'20 under 40' 2014—Kimberly Kissell Rescigno

Kimberly Kissell Rescigno, 31
Director of sales and marketing, Security Specialists, Stamford, Conn.

What inspired you to get into the security industry?
I stumbled upon it by chance when I relocated from Maryland, where I was in operations management for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, to the greater New York City area. I met Security Specialists' general manager at the time and I was immediately intrigued by the industry, but had very little knowledge of what it really entailed. I researched its trends and viability for the future, and determined that while this may not be a highly publicized field, it was in my opinion recession-proof and profitable. I felt like this would be an industry I could make a lifelong career in.

What can be done to boost the ranks of young people in the industry?
One of the best ways to recruit young people is go out there and generate awareness. I have personally been focusing my recruitment efforts at colleges and universities, going to career fairs and speaking with professors [and asking to come into their classrooms] and do a speech on what security integration is and where it's trending and why it's great to get into for a young professional. I've gotten some valuable candidates that way.

Where, in terms of technology and trends, do you see the security industry going next?
Convergence to a more IT-centric approach is, in my opinion, a must for successful security integrators. Things are going to become more software based and hardware is going to be more of a commodity. At Security Specialists, we have advanced in our industry by merging IT with security. Also, with the adoption of cloud-based services and with such strong emphasis on providing a “future-proofed” customer investment, you'll notice the industry starting to change their business models to be centered around recurring monthly revenue. People are becoming used to the monthly fees for your cellphone and the need to upgrade your cellphone every two to four years, so creating that culture among the security industry I think is really key for successful integrators.