“40 under 40” Class of 2019 — Joseph (Joe) Biffar, 38

What started as private security contracting, followed by working in retail security to help pay for college, grew into a career in asset protection for Joe Biffar. “I have a passion for problem-solving, investigations and helping people,” he said, “and working in this industry allow me to bring all three together.”

Biffar has been with Chico's FAS for 11 years and his current role allows him to lead teams responsible for loss prevention field operations, corporate and supply chain security, digital fraud mitigation and the recently incorporated travel department. “Our dedicated teams, cross-functional partners and vendors are interwoven into the culture of our company and collaborate daily to ensure our people and organization are protected.”� Because the threat landscape has quickly evolved, Biffar said that cyber and physical security professionals cannot be siloed. “As new technology becomes ubiquitous, new attack vectors are in play with the convergence of kinetic and cyber threats,” he explained. “Additionally, we cannot ignore the growing epidemic of targeted violence. As security professionals, we must prepare our teams, clients and those we protect to respond, but we must also focus on prevention. Intervention on the pathway to violence is possible.”

Biffar named biometrics as an exciting technology. “Legacy tech, when coupled with biometrics, offers decreased labor costs and improved investigation resolution times, while also reducing friction for authenticated users and service personalization for top customers,” he said.� To gain more talent into the security industry, Biffar said we must actively engage the best and brightest form across all sectors. “Diverse backgrounds, thoughts and personal experiences strengthen teams, foster growth and prepare organizations to tackle 21st-century challenges,” Biffar said. “Campus recruiting and cross-functional industry events are great ways to connect with prospective candidates” to build awareness around career paths young people may not have previously considered.