De Fina joins SightLogix

PRINCETON, N.J.—Calling it the “next great company,” Frank De Fina announced today that he's joining smart thermal camera manufacturer SightLogix as EVP of sales and marketing.

De Fina said SightLogix is a “hidden gem” that meets four criteria he has for getting involved with a new company.

One of those criteria is that the product solves a problem.

SightLogix “solves a big industry problem and that is intrusion detection,” De Fina said.

“What I'm talking about is [cameras that are] stopping versus just seeing something,” he added. He said that people are prevented from carrying a water bottle aboard an airplane, but yet someone is able to “jump a fence at an airport and stow away in the wheel well of a plane.”

With cameras that “detect rather than just see,” problems such as breaching of airport perimeters can be solved, he said.

De Fina is no stranger to video surveillance manufacturing. He was the longtime president of Panasonic System Solutions and most recently served as EVP Americas for Samsung Techwin Americas, a role he retired from in May.

De Fina described his other three criteria for evaluating a company: The technology is fully developed with patents to support the technology; it has a compelling, proven product that's very difficult to recreate; and the product has the ability to develop multiple revenue streams.

“In the case of multiple revenue streams, that's something that's being developed at SightLogix,” De Fina said. He promised “in a few months” to announce some “disruptive” things SightLogix is working on in terms of alternate revenue streams.

De Fina made his announcement in a virtual press conference. He was accompanied by John Romanowich, CEO and president of SightLogix. De Fina and Romanowich have known each other for many years and worked together closely on the board of the Security Industry Association [SIA], they said.

Romanowich noted that SightLogix launched its third generation product platform at ISC West in April. “We'll be building upon the momentum of that product launch and … adding new variants,” he said.

Romanowich and De Fina declined to outline revenue targets or other goals, but said more details will be forthcoming at the ASIS show in September.