At Securing New Ground CONNECT, held virtually Oct. 28, 2021, the emphasis was indeed on connections. Taking advantage of a platform called Shindig, the always entertaining master of ceremonies, SIA Director of Membership Kevin Murphy, kept attendees engaged with the help of several SNG ambassadors whose job it was to reach out to attendees and invite them to join the small group chats interspersed throughout the day — much like the coffee breaks that would take place in person. In fact, the day began with one, but soon got down to business with the first topic of the day.
“The View From the Top,” moderated by Matt Barnette, CEO of the PSA Security Network, took panelists Tom Cook, executive vice president of sales and operations for Hanwha Techwin America; Chris Meiter, president, Salient Systems; and Luis Orbegoso, senior vice president and president, Americas, Allegion, through a series of top industry issues to get their take. Supply chain issues were clearly top of mind and the first topic discussed.