Vector's Pamela Petrow named CSAA president

VIENNA, Va.—Pamela J. Petrow, president and CEO of Vector Security and newly named president of CSAA International, has set her sights on changing the association's image, improving value for members and increasing member involvement.

“In the past, some people have considered CSAA to be an 'old boys' club,'” Petrow told Security Systems News. “It does make me cringe, because there's a lot of value in the programs that CSAA brings, but sometimes, when there's a perception, that becomes people's reality.”

“CSAA is not about extravagant trips. It's about bringing member value, making people walk away with things that make their business better, helping them stay current on technology [and] making sure they are relevant as new competitors come into the space.”

Petrow stepped into the role after Jay Hauhn's move to executive director. She is the organization's first female president in its 65-year history.

“Jay Hauhn is now the executive director, so we have somebody in that role that is from industry, that understands industry issues, and—more importantly—understands the technology and how technology is going to influence the industry moving forward,” she said.

“One of our challenges as an association is finding ways to allow people to get engaged, to find things that they are passionate about that they don't mind spending their time on,” Petrow said.

Petrow listed several ideas for helping people get engaged, like dividing roles across multiple people, such as having two co-chairs instead of one chairperson and having members commit to projects with shorter time frames.

Joe Nuccio, president and CEO of ASG Security and previously CSAA's second VP, will become the organization's first VP. The second VP position will be voted on in October.

Petrow started at Vector in 1982. She served as the company's SVP of the central stations and information services group as well as executive vice president before becoming CEO and president. Vector is a Pittsburgh-based provider of security solutions.