Integrators '20 under 40' 2015—Henry Hoyne

Henry Hoyne, 40

VP of professional services, Northland Control Systems

Fremont, Calif.

Henry Hoyne has always liked to “take things apart and put things together.” He started his career working in the automation industry fabricating prototypes. Before he entered the security industry in 1999, security to him was synonymous with burglar alarms.

“There was nothing wrong with it, it just didn't sound very interesting,” he said. He found physical security to be a “natural fit” for his skills, a field that's both technically challenging and professionally rewarding.

Getting into security is “a decision I'm glad I made. You can elevate yourself through hard work and effort—getting recognized is up to the individual,” he said. The best part of his job, he says, is being put into a situation where something “can't be done.” He likes on-the-job problems that require “critical thinking to come up with solutions.”

Asked which new technologies he finds interesting, Hoyne said he likes to think about the security challenges in a particular situation and how technologies can be used to overcome those challenges. For example, he is interested in access control methods that do not require a card, token or phone, “where everyone could move freely about the campus or data center and only the bad guys are singled out.”

The solution is not readily available yet, but video analytics with the ability to overcome environmental elements will enable these kinds of solutions eventually, he said.

To attract more talented young people, security companies need to “pitch a tent at job fairs,” he said. And once hired, companies need to invest heavily in training. “It takes time, energy and money, it's a big investment,” he said.