'20 under 40' 2014—Dan Krumme

Dan Krumme, 26
Branch operations manager, Cam-Dex Security, Kansas City, Kan.

What inspired you to get into the security industry?
I'm fourth generation at Cam-Dex Security. In high school I worked in the field pulling wire, hanging cameras and installing door hardware equipment. In college I did an internship with [Security-Net partner company] Koorsen Security Technology. After graduation I went to work for Koorsen on the national accounts team as a project coordinator. I oversaw and assisted with various national account projects and I was ultimately hired to go around the country working on a project that took me from Los Angeles to New York. After two-and-a-half years with Koorsen, I came back to Cam-Dex in a new role, running the operations side of the St. Louis branch.

What can be done to boost the ranks of young people in the industry?
One of the first things I did here in St. Louis is to reach out to several local universities. I've talked with professors in the business and criminal justice departments just to form relationships and partnerships and to get the word out there about the security industry. Recently Cam-Dex established an internship program in Kansas City and St. Louis to bring in interns during the summer and winter breaks. We try to give the students the opportunity to see the security industry by working for a security integration firm. … They can see that there are opportunities in security other than going into law enforcement or the justice system.

Where, in terms of technology and trends, do you see the security industry going next?
One thing I see is IP storage moving to the cloud. The technology is there and a lot of companies already have that. It will be interesting to see what happens as we move away from traditional DVRs and NVRS and have video streamed to the cloud. It will certainly open up avenues for RMR. Some other trends are wireless locks [which save time and money] and credentialing on a smartphone instead of prox cards.