SIA Names Brian Harrell as 2023 Insightful Practitioner Award Honoree
Harrell will be recognized for implementing innovative security solutions at the 2023 SIA Honors Night reception.
SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Brian M. Harrell as the 2023 recipient of the SIA Insightful Practitioner Award, an honor “recognizing excellence in promoting the implementation of innovative security solutions,” according to the association announcement.
SIA will present Harrell with his award on Wednesday, Nov. 15, during the 2023 SIA Honors Night reception.
Harrell serves as vice president and chief security officer at Avangrid, an energy company with assets and operations in 24 states. He is responsible for the company’s physical security and cybersecurity, privacy, intelligence and business continuity units.
Prior to his time at Avangrid, Harrell served as the sixth assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and also served as the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s first assistant director for infrastructure security.
He also held previous security leadership roles with Duke Energy, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the U.S. Marine Corps and various private-sector agencies.
“I am honored to receive this award, and I am grateful to SIA for bringing attention to one of the most urgent challenges confronting the United States,” says Harrell in the SIA announcement. “Critical infrastructure protection is nothing less than the protection of our way of life.
“It is only through innovation, dedication and collaboration that we can reduce vulnerabilities, mitigate risk and defend our nation against the ever-expanding cyber and physical threat landscape,” he says.
More About the SIA Insightful Practitioner Award
Harrell has participated in several SIA events, conferences and initiatives. His contributions to SIA and the industry include:
- Delivering keynote presentations at SIA’s GovSummit conference and Protecting Utilities Lunch at ISC West
- Lending expert insights on a security leaders panel session at Securing New Ground
- Participating in video Q&A sessions for SIA members on key critical infrastructure protection topics
- Sharing perspectives and analysis for SIA’s Security 2040 project
- Participating in outreach to lawmakers on Capitol Hill in support of SIA policy priorities
- Supporting projects and initiatives of the SIA Utilities Advisory Board and
- Delivering a presentation on critical infrastructure protection at ISC East.
“Brian is an inspiring industry leader with experience across a variety of sectors who has dedicated his career to protecting the United States from security threats and safeguarding critical assets, employees and information,” says SIA CEO Don Erickson in the association announcement.
“We applaud Brian for his outstanding accomplishments and contributions to our industry and look forward to presenting him with this special award at SIA Honors Night,” he says.
SIA’s Insightful Practitioner Award was created to “honor security practitioners who demonstrate leadership and excellence in promoting the implementation of innovative security solutions through education, advocacy and teamwork with the security industry and other stakeholders,” according to the announcement.
SIA Honors Night is a cocktail, networking and awards reception held concurrently with ISC East, the Northeast’s largest security and public safety event.
In addition to benefiting the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST)’s efforts and presenting the Insightful Practitioner Award, SIA will also present industry leaders with the George R. Lippert Memorial Award and the SIA Progress Award.
SIA Honors 2023 will be held Nov. 15 at HK Hall in New York City.
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