We hit the midway point of our weeklong celebration of the SSI Industry Hall of Fame Class of 2026 with Tricia Parks, founder of Parks Associates. She joins Darryl Keeler, John Nemerofsky and two other security industry legends as this year’s inductees.
The Tricia Parks Hall of Fame File
- Born in 1948 in Short Hills, N.J.
- One of four children
- Attended Kent Place Preparatory School, Sweet Briar College and, later, University of Texas at Dallas for graduate courses
- Family’s focus was education and decency: Work hard, be kind and never bully
- Father was a Wall Street investment banker; mother ran the home
- In 1978, moved to Texas with then-husband and children; Dallas has been home ever since
- Both children are now married, and each has three children
- Elizabeth Parks started at Parks Associates after graduating from University of Texas at Austin; now serves as president
- Rusty Parks is a managing director at Guggenheim Partners
- Competed in tennis and horseback riding; hobbies now lean toward reading, piano, bridge and animal rescue organizations
- A lifelong animal lover who supports organizations serving abandoned and homeless animals; has always shared her home with dogs and cats
Why She’s on the List
- Prior to Parks Associates, was vice president of research at Future Computing
- Founded Parks Associates in 1986 to help organizations understand how emerging technologies shape consumer behavior and, in turn, how those behaviors redefine consumer and small and medium-sized business (SMB) markets
- From its inception, the firm focused on the intersection of technology, services and the consumer, an orientation that proved prescient as homes, devices and digital experiences became increasingly connected
- Contributed to numerous associations, including the Consumer Technology Association, CEDIA, the Advisory Board for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Research Council’s Committee for a Partnership to Assess Technology for Housing (PATH), AMD Board of Global Consumer Advocacy and CABA
- In 2014, received the Legacy Award from Women in Consumer Technology at CES
- Developed “The Theory of Relevancy,” a forecasting model used to project sales across digital electronics and connected services
- Parks Associates has built a portfolio of conferences offering thought leadership and networking opportunities for innovators and decision-makers, including CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference; Smart Energy Summit; Connected Health Summit; Smart Spaces: Apartments, Hospitality and Community Living; Future of Video: Business of Streaming; and CONNECTIONS Summit at CES
Keys to Success
“There are many, but here are a few: Listen before speaking. Embrace independence in research. Study and be willing to say, ‘I don’t know.’”
“To the industry, I like to say, ‘Watch management.’”
“On a personal level, I’d add do not laugh at jokes that are not funny. And always keep your word.”
Enduring Memories
“I remember sitting in a huge company’s conference room with 20 other people, listening to a director predict that their entry into residential security would garner 65% of the region’s security market in 18 months. I tried repeatedly to provide a dose of reality as to potential for the company. The company was out of the market in 24 months.”
“I also remember Peter Michel, former CEO of Brinks, repeating the following every time I met with him: ‘Tricia, the quality of the back room makes or breaks a security company.’”
Words of Wisdom
“Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns.” — John Maurice Clark
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” — Thomas Edison
“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” — Proverbs 23:7
Making Our Industry Better
“Artificial intelligence, over time, used correctly, will affect the quality of security in remarkable ways. What people want is a force field that allows everyone who is welcome to enter; all others must remain outside the home. AI can help build that idea, as well as lower false alarms.”
“Cameras make a world of difference to the industry due to their current lower costs. They will only get better.”
Tricia Parks’ Hall of Fame Legacy
“I hope to leave a legacy of impact through insight, building Parks Associates into a trusted leader in independent market intelligence, where rigorous research, integrity and objectivity consistently turn data into understanding and understanding into action across the global technology ecosystems.”
