Erik Chalifour, operations manager, Telus, was named 2024’s Monitoring Center Manager of the Year by The Monitoring Association (TMA) as part of the TMA Excellence Awards, sponsored by SDM. Chalifour has spent the last 15 years in the security industry, culminating in his position with Telus. In his current role, Chalifour works to maintain good relationships with government agencies and first responders. According to Chalifour, “data is king” and Telus utilizes data to more effectively and efficiently respond to alarms. 

SDM spoke with Chalifour about the qualities that make him Monitoring Center Manager of the Year, such as Telus’ customer-first approach, his coach-like managerial style, his willingness to confront obstacles, and his ability to make those on his team feel as though their problems are also his problems. Chalifour gives the example of the mountain and the pebble. The problem may look like one or the other to either party, but either way — mountain or pebble — Chalifour treats it with the same care and attention.