Testimonials

  • Testimonial Quotes

    I appreciated putting security interests in terms that decision makers will understand.

    — Robert Moore – Regional Security Manager, Marathon Petroleum Corporation (now retired)

Video Testimonials

The videos below are from security practitioner attendees and a few vendor personnel who participated in the events. Their current title and position are shown above their testimonial.

Lee Thatcher

Director Corporate Security

Relativity Space

Day 1

The GSO event from my perspective is different from a trade show.

  • The attendees are extremely high quality, and they have a diverse background.
  • The speakers have some incredible backgrounds, incredible history, incredible stories. I think they also have a unique ability to articulate those experiences in a way that everyone can easily digest those and relate to them.
  • The GSO event provides a lot more intimate conversations with colleagues and vendors.
  • Definitely less pushy than a trade show and much warmer and engaging from just the experiences we’re having thus far.

Lee Thatcher

My name is Lee Thatcher. I’m the director of corporate security for a company called Relativity Space.

Pamela Peak

Thank you for being here.

Lee Thatcher

Happy to be here. Thanks for the opportunity.

Pamela Peak

Great. What attracted you to the GSO event? And why did you come here?

Lee Thatcher

I think my primary attraction to the GSO event was that I’ve never attended one before. I’m always keen on trying to stay on top of industry standards, new technologies, and trying to establish camaraderie with fellow physical security professionals. That seemed like a super unique opportunity to accomplish all three of those. So that was a bit of a no brainer when I was provided the opportunity.

Pamela Peak

And what’s different about the GSO event than other events you’ve been to?

Lee Thatcher

I would say the GSO event provides a lot more intimate conversations with colleagues and vendors, etc, that most of the other ones [events] that I’ve been to seem to have a much larger population, but a much less or fewer opportunities to have very descriptive conversations about commonalities and problems and solutions, where it’s here, I feel like I can openly talk to anybody who’s attending and really kind of pick their brain on some of the issues that they face that I may also face in my current role.

Pamela Peak

And what would you say about the quality of the sessions here at the GSO?

Lee Thatcher

With respect to the quality of sessions that I’ve experienced thus far? I would say they’re extremely high quality. The speakers have some incredible backgrounds, incredible history, incredible stories. And I think they also have a unique ability to articulate those experiences in a way that everyone can easily digest those relate to that, and then come to a conclusion where wow, like, I may face something like this in my future, but somebody has already navigated the path. So, I kind of get the cheat code to make excellent decisions from the get-go.

Pamela Peak

What was your biggest takeaway from that? We talked a lot about Security Leadership this morning. Was there a takeaway for you? And if so, what was your biggest one?

Lee Thatcher

I would expect two key takeaways on the Security Leadership realm, I think the point was made that sometimes you’re innately executing things in a certain way. But you may not understand why you’re doing it or the value of doing it. And some of the speakers articulated, you do this, because this is what it helps. Or you have this project, because that assists in developing a super resilient organization. So for me, it helps understand that the things that I’m doing without knowing I’m doing it are actually having some pretty amazing benefits. But I should be cognizant of that, so that I can maximize their impact for my organization.

Pamela Peak

What would you say about the quality of attendees here?

Lee Thatcher

I would say they are extremely high quality, and they have a diverse background. For instance, I’ve spoken with software companies, physical security, I’ve spoken with advanced manufacturing, large scale manufacturing, physical security, I’ve also spoken with individuals that are maybe a little more closely aligned with respect to size, and in mission, to what I do. So, it was really unique to see the full spectrum, but also have some that are a little more close to home, so that our conversations are fairly close to apples to apples.

Pamela Peak

I just have a couple more questions. What would you say about the quality of the – I know we haven’t had our Tech Day yet – but what would you say about the quality of the sponsors here that were selected?

Lee Thatcher

With respect to the quality of sponsors that I’ve seen on site – and though I’ve not been able to interact with all of them – I’ve at least heard of most of the names and understand that they are industry leaders, the technology that they possess, and I believe the roadmaps that they’ll be executing in the months and years to come, are, it’s gonna be hard to surpass the path that those companies are currently on. And I love being associated with that, because that keeps you on the leading edge, knowing that many of the super talented engineers that are working for these solutions, you can put that into play as soon as it’s commercially available. So, I’d have to say the hats off to those that scheduled the vendors that are on site.

Pamela Peak

And my last question is how is the GSL event different than a trade show?

Lee Thatcher

The GSO event from my perspective is different from a trade show in that a trade show feels as if you’re kind of in a room of people trying to sell you things and advertise things very aggressively. Just because that’s the nature of the business models that some of these companies have. Here, definitely. I’ve encountered more helpful conversations or questions about how we’re handling certain things. And if we’ve got to handle paygrade if we don’t have it handled, here’s some potential solutions super useful, but definitely less pushy and much more warm and engaging from just the experiences we’re having thus far.

Day 2

I super appreciate the opportunity. It was a really great event.

  • Great depth of knowledge that the presenters had, super helpful and insightful in a variety of ways.
  • The difference between day one focus on leadership and then rolling into day two with the technologies really allowed me to focus for each day on those specific concepts instead of having it intermingled [like at a typical conference].
  • For day two, it was amazing because we get to see some of these technologies, hear from both practitioners using the products and the vendors.
  • The biggest takeaway, I think, for anyone who attends two days of the GSO conference, is that you’re going to encounter technology that either you’ve only heard of in small snippets, or technologies you just truly were unaware of how advanced they had become.

Lee Thatcher

Yes, so for day two very unique panels and very insightful, akin to some of the day one items that we had, I really appreciated the depth of knowledge that the presenters in the panel had. And I also really appreciated the fact that they, though their presentations were a little more concise, they were super helpful and insightful in a variety of different disciplines or procedures or considerations. And for me, that was nice, because I could process that it kind of was thought provoking.

Just really a fantastic experience overall, and that I’ve been through each of the panels, including watching fellow presenters during our panel, also very insightful, just like wow, like, that’s kind of amazing technology. It’s things that are coming to the forefront and things that I could potentially employ in our security protected posture.

I was invited to speak on behalf of one of our vendors on a panel. And it was really great to be able to evangelize some of the wins and some of the problems that we worked through some of the solutions that we found, because truly those were, keep me up at night problems and being able to impart to other practitioners that hey, you might have these things that you think are insurmountable. You might think there’s no solutions currently available.

But when you get out and you interact with high quality vendors, like we had in GSO, you can truly find these diamonds in the rough and you’re like, Wow, this could truly help our operation. This can scale with the way that we’re intended to grow. And I don’t have to be stressed out all the time, because I have all these automations in place, and I’m enabling my team to handle things 24/7.

The biggest takeaway, I think, for anyone who attends two days of the GSO conference, is that you’re going to encounter technology that either you’ve only heard of in small snippets, or technologies, you just truly were unaware of how advanced they had become with each conference. And specifically with this one, there were three or four companies that I did not know were so advanced, and some of their capabilities and the technology had matured, just from the time I’d heard of the technology until now, it was exceptional to see how much development has taken place and how the services are compliant in so many ways. And so many of the considerations that we have to be compliant, these products already have that in mind. And they’re ready to scale if the complexities grow as the technology and the requirements build out.

Speaking for myself, the difference between day one focus on leadership concepts and experiences and then rolling into day two with the technologies and advanced procedures that can be applied, it really allowed me to focus for each day on those specific concepts instead of having it intermingled.

So, day one, I was just thinking, am I doing the right things? Being a leader? Am I developing myself? Am I developing my team, am I learning from the shared experiences from the super exceptional people and trying to apply that as best I can to our protective services and operations.

And then for day two, it was amazing because we get to see some of these technologies, hear from practitioners and the vendors themself. And you can understand how best some of those might apply to your workspaces, and enhancing the ability to perform at a top notch level and make sure that your security protective posture is a world class kind of organization.

I super appreciate the opportunity. It was a really great event and thanks for all the efforts to make it you know, as seamless and beneficial as possible. And just tons of tons of positive sentiment coming out of this event and you’re going to take that energy and head back to get back to work.

Pamela Peak

And yeah, that’s what we want. Ray always goes, “Then they could go back and hit the ground running!”

Lee Thatcher

That truly. Truly that’s how I feel. Once I get back.

Pamela Peak

Great! Thank you so much!

Adam Groom

CEO

StratorSoft

Day 1

It seems very intimate, a lot more intimate than a typical trade show.

  • I wanted to find out what trends were going to be discussed
  • And also see what technology might look like in 2025
  • I’ve actually had some conversations already about the leadership presentations and there are some key takeaways that are resonating with a lot of people
  • There is diversity across the different attendees from the industry that we can actually have conversations with and interact with

Adam Groom

So, I personally decided to come to the GSO event, because when I first came upon an advertisement in one of the security publications, I really found that it was interesting that it seemed like the event was going to really expose thought leadership within the industry, just to be looking at the title of the of the event is actually projecting out and what we might see all the way up into 2025. So that’s pretty much the biggest reason that I decided to come to the event and just wanted to see what the trends, we’re going to be that we’re going to be discussed what technology might look like in 2025, what initiatives and users might have within their organization and around the solutions that they’re implementing.

Pamela Peak

You’ve heard just a little bit we just started this morning, but around the leadership, the leadership presentations, what was your biggest takeaway from that?

Adam Groom

So, I’ve actually had some conversations already about the leadership presentations. And I think there are some key takeaways that are resonating with a lot of people. And that’s really taking a step back and humanizing leadership and making sure that as a leader within an organization that you’re reaching out to, whether it be your peers or your subordinates, or even the people that you’re working for making sure that they’re okay, and that they’re doing well as humans and as people, instead of just sticking to the objectives and goals that the organization are working on.

Pamela Peak

How is GSO different from a trade show? I know you’ve only seen a little bit of it. But how is it different from a trade show?

Adam Groom

So, I noticed the difference from the second that I walked in just from the standpoint of seems very intimate, a lot more intimate than a typical trade show. And that’s just based on sheer size and the layout and seems like the SMEs that are here and just the diversity across the different attendees from the industry that we can actually have conversation with and interact with. So that’s the that’s the first thing that I’ve noticed, but I’m sure that as these two days transpire, I’ll even notice more and more things that are different from one of the larger trade shows.

Day 2

I really think that the show was a phenomenal show.

  • The technology panels today were phenomenal.
  • The technologies that were selected are truly cutting edge technologies.
  • And it’s very awesome to see the advancement in technology in general, across the industry.
  • This GSO specifically has attracted very sophisticated end user.
  • Great balance of information around management and information wrapped around technologies.
  • The intimate setting really provided for a lot of opportunity to have one-on-one dialogue. That at least for me, was very productive.

Adam Groom

So the technology panels today were phenomenal. First of all, well, the technologies that were selected are truly cutting edge technologies. And it’s very awesome to see the advancement in technology in general, across the industry. I thought that it was very interesting to also hear some of the end users talk about their needs. I feel like this GSO specifically has attracted very sophisticated end user. So when that happens, I think there’s a lot of great dialogue that happens between the technology vendors and the solution providers, and how they can actually meet the needs of these forward thinking end users. So, it’s been been a great show.

Pamela Peak

Great, which technologies excited you the most?

Adam Groom

Well, I’m a little biased being a data solution provider. So, I was very interested anytime the topic of data came up. I think that there’s a tremendous amount of interest around data within the industry right now. But I think that there’s still a, a skill gap and a knowledge gap to truly understand how data impacts artificial intelligence, and machine learning. And the difference between historical data and analysis and things like video analytics. And I think as these discussions continue to happen, there will be there will be a lot more clarity around those topics. But as long as it’s a subject that’s been discussed, then I’m very excited about that.

Pamela Peak

Great. Is there anything else you’d like to say about GSO or the lineup of technologies or the non-competing of technologies?

Adam Groom

I really think that the show was a phenomenal show, had a great balance of information around management and information wrapped around technologies. As I said earlier, great diversity of technology and solution providers and end users in the intimate setting really provided for a lot of opportunity to have one-on-one dialogue. That at least for me, was very productive.

Maria Sumnicht

CEO

OT Governance

GSO gives us a chance to address the challenges or the concerns which we are facing.

  • There are many subject matter experts.
  • A trade show is like booths, right? But here we have a platform and panelists who are speaking to us.
  • People are demonstrating their products in a way that we can understand, basically talkling our language and putting that together for us.
  • The session about leadership was just mind blowing to me, how it’s not about your title, but about leading your team and influencing up and accross.
  • The quality of the GSO speakers was awesome.
  • it’s very different from a trade show.

Deepali Shrivastava

Hi, my name is Dipali Shrivastav. And I’m from Palo Alto Networks. I’m the senior manager who manages the GSOC for Palo Alto Networks, great.

Pamela Peak

And Deepali, what attracted you to coming to the GSO event?

Deepali Shrivastava

Actually, you know, because I’ll tell you, frankly, technology and AI now, because AI is potentially new, to security or to the world, actually. So, I’m like, you know, this would be the most attractive thing for now to learn to understand it better, and see how we can implement that in our environment. So yeah, that’s why I’m here.

Pamela Peak

Great. and did you get what you came for today? Have a lot of questions been answered?

Deepali Shrivastava

Yes. I think, you know, we have to – this is the general idea – you’re getting it. So you know, talking to them personally about, what are the challenges or the concerns which we are facing and how they can help us do that, that’s what here we are able to do.

Pamela Peak

Great. How does GSO give you a chance to do that?

Deepali Shrivastava

GSO is giving the chance because you have so many vendors, right, you have third parties, you have so many people who are actually coming in as subject matter experts with their products to tell us as how you can – how they can – make our life easier. So, so yes, great.

Pamela Peak

Great. And how is GSO different than a tradeshow?

Deepali Shrivastava

The GSO is different from a trade show, because trade show is like, booths right? It’s about, you know, we approaching them to see what they have to offer. But here, you you have a platform there, you know, we have panelists we have, people who are speaking to us, demonstrating their products in a way that we can understand, right, basically coming to our language and, you know, putting that together for us. So, so that’s why I think it’s very different from a trade show.

Pamela Peak

Good. Yesterday was all about security leadership. What was your biggest takeaway from that?

Deepali Shrivastava

I think I love the session from Derric about leaders to leaders, right, you know, leaders stepping up, leading across. So I think that was just mind blowing to me, to understand how as leaders, you not only have to help, or your team, it is how you are helping across as well as up to understand what you are potentially giving out.

So I think the quality of the GSO speakers yesterday was definitely definitely very nice. I would say it was awesome, because it was all about leadership, right? Leadership in security or leadership in any leadership role, which you’re doing, to enhancing your thought, and also understanding how you can step up in your role.

I think, again, the takeaway from Derric ‘s direct lecture was that your title doesn’t matter, it’s how you are able to enhance with your team and lead up.

So, I would say that the biggest takeaway from the panels today was understanding that products, because they are coming from different companies, they are trying to make us understand as to what they offer, and I’m trying to understand what I can get from them, customization, tailoring the part of technology which I would like to implement in my system or in the company.

So, the quality which was selected for the GSO sponsor, I think, very relevant to already relevant to today’s world, for security. We always like any company would like to stay ahead or would like, just to even say that, yeah, we are ahead of what we want to be. So this gives us a platform to understand the products better to understand the companies better and go to them to say, “Hey, this is what we require for our technical advancements now.”

Deepali Shrivastava

Senior Manager, GSOC

Palo Alto Networks

This is my second GSO event. My thoughts about the event:

  • It’s the place to be to get up to speed on new technology.
  • Day One showed how to talk to senior management to do more.
  • They are very approachable, you can go back to them for help and support
  • It’s different from other shows because they focus on the latest and greatest technology that’s out there now.

The GSO Event is my second one and it’s like the place to be if you want to get up to speed on new technology.

Day One showed me – or reminded me – how to talk to senior management to do more . . . took me to put myself in their shoes and how they think, so I can talk the same language.

What I think about James and Ray – they’re very professional and very knowledgeable on all the subjects. They’re very approachable, you can go back to them and say, “Hey, I need some help with this.” If you go back to them with a question or you call them – they’re available, they’re there to support you.

GSO is different from other shows I’ve seen because they focus on the latest and greatest of what’s out there. That’s the one think that I thought . . . this show was just one of a kind.

GSO gives us a chance to address the challenges or the concerns which we are facing.

  • There are many subject matter experts.
  • A trade show is like booths, right? But here we have a platform and panelists who are speaking to us.
  • People are demonstrating their products in a way that we can understand, basically talkling our language and putting that together for us.
  • The session about leadership was just mind blowing to me, how it’s not about your title, but about leading your team and influencing up and accross.
  • The quality of the GSO speakers was awesome.
  • it’s very different from a trade show.

Deepali Shrivastava

Hi, my name is Dipali Shrivastav. And I’m from Palo Alto Networks. I’m the senior manager who manages the GSOC for Palo Alto Networks, great.

Pamela Peak

And Deepali, what attracted you to coming to the GSO event?

Deepali Shrivastava

Actually, you know, because I’ll tell you, frankly, technology and AI now, because AI is potentially new, to security or to the world, actually. So, I’m like, you know, this would be the most attractive thing for now to learn to understand it better, and see how we can implement that in our environment. So yeah, that’s why I’m here.

Pamela Peak

Great. and did you get what you came for today? Have a lot of questions been answered?

Deepali Shrivastava

Yes. I think, you know, we have to – this is the general idea – you’re getting it. So you know, talking to them personally about, what are the challenges or the concerns which we are facing and how they can help us do that, that’s what here we are able to do.

Pamela Peak

Great. How does GSO give you a chance to do that?

Deepali Shrivastava

GSO is giving the chance because you have so many vendors, right, you have third parties, you have so many people who are actually coming in as subject matter experts with their products to tell us as how you can – how they can – make our life easier. So, so yes, great.

Pamela Peak

Great. And how is GSO different than a tradeshow?

Deepali Shrivastava

The GSO is different from a trade show, because trade show is like, booths right? It’s about, you know, we approaching them to see what they have to offer. But here, you you have a platform there, you know, we have panelists we have, people who are speaking to us, demonstrating their products in a way that we can understand, right, basically coming to our language and, you know, putting that together for us. So, so that’s why I think it’s very different from a trade show.

Pamela Peak

Good. Yesterday was all about security leadership. What was your biggest takeaway from that?

Deepali Shrivastava

I think I love the session from Derric about leaders to leaders, right, you know, leaders stepping up, leading across. So I think that was just mind blowing to me, to understand how as leaders, you not only have to help, or your team, it is how you are helping across as well as up to understand what you are potentially giving out.

So I think the quality of the GSO speakers yesterday was definitely definitely very nice. I would say it was awesome, because it was all about leadership, right? Leadership in security or leadership in any leadership role, which you’re doing, to enhancing your thought, and also understanding how you can step up in your role.

I think, again, the takeaway from Derric ‘s direct lecture was that your title doesn’t matter, it’s how you are able to enhance with your team and lead up.

So, I would say that the biggest takeaway from the panels today was understanding that products, because they are coming from different companies, they are trying to make us understand as to what they offer, and I’m trying to understand what I can get from them, customization, tailoring the part of technology which I would like to implement in my system or in the company.

So, the quality which was selected for the GSO sponsor, I think, very relevant to already relevant to today’s world, for security. We always like any company would like to stay ahead or would like, just to even say that, yeah, we are ahead of what we want to be. So this gives us a platform to understand the products better to understand the companies better and go to them to say, “Hey, this is what we require for our technical advancements now.”

Elizabeth Moslander

Sr. Security Manager – West

Robinhood

The GSO is definitely different from a typical trade show.

  • It’s much more intimate.
  • The opportunities to engage with folks in the industry are more personalized.
  • It’s very focused on the industry best practices, so you get to see the best of the best.
  • I really am impressed at the companies that are represented here.
  • The leadership pieces that I took away from this morning’s event are really getting back to basics. These are the things that are fundamental in our industry but are the things that are most overlooked.
  • The folks that were presenting today did a phenomenal job of bringing it 360 fully around.

Elizabeth Moslander

I decided to come to the GSO event here at LinkedIn, because it gave me an opportunity to catch up with other folks in the in the industry and to hear from leaders in the industry on what is current and what is happening. And to learn more about some of the challenges we might be facing today in our industry.

This is my first time attending the GSO and the GSO is definitely different from a typical trade show. It’s much more intimate. And I believe that the opportunities to engage with folks in the industry is more personalized. And it’s very focused on the industry best practices, so you get to see the best of the best.

I really am impressed at the companies that are represented here, especially here in the Silicon Valley. We have a lot of the big names industry, headliners that are opportunities to really see what their best practices are, and leverage those towards opportunities for us to grow our best practice.

The leadership pieces that I took away from this morning event is really getting back to the basics, in my opinion. These are the things that are fundamental in our industry but are the things that are most overlooked. On a day to day basis. Leadership is more than just showing up. It’s really getting people to buy into what you need done, and in a way where it’s mutually beneficial, right. That soft skills are the things that I think we’ve missed out most on in this industry because we’re very focused on the nuts and bolts of what we do. Getting back to the basics, I think is really critical. And the folks that we’re presenting today did a phenomenal job of bringing it 360 fully around.

Joe Desmarais

Regional Security Manager

Amazon

What was different and what interested me was the topics and the speakers.

  • I’m always looking to connect with other people in the industry, people who know what they’re doing and who are ahead of me in the field. And that’s what I saw.
  • Networking, getting to meet a lot of the folks here who are facing a lot of the same challenges, especially here in Silicon Valley.
  • GSO is different than a tradeshow in that there’s really no pressure. There’s great products and vendors available to speak, but there’s no pressure here for us to do that.
  • I appreciated the piece on the personal leadership in business, not just security management, but management. We don’t always treat people like people, and it’s good to refocus on that, especially when we’re looking at trying to retain great talent.

Pamela Peak

Have you looked at the website for GSO? What were your thoughts? What how was it different than other events?

Joe Desmarais

So, what was different and kind of what interested me was the topics and the speakers. I’m always looking to connect with other people in the industry, but just not anybody in industry. So like, you know, experts, people who know what they’re doing people who are ahead of me in the field. And that’s kind of what I saw on the agenda as far as the speakers, the topics. And so, whenever I see that, I kind of like to make sure I’m there, learn from those top people.

Pamela Peak

Great, great. And what do you hope to get out of the GSO event?

Joe Desmarais

I think probably two things. I’d like to learn more about two things, yeah, I’d probably like to learn more about best practices, specifically AI, cybersecurity is an area of interest to me. And then also just networking, getting to meet a lot of the folks here who are doing the same thing facing a lot of the same challenges, especially here in Silicon Valley. I think it’s gonna be beneficial for what I do on a day to day basis.

So GSO is different than a tradeshow in that there’s really no pressure for us to kind of like, go out, There’s vendors being approaching you all the time, kind of pushing their products pushing their information. It’s there, there’s great products and vendors available to speak to, and are supporting the event. But there’s no pressure here for us to do that. So it’s just kind of a nice to have, I suppose.

So, my biggest takeaway from this morning, I enjoyed the piece on the personal leadership in business, I think that we get focused on the nuts and bolts a lot in management, not just security management, management. And we don’t always treat people like people. And they sometimes it’s good to refocus on that, especially when we’re looking at trying to retain great talent because that’s tough to do around here. And so, putting more of a focus on that it’s a good way to reset your brain. And so I appreciate that segment.

Janae Lopez Cubeiro

Sr. Manager, Safety & Security

ServiceNow

The quality of the attendees is great, very diverse I which I appreciate.

  • Some great speakers here today
  • Being able to hear diverse experiences and how they’re building their own programs is really nice to have as to add perspective
  • Because it’s a smaller group, there seems to be a lot more ability to connect to network
  • I think the technologies selected were very strategic

Janae Lopez Cubeiro

So actually, this is the first time I’ve ever come to one of the GSO events. We have a new VP at ServiceNow, Brian Tuscan, and he is part of your network. And he forwarded this over to me and I started looking through some of the content and what was there. And I’ve been in this industry about 18 years. But I always really enjoy going to these kinds of conferences and

training opportunities.

This industry involves evolves, this industry evolves so fast that trying to keep up, especially with the last several years of COVID, and not going to GSX. And not going to any of the ASIS conferences, I mean, I feel very behind. So seeing some training opportunities close by only 15 minutes from the office, I was very excited. Got some great speakers here today.

The quality of the attendees is great, very diverse I which I appreciate. So, I’ve talked to a couple of different folks that manage different technologies, as well as folks from security operations and folks from security technology teams. And so being able to hear diverse experiences and how they’re building their own programs is really nice to have as to add perspective and, and just again, continuing to learn and grow with the with the changing times.

Pamela Peak

Great. How is the GSO event different than other events you’ve been to?

Janae Lopez Cubeiro

That’s been so long since I’ve gone to any events. I like that it’s very personal. And that because it’s a smaller group, there seems to be a lot a little bit more ability to connect to network, sometimes large events like GSX. It’s just so many people, it’s really hard to connect with folks. And I’ve got two best friends from sitting next to me today. So it works out. Talked about families, chickens, pets, all the things.

Pamela Peak

Janae Lopez Cubeiro

I think the technologies you selected was very strategic in terms of providing a variety of different elements to focus on. Obviously, pretty much everyone here is very well known company, but being able to see what they’re working on across the different types of technologies is very interesting and helpful. The GSO event is different from a trade show in that again, it’s just a lot more. It’s a lot smaller, a little more personal. Yes, there are exhibits yes, there’s learning sessions. But again, not having a million people of each thing is very, it’s very helps with the intimacy and relationship building.

Jeff Tertel

Project Manager, Exelon Utilities Information Technology

Exelon

I found the GSO event to be very valuable in many ways:

  • I appreciated the smallness of the event and the personal attention.
  • Me being in the IT profession, it was very helpful to be able to have discussions with the physical security folks attending.
  • The discussion about 360-degree leadership is something I’m taking back with me to use in my own organization.
  • It was important to me to talk to people from other organizations and hear about their experiences.

Video Clip #1

I’m Jeff Tertel. I work for the IT department at Exelon corporation. We are the holding company for three utilities, many power plants including a lot of renewable power, including wind and solar. So, what made me come to this event was a lot Ray, and it was also the fact that when I looked over the agenda and kind of the personal attention that was going to be received here . . . I mean that was important to be able to connect and network with a lot of folks in the security industry.

Me being from the IT profession, I don’t get a lot of experience outside of within Exelon to talk to a lot of security folks to find out what they are doing. And product-wise, I was real excited to see that we had some discussion about security theory, and then also on the second day would be on the security products.

I think the thing I found most valuable would have been the discussion about 360-degree leadership. The ability to discuss with leadership, peers and also subordinates and really to lead instead of to manage. I think one of the things that hit me was the Peter Drucker quote on management about how managing was having people do things right, and leadership is doing the right things. And so, the ability to communicate that with the organization whether it be folks above, below or your peers . . . is really important. And that’s something that I’m really going to take back and use within my own organization.

Being in IT and being the fact that physical security is just being integrated with IT in my own organization, it’s really important for me to get the word out and be able to bring the central IT organization along in an area where physical security folks are just kind of struggling in their ability to deal with the IT area.

I also really appreciated Day Two:

  • It was great to be able to look closely at the technology and understand more about it.
  • I think I exchanged business cards and talked with with everybody attending the conference.
  • I’m now in contact with a lot of vendors that I probably should have been in touch with earlier – and I now have resources to get my technology questions answered.
  • It wasn’t a lot of sales talk. It was specifically about how the products worked, and how I could use their capabilities in my organization.
  • There was a lot of interaction between IT and physical security folks.
  • It’s very helpful to know what other people are doing. I get asked about that alot.

  • Ray has been invaluable to me in my projects, both for his advice, which is always right on, and for his knowledge about that other organizations are doing.
Video Clip #2

What was great about Day Two was the fact that we got to take a look at the products, that we were able to see different solutions. That I was able to kind of understand more of the technology. Lately my career has gone more of the management way, and so I haven’t learned as much about the products as probably is necessary for somebody that’s implementing some of this stuff on a regular basis.

I think that was pretty interesting. I’m actually in contact now with a lot of vendors that I probably should have been in contact with before. And it was very appropriate. It wasn’t a lot of sales – it was more, “Here is how the products work, here’s how they can work in your organization. Here’s the different opportunities you could implement . . . and here’s why that’s important.” I think that was important for me to learn, too, as to some of the security technologies and why they might be important to our organization.

I think some of the things that are different with GSO than with other conferences, are the smallness, the closeness, the ability . . . I think I’ve talked to everybody that’s here at the conference. I’ve probably exchanged cards with everybody here at the conference. I think that’s important to be able to network with other folks, with other peers. You know, one of the other really cool things about the conference was you had a lot of security folks, you had IT folks, and so you had a lot of interaction between the organizations that need to be involved in convergence of IT and security. So that was exciting. It was really cool to talk to the security guys, me being in the IT area. And it was really cool to talk to the IT guys who maybe have a little more experience than I do in this area.

Ray Bernard is one of those guys that just kind of leads and provides his expertise with kinda not even knowing it. Ray has been invaluable to me both in improving my expertise in the security area, and his recommendations have always been right on. I use Ray in . . . for his consulting work in some of the projects I’ve been running, and I find his advice invaluable.

And, you know, I think I also help Ray a little bit in some of the experiences that I have and letting him know what’s going on in my organization. And it’s really helpful for Ray to bring his experiences with other organizations to me as well, because that’s really important when it comes to . . . some of the folks in my organization are always asking, “What are other people doing? What are other people doing?” And Ray brings a wealth of experience and the ability to really help to understand what’s going on outside of our organization.

Bud Broomhead

CEO

Viakoo

Why I like these events:

  • Quality has been excellent
  • Covers ground not covered in other security events
  • CSOs and other presenters have been stellar
  • Continuity of learning throughout the conference, building on what we’re learning as we do along, not just a bunch of separate topics
  • A forum for security professionals to discuss what’s relevant today

The quality of course has been excellent. Certainly, the chief security officers and those that are in the business, if you will, of physical security – that has been stellar.

The continuity has been one of the good aspects – and the fact that we’ve been able to build on what we learned through the conference. That’s one of the things that I’ve been noticing about this is that we’ve all been going through a learning process and sort of a collective one, and as we’re getting into the second day here we’re referring back to things that we learned about yesterday as a group. That’s really helped everybody to move the conversation along and cover new ground.

I really think that a number of topics have come up here that may have crossed somebody’s mind at some point, but now they have a place and a forum and other professionals and peers to discuss the issues.