Integrators '20 under 40' 2016—Matthew Netardus

Matthew Netardus, 26

Head of systems design, Security 101

Norfolk, Va.

Matthew Netardus has seen many angles of the security industry, including from the construction, end user and integrator perspectives.

“It definitely helps having been an end user,” he said.� “I've kind of seen every different side of that puzzle; starting off in the construction side, seeing the very bare bones in terms of technology, and then going to being an end user and being in charge of a department that actually used these systems, � then going back into the installation and integration side.”

On the construction side, Netardus first worked with perimeter fencing and defenses and gates at military bases, he said. From there, he worked as an asset-protection executive for Target. “I ended up jumping sides of the industry, and going from an end user to an integrator at that point,” he noted, saying that it was “happenstance” that brought him to Security 101.

Security 101 is a commercial installation company, doing video surveillance, access control and systems integration “on an enterprise level,” he said. Netardus is also the co-owner of the Hampton Roads branch.

Netardus oversees the programming and sales teams, “I'm that bridge between sales and operations,” he said. This involves making sure that both departments have everything they need, and that the system the customer gets is the same as the one originally designed, “which sometimes gets lost in translation if the same person isn't there from that original walk-through to the end of the install,” according to Netardus.

Netardus says he likes how much technology changes in the industry. “A big part of my job is staying on top of new technology. Any new products that our branch brings in, I'm responsible for vetting them before we start to carry and offer [them].” Specifically, cloud technologies interest him, he said.