Axis grabs Steve Surfaro
By Martha Entwistle
Updated Tue August 26, 2008
If you've been to an industry show in the past 10 years, you likely know Steve Surfaro, Panasonic's long-time technical liaison, who has led countless training spots and seminars, all of them informative and entertaining. The guy's got a smile three feet wide.
So, good for Axis in grabbing him to be their new strategic channel manager and security industry liaison. I don't have a link, but here's the press release:
Axis Communications Names Steve Surfaro Strategic Channel Manager and Security Industry Liaison
High-Profile Former Panasonic Exec Brings More Than 20 Years of Industry Experience
An excellent start. No all-capped headline. Those Swedes are so reserved.
CHELMSFORD, Mass. – August 26, 2008 – Axis Communications, the global leader in the network video market, today announced that it has named Steve Surfaro as strategic channel manager and security industry liaison.
Surfaro will work with industry organizations such as ASIS, BICSI and SIA, as well as Axis’ software and hardware partners to raise the awareness of network video solutions in the industry. He will also work to expand Axis’ technology partnership program to ensure the availability of best-of-breed network video solutions. He will report to Dr. Jumbi Edulbehram, director, strategic channel.
Sounds like he'll basically be in that same evangelist role he had at Panasonic. It suits him. If you can't get excited about a topic after talking it over with Surfaro, you're probably a dead person.
Surfaro has more than 20 years of security industry experience. Prior to Axis, Surfaro served for 12 years at Panasonic as group manager, strategic technical liaison. In that role, he served as the public face of the company to the security industry. Before that, he was an account manager for Wells Fargo Alarm Services. He is a member of the ASIS Physical Security Council, chairman of that council's education subcommittee and is responsible for consistent workshop content. Surfaro is regular contributor to BICSI as well as SIA's Digital Video Standards. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from The Cooper Union.
“Steve brings tremendous knowledge and energy to Axis, and is a well respected educator and speaker in the security industry,†said Fredrik Nilsson, general manager of Axis Communications, Inc. “We are very excited to have Steve join Axis and look forward to his important upcoming work with industry organizations as well as partners and customers.â€Â
I think sometimes people still think of Axis as a small company. That Surfaro would take essentially the same job at Axis that he had at Panasonic is an indication of just how big people think Axis might get.
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