Eagle Eye Networks’ Martha Entwistle – ‘It’s just a great industry at its core’

YARMOUTH, Maine—Martha Entwistle’s security career has come full circle – starting from a very familiar place and culminating with one of the industry’s highest honors.

Entwistle is a former editor of Security Systems News (SSN), where she spent over a decade  reporting and writing about security industry business trends, mergers and acquisitions, and technology, and directing two security technology conferences - TechSec Solutions and Cloud+ - during her tenure with SSN.

Since then, Entwistle has served in strategic communications and media relations positions for global security companies. She currently serves as senior manager, corporate communications for Eagle Eye Networks, where she leads global communications and public relations strategy and execution for the cloud video surveillance provider.

Entwistle’s nearly 20-year career has also seen her champion the cause of advancing women in security, which led to the Security Industry Association (SIA) awarding her with the 2023 SIA Progress Award, an honor presented by SIA’s Women in Security Forum (WISF) celebrating individuals who pave the way to success for women in the security industry. She was presented with the award at the 2023 SIA Honors Night reception in November during ISC East.

Looking Back

Entwistle told SSN that she worked in media relations in politics and government, and as a newspaper reporter before she got her big break in 2005.

“I moved to Maine, and I was looking for a reporting job, and I found an ad for an editor at Security Systems News,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about security at the time and I had no idea that I was launching a career at that point. You hear that from so many people in the security industry, there's nothing deliberate about it. But yeah,18 years later, I am still working in the industry.”

Entwistle noted how her interest in the security industry grew during her 11-plus years at the helm of SSN.

“I developed an interest in security technology, which underwent some major changes while I was at SSN, notably the emergence of cloud technology,” she said. “I got to spend my time talking to people in security companies large and small, learning and writing about their business challenges and successes. I also enjoyed writing about mergers and acquisitions, and getting to know the players, including many women who work in the industry, and following the shifts in the competitive landscape over the years.”

Entwistle called the security industry “a great industry at its core. I like working in an industry which has an overall mission to protect people and communities, and to make the world a safer place.”

Women in Security

Entwistle wrote SSN’s first “Women in Security” special report in 2010, which ultimately became an annual issue, and launched a series of stories on “Women in Security” about women who work in technology-specific roles.

“That first story was eye opening for me because I said to myself, ‘Now I have to find some sources. This is not going to be easy.”

Entwistle continued, “Once you start looking, it's amazing what you'll find. I started to meet women who were running integration firms, heading up global sales organizations for manufacturers and working as security professionals. They became great sources of inspiration and knowledge for that story and many more. Women were then and are now underrepresented in the security industry, but their presence is growing. Promoting diversity is imperative to the future of our industry, and finding stories to write was much easier than I originally anticipated. The same is true for security companies that want to be successful: They need to be more diverse. It does take some effort, but it’s not impossible, and it’s worth it. It’s heartening to see the number of security companies that are starting their own women’s groups and DEI initiatives and participating in WISF initiatives.”

Career Accomplishments

In addition to her role at Eagle Eye Networks, Entwistle currently serves on the SIA WISF Steering Committee and chairs the WISF Scholarship Committee. She was named to the 2022 SIA Women in Security Forum Power 100, and in 2013 was honored by the Women’s Security Council as a Woman of the Year.

Entwistle touched on what it means to have received the SIA Progress Award, given to SIA members who have shown excellence in their advancement of opportunities and success for women in the security industry.

“The founding of the Women in Security Forum really did start a movement,” she pointed out. “The Security Industry Association, especially Don Erickson, deserves tremendous kudos for that, as do WISF chairs Maureen Carlo, Kasia Hanson and Alice DiSanto. WISF is a community that this industry had been searching for, and it offers many ways for women and men to get involved. There’s the scholarship program, charitable initiatives, committees for woman-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, and the spectacularly successful Security LeadHer conference, which launched this year and has energized and invigorated a whole new group of men and women to get involved and move our industry forward.

“I am deeply honored to receive the 2023 SIA Progress Award. Working to promote diversity with people from across the industry who I either interviewed years ago or who I’ve gotten to know through WISF or being at Eagle Eye Networks, especially all the talented newcomers to the industry, is a privilege and it’s a lot of fun. I'm very happy to be along for the ride.”