Summit Aims to Prep Execs to Confront New Challenges
ASG Security Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Bob Ryan addressed installing security contrators and other attendees during a presentation at the 2012 ESA Leadership Summit. This year’s event will be held Feb. 18-21 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Now in its sixth year, the Electronic Security Association (ESA) Leadership Summit will return Feb. 18-21 with a full slate of offerings geared toward helping executives from installing companies keep pace with the fast-evolving marketplace and industry trends.
This year’s venue and dates are a departure from previous Summit installments, which were held in Dallas in mid-January. The event instead will be held at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Adjusting the timing and location is intended to expand sponsor and attendee participation.
“We’re excited to take this next step by refining the ESA Leadership Summit to be of even higher value for association leaders, members, industry VIPs and supplier sponsors,” says ESA Executive Director Merlin Guilbeau. “The move to Florida slightly later in the year will help us boost turnout and support.”
ESA’s newest chartered chapter, ESA of Florida, is co-locating its inaugural convention at the event. On Feb. 18, the chapter will conduct its first membership meeting, as well as host a youth scholarship golf tournament to raise funds for graduating high school seniors who are children of active duty police officers and firefighters. All attendees are invited to an opening reception the same evening.
On Feb. 19, the proceedings will kick off with a breakfast general session that tackles one of the hottest emerging trends in the residential market, interactive services. As telcos, cable companies and other mass marketers increasingly crowd the space, the session attempts to answer the question, “Where do installing security dealers position themselves in the market?” Speakers Michael Pope, president of Safety Technologies, and Pat Egan, president of Select Security, will discuss a newly introduced market map that will help attendees understand the products and services their companies will need to offer to win certain types of customers. Also during the session, winners of the first ESA Secure+ Awards program, of which SSI is a media sponsor, will elaborate on the strategies and tactics they have implemented in order to compete in the increasingly competitive and diverse residential market.
Attendees will have more than a dozen seminars, covering a broad range of topics, to choose from following the breakfast general session. Presenters from integration, monitoring and vendor companies will address top-of-mind subjects including recruitment best practices, sales reporting and activity tracking, commercial IT solutions, digital marketing and lead generation programs, video verification and video alarms, compensation plans, and much more.
Among the agenda highlights on Feb. 20, the luncheon general session will delve into the results of ESA’s latest MegaTrends survey, which annually has become an anticipated source of information for products and services, technology and applications, and operational investments among security integration companies. (Click here for an exclusive look at some of the survey results.)
Moderated by Guilbeau, this year’s survey reporting will include commentary by the chair and vice chair of ESA’s Integration Leaders Group and its Executive Management Professionals Group. The panelists will provide viewpoints on the driving forces behind current trends, as well as discuss how they are responding to developments in their respective markets.
Also on Feb. 20, ESA will hold meetings throughout the day for its various committees, and then at 7 p.m. the order of business will turn decidedly lighthearted as attendees gather for the “Diamond Celebration at the Groove at Universal CityWalk.” This nightclub setting features three themed lounges, plus partygoers will also have unlimited access to CityWalk’s clubs and music venues.
Special breakfast and luncheon educational sessions will be conducted Feb. 21, along with other association meetings throughout the day. The event will conclude with an evening reception. For more information or to register, visit esa-summit.com or call (508) 618-7856.
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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