The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Edison Shen as its new director of standards and technology. In this role, Shen — who previously served as a program manager in the Building Infrastructure and Transportation Systems divisions at the National Electrical Manufacturer Association (NEMA) — will manage and administer SIA’s standards and technical program activities; coordinate with other standards organizations that impact the SIA standards program of work; liaise with the SIA standards committee, subcommittees and working groups to set agendas and build consensus; develop cybersecurity and security technology content for SIA members; research standards activities and complementary programming; and manage the SIA Standards team.

As director of standards and technology, Shen will spearhead SIA programs like the SIA Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standard and its related OSDP Boot Camp and OSDP Verified offerings, as well as projects that align security technologies with industry best practices, standards and guidelines. He will also serve as the SIA staff liaison for the SIA Cybersecurity Advisory Board, which guides SIA members ahead of potential cybersecurity issues related to electronic physical security measures and provides prescriptive guidance and advocacy for new and existing cybersecurity strategies and solutions.

“SIA has a strong history of over fifty years of service to the security industry, and I am excited to join SIA and its nearly 1,200 member companies in shaping its future,” Shen said. “SIA’s Standards Committee has been very active in obtaining the adoption of the OSDP standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as IEC 60839-11-5 and launching the OSDP Verified program. I look forward to bringing value to our members through tackling current challenges and exploring new opportunities through standards.”

In his most recent role at NEMA, Shen was responsible for the management of technical committees and section operations, including the development of standards, guidelines and technical specifications through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and IEC approval processes, harmonization of standards across North America and easing regulatory compliance across regions, development of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security-accepted standard specifying user needs and functional requirements for the procurement process and submission of code proposals for the National Electrical Code and International Building Code. He is also active in ANSI and IEC committees. Prior to joining NEMA, he served as the manager of the applied sector at the Air-conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, responsible for the management of 15 certification programs, development of over 35 HVAC performance standards and guidelines and monitoring product regulatory rulemaking of national and international government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy and National Resources Canada. He holds a master’s degree in engineering management from the George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

“We are thrilled to have Edison join the SIA team as our standards program further evolves to meet the needs of members and the industry,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “With his deep knowledge of standards and technology, he will help to implement the SIA Standards Roadmap, accelerate growth of existing SIA’s programs such as OSDP Verified, introduce new content and committee opportunities for members in the areas of AI and video and add additional technical expertise to SIA’s advocacy efforts before government agencies such as NIST and CISA.”