Five Questions with Identiv’s CEO Steven Humphreys

FREMONT, Calif.—Security Systems News caught up with Identiv’s CEO, Steven Humphreys, who talks about going from an orphan to CEO, and how his passions for education and robotics help him stay at the forefront of the industry. 

ARE YOU MARRIED? ANY KIDS? Yes, I am married and have two kids. One is working (yay!) and one is in college.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? I have two dogs, two cats and one snake. I know it sounds like a lot, but at least the parakeets, chickens, ducks, lizard, koi and turkeys (really) are gone.

IS THERE SOMETHING INTERESTING THAT YOUR COWORKERS MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU? I was born in Sicily and grew up in Europe. I am now living in Silicon Valley, which is so different from where I’m from, but I enjoy it. Like anyone, my life has been full of experiences that have ultimately led me to where I am today. 

I’ve been shot at on multiple occasions, was an orphan and lived out of my car at one point in my life. Today, education and robotics are two of my passions. I have served on the local school board for the past 20 years. On the robotics front, I have invested in and/or worked with a dozen robotics companies.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE INDUSTRY TODAY? Today, we can do more for our customers than ever before — and at highly affordable prices. Thanks to the explosion of powerful standards-based technologies such as RFID, digital video, analytics, mobility, cloud, wireless (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, soon UWB) and more, companies are better positioned to provide end-users with services they want and need. 

There’s an amazing range of solutions we can muster by making sure we serve the customer’s needs rather than being unnecessarily complex. The recognition that security solutions are not “one size fits all” has been revolutionary in providing users with customized, tailored solutions for their unique applications.

WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING RIGHT NOW IN THE INDUSTRY? Access, video and audio are converging into consolidated platforms. Due to lower costs and paired with IP-based and wireless infrastructure, there are infinite solution configurations. IT security requirements are beginning to apply to physical security because of this integrated infrastructure.

In addition, mobile-enabled systems are continuing to gain traction, but are still works in progress in regard to figuring out what belongs on a browser and what can be easily used on a mobile device. Lastly, the industry is starting to use a tremendous amount of data and events that are available to provide better situational awareness to customers.