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PPVAR

Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response

About

PPVAR was established to educate all electronic security stakeholders on the value of video to verify alarm activity during the dispatch process and ultimately reduce false alarms and increase apprehension rates for burglar alarm customers.

We have built an organization comprised of members from Law Enforcement, the Insurance Industry, and the Electronic Security Industry to fairly represent all interests in the battle against property crime to provide the most reliable and cost effective alarm response to the end user.

Although we remain committed to traditional alarm response methods as a deterrent to crime, we consider video verification to be a significant enhancement and one that deserves a higher priority response by all first responders.

Our goal is to collaborate with all members involved in the alarm response process and share best practices, ideas, and the information necessary to maximize the effectiveness of all resources required to protect our valued customers’ life and property

PPVAR Board of Directors

Rob Baxter

President of Radius Security

Robert received his professional electrical engineering status in 1982 at UBC. His early career includes construction project management including construction of BC Women's Hospital & Health Center, still the largest maternity hospital in Canada. He joined the family fire and security business, Vancouver Fire Prevention (VFP), in 1983 and became President of the company in 1986. Rob has had the opportunity to design and install unique fire suppression solutions ranging from IT facilities to submarines. VFP is the largest fire inspection business in Western Canada. The business expanded into security in 1982 and now operates under the name Radius Security. They built their central station in 2010 and, in addition to traditional intrusion systems, Rob designed their remote guarding solutions based on video analytics to eliminate static guards for clients such as construction sites and car dealerships. Rob believes in video and related technologies to solve the problems of non-response and false alarms with traditional alarm systems. In 2015, Radius Security saw their monitoring revenue from video-based systems surpass traditional monitoring. The company has 120 employees.

Chief Anthony Canale (Ret.)

Verisk Crime Analytics - General Manager

As general manager, Anthony Canale has overall responsibility for the CargoNet business unit. Areas of responsibility include: accounts, marketing, personnel, operations, and sales. Anthony has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement. Having began his career in 1979 as a Police Officer, Anthony worked his way up through the ranks holding the offices of Detective, Lieutenant, Captain, and Chief. Prior to joining CargoNet, Anthony served as Chief of the Medford Township, NJ Police Department. During his 21 year tenure at MTPD, Anthony also worked closely with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as a member of various organized crime and narcotics task forces. Anthony has been honored by many organizations, most notably by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Treasury, U.S. Secret Service, and the South Jersey Fraternal Order of Police. Anthony earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Columbia Southern University and graduated in the 195th Class for the F.B.I. National Academy.

Paul Fitzgerald

Sheriff, Story County, Iowa

Paul Fitzgerald has a 35-year background in public safety and has been extensively involved in federal public safety communications initiatives. He was elected Story County Sheriff in 1992 after serving for 15 years in the Waterloo Police Department. Sheriff Fitzgerald also served as President of the National Sheriffs' Association in 2012 and has been deeply involved in the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST), the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC), and the SAFECOM Emergency Response Council. Sheriff Fitzgerald has a master’s degree from St. Ambrose University and an undergraduate degree from Wartburg College. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Larry Folsom, President

Co-Founder and President of I-View Now

Larry Folsom has eighteen years of industry experience. He is the former owner of American Video and Security out of Las Vegas, NV. With four acquisitions and strong organic growth, American Video and Security was selected by Security Dealer and Integrator magazines 2012, 2013, and 2014 Fast 50. American Video and Security was sold in 2016. Larry is a past President of the Nevada Security Association (2013 - 2014). Larry was also a member of Crime Stoppers of Nevada Board of Directors (2010 - 2015) and the ESA Government Relations Committee (2014 - 2016). In 2011, Larry Co-Founded I-View Now™ and is the President and CEO. I-View Now™ is a patented and award-winning cloud-based central station video and signal platform. I-View Now integrates security system signals, video sources, cloud applications, and internet connected devices (IoT) into a unified cloud platform with the objective of giving end users, operators, and authorized emergency responders better information to prioritize their resources.

Gordon Hope

Applied DNA Sciences - Director of Security Solutions

Gordon is responsible for the development of business opportunities within the security space for Applied DNA Sciences botanical formulation and recovery capabilities. He is working to establish clear use cases for an enhanced service to commercial security systems that will provide additional deterrence as well as aid the police in the capture and linking of criminals to an event through DNA marking and forensic lab analysis. In his previous years in the security industry, Gordon worked for Honeywell in a variety of roles, most recently as the Manager of AlarmNet services encompassing life safety signaling and enhanced services for consumers through smartphone applications. He oversaw and directed the communications direction for Internet as well as cellular communicators that were the backbone of the network. His prior role was Marketing Director where he oversaw the marketing plans and development activities for security systems and the wireless devices that connected to them in delivering state of the art security solutions for homes and businesses. Gordon remains active in a variety of industry related organizations in addition to PPVAR. He is currently a board member of SIA and continues to be a member of the AICC (Alarm Industry Communications Committee) which tracks changes in communications and technologies that can impact the security industry.

Keith Jentoft

Honeywell

Jentoft has spent more than 20 years introducing European technology to the U.S. market, growing multiple companies, including Videofied, from startup to over $100 million. With Honeywell, Jentoft is responsible for protecting indoor and outdoor assets using unique cordless/wireless video alarm systems. Jentoft is the founder of the PPVAR (Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response), and has been a leading advocate for using video-verified alarms to make arrests and build strong relationships between law enforcement, insurance companies, and the security industry. Jentoft is active in the National Sheriffs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Thomas Nakatani

ADT Security Services - VP IT, Customer Monitoring Technologies

Thomas Nakatani has been part of the Security industry since 1991 when he joined ADT at their Sacramento branch after spending several years with a public records research firm. In 1993, he relocated to the New Jersey corporate HQ managing central station policies & procedures and monitoring system administration. When ADT HQ moved to Boca Raton in 1996, Thomas took over a centralized data team in Denver that handled customer data & provisioning, acquisition integration, and workforce management & reporting. In 2004, he accepted a position in IT over ADT’s signaling and monitoring environments, and more recently in 2013 worked with the Commercial business unit developing video services and products. Currently, Thomas leads the IT Customer Monitoring Technology and the Product teams, and in addition to sitting on the board of PPVAR he participates with CSAA and SIA.

Eric Pritchard

Kleinbard Bell & Brecker LLP - Partner

Eric Pritchard is a Philadelphia lawyer who has spent the past 20 years representing electronic security providers across the United States. A former litigator who began his career defending alarm companies in catastrophic loss cases, Eric now focuses on emerging technology in the industry -- everything from apps to video to web-based contracts. A veteran of hundreds of industry acquisitions, Eric represents buyers and sellers as legal counsel and broker. He advises clients on day-to-day business affairs, debt and equity financing, organizational issues and succession planning. He also serves on numerous industry committees, many as legal counsel. He currently co-chairs the legal affairs committee of the Central Station Alarm Association. Eric co-chairs the Electronic Security Group at Kleinbard LLC, a law firm active in the telecommunications, life safety and electronic security industries.

Joey Rao-Russell, Vice President

Sonitrol SNDA - President & CEO

Joey Rao-Russell has been in the industry for 15 years working in all aspects of the business including operations, sales, and up to her current position as the President & CEO of Kimberlite Corporation, the world’s largest independent Sonitrol Franchise based in Fresno, California. Kimberlite has consistently been ranked in the SDM Top 100 companies and integrators for the last 15 years. Kimberlite operates an award-winning central station specializing in audio and video-verified security solutions for over 30 years. She is currently serving the PPVAR board on behalf of the Sonitrol National Dealers Association (SNDA). Joey is the current President of the SNDA, which is comprised of independent Sonitrol dealers who have been providing verified security solutions for 50 years. The network has over 171,000 documented apprehensions since 1977 proving that verification increases arrests and decreases losses.

Steve Walker, Immediate Past President

Stanley CSS - VP Customer Service

Steve Walker serves as the Vice President of Customer Service for Stanley Convergent Security Solutions and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Steve holds a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in the Management of Technology from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology. Steve began his career with Honeywell International in 1985, working 13 years in aerospace product development before transitioning to the Honeywell security monitoring business in 1998. Since that time, he has held leadership positions in both central station IT and operations and has followed the transition of the business from Honeywell ownership to private equity, and again to Stanley Black & Decker in 2007. Steve currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Monitoring Association (TMA) and is the immediate past president of the Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR).

Donald M. Young, Past President

ADT - Chief Information Officer

Donald Young began his career in the alarm industry in 1988 after serving 4 years in the United States Air Force as a Computer Programmer Analyst with a Top Secret Clearance. He was first hired by Securitylink in November, 1988 as the Central Station Manager which led to positions in Operations and General Management and finally Corporate Director roles in Operations and Call Center Management. He then worked as Director of Call Center Operations for two years at SAI followed by his role as CIO and co-founder of Alarm Security Group (ASG) from 1998 to 2001. In 2001, he returned to Securitylink as CIO and after its purchase, he subsequently became VP of Information Technology for ADT where he was responsible for all Call Center Technology and Infrastructure support the next 3 years. In 2004, Donald co-founded HSM (Honeywell Security Monitoring) and became its CIO and managed the Call Center operations and Information Technology and Telecommunications. In 2007, upon a successful sale of HSM to Stanley Tools, Donald accepted the position of CIO in charge of Global Information Technology and Call Center operations. In 2010, Donald accepted his current position as CIO of Protection1 in charge of all Call Center Operations, Information Technology, and Telecommunications.