“40 under 40” Class of 2019 — Allen Roiser, 32

Little did Allen Roiser know that starting a career in accounting, working with security-focused clients in the business service industry would lead to a career in the security industry. According to Roiser, it all happened by chance.

“I continued to grow my expertise alongside those security-focused clients,” he said, reflecting back on his career, now as one of Plante Moran's security experts. “I work in our transaction advisory service practice and evaluate the quality of earnings, recurring monthly revenue, and assets and liabilities of companies in the security space. My clients are organizations looking to acquire other companies in the market, or bring their organization to market for sale or for raising additional capital.”

As the security industry continues to see a large number of acquisitions and mergers, trends are emerging. “We're seeing three trends: businesses are looking for prospective buyers to acquire or make significant equity investments; new market entrants are coming into the space with new technologies and seeking funding; and larger, multinational organizations are looking to enter new global geographic markets through acquisitions,” Roiser said, adding that he believes we'll continue to see new market entrants move into the security space as technologies continue to improve.

In terms of adopting diverse young people into the security space, Rosier said it starts with early introduction. “I believe that having organizations with the industry present to students at the high school and secondary-education levels can help strike interest at an early age.”

Looking into the future, he is most excited about the use of artificial intelligence and cloud computing and believes these two technologies will continue to revolutionize how people, places and things are secured.