, working under the campus police department, is responsible for upgrading and maintaining the campus' camera system. “We had roughly...

Dave Sweeney, 37CEO, Advantech Inc.Dover, Del.Dave Sweeney is the CEO of Advantech Inc., a systems integration business headquartered in Dover, Del. Founded in 1990, and a member of Security-Net and PSA, Advantech serves the greater mid-Atlantic market directly, with multiple national and global customers through its Security-Net relationship, said Sweeney.He noted that some of the key business sectors include education, detention and corrections, critical infrastructure, first responder, law enforcement...

Colby Meshey, 36Deputy director, security services division, Pentagon Force Protection AgencyWashington D.C.Colby Meshey began working for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) in 2007. Prior to joining PFPA, he served in the Air Force for seven years, where he worked in the security forces that protected critical assets at FE Warren AFB in Wyoming, and was a member of the Distinguished Visitor Security Team at Andrews AFB in Maryland.Working at the PFPA, Meshey led Pentagon Sentry, an effort...

Jesse Johnson, 37Corporate security lead, Harley-Davidson Motor CompanyMilwaukeeJesse Johnson studied criminal justice as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and decided to pursue the private sector. “I got my foot in the door here at Harley-Davidson as a contractor in 2004,” he said, holding roles as a security officer, shift supervisor, and account manager with the company since then.Johnson assumed his current role as the corporate security lead for Harley-Davidson...