'20 under 40' Class of 2018—John Bekisz Jr.

John Bekisz Jr., 31

Systems integration manager, Securitas Electronic Security Inc.

Elmsford, N.Y.

John Bekisz Jr. is a systems integration manager at Securitas Electronic Security Inc. (SES), where he manages the engineering and integration of technology systems for one of the company's infrastructure transportation projects. The project encompasses a variety of security technology systems including video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, security systems management, network management and monitoring, blue light stations, and two-way radio communications, to name just a few.

“At SES we have an engineering center of excellence in Elmsford, between the team that I manage, we can provide both expertise in-house and leverage the resources from the center of excellence to really drive our project home for the client and provide them with a successful design, a proven engineering process, through integration and deployment,” Bekisz said.

With a first-responder background—he was a volunteer fireman and EMT for about 10 years—Bekisz said he was interested in law enforcement from an early age. And after earning an electrical engineering master's degree from Manhattan College in the Bronx, N.Y., he embarked on a career as a security consultant and engineer.

“I focused more and more on security consulting and engineering and once I got into the industry and got a mentor, I learned more about the complexities of risk management and risk analysis—how to effectively and economically select mitigations for those risks,” he explained. “Taking that knowledge and applying my engineering background, I became proficient at designing, recommending and overseeing the implementation of physical and electronic security systems, including video surveillance, biometrics, and control center/command center design.”

Bekisz said his job also involved leveraging new technology for security and safety. “I am keeping a close eye on unmanned robotic systems, cloud based solutions, and advanced computer vision applications,” he said.

He is also doing his part to give back and get more young people interested in security by participating in the mentorship program at Manhattan College.