Learn more about our podcast guests and hosts.

Suzanne Alfano
Executive Director

Suzanne Alfano is the Executive Director with the Canadian Fire Alarm Association (CFAA). Her educational background is in electrical/electronics engineering along with a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree. Suzanne has a unique 30+ year background in Association Management. She has worked for various Associations in Canada and the USA in technical management, consulting and leadership roles. Her experience includes advocating for legislative and regulatory requirements that support industry and public safety.

Bob Allan
Vice President Sales

Bob Allan is the Vice President of Sales for NAVCO Inc., headquartered in Fullerton, CA, an industry leading security integrator. Bob is responsible for East Region sales management. Mr. Allan has over 15 years in the IT industry and worked at Honeywell Building Solutions from 2010 to 2013 helping customers optimize and integrate their buildings and the Siemon Company from 2013-2022 where he led the Intelligent Buildings and Strategic Alliances team.

Rick Bennett
Chief Operating Officer, Enviros

Rick Bennett is a highly experienced building performance and energy management professional. His broad-ranging, 25-year career includes mechanical system design and installation, as well as commissioning, retro-commissioning, and energy engineering. Rick is passionate about moving the industry forward through education and advocacy. He is a long-time Energy Management Association [EMA] Board Member, has served on the Energy Management Professional [EMP] Exam Development Committee since 2015, and was an instructor for HVAC/R apprentices and journeymen through the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee [JATC] now known as the Electrical Training Alliance.

Matthew Bonfitto
Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Matthew Bonfitto is the founder and chief executive officer of ICAS, a New York-based network infrastructure and services provider specializing in the deployment and implementation of advanced communications and security systems for global enterprises and educational institutions. In his capacity as CEO, Matthew is responsible for strategic initiatives, building and maintaining client relationships, business development, and expanding the company’s reach.

Matthew founded ICAS in 1979 while working as a senior engineer at a major energy company. After recognizing the business opportunities offered by the nascent information technology sector, he transitioned the company from its initial position as a cable assemblies provider into a recognized resource for installing a wide variety of networking services and products for a diverse client base that extends worldwide.

James Brehm
Founder and Chief Technology Evangelist
James Brehm & Associates

An independent advisor and technology evangelist, James Brehm is a regular speaker at industry conferences and one of the leading voices on the state of the IoT and M2M market today.

Mr. Brehm is a regular contributor to CNBC and is frequently quoted by media outlets such as Business Week, RCR Wireless, ComputerWorld, PC Magazine, and the San Jose Mercury News.

Over the past decade, Mr. Brehm has spoken to various groups on topics including wireless services, mobile marketing and advertising, mobile content, VoIP, activation and provisioning, service creation, mobile apps, premium messaging, wireless security, fixed-mobile convergence, mobile broadband (LTE and WiMAX), the telecom regulatory environment and vertical market deployment of web-enabled services.

From 2011 to 2014, Brehm served as practice leader, strategist, and senior consultant for Compass Intelligence.

Prior to joining Compass Intelligence, Mr. Brehm served in multiple roles for nine (9) years at Growth Consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Prior to joining Frost & Sullivan, Mr. Brehm worked in marketing, sales management, and business development roles for Rackspace Managed Hosting and Interland (now Web.com), two of the largest pure play web hosting companies in the U.S. His responsibilities included research on the competitive landscape of the market, developing new product offerings, assessing emerging markets, improving the overall value chain for Global 1000 clients, due diligence, and acquisition analysis.

Mr. Brehm entered the high-tech arena in the mid 1990’s working in sales management within the telecom arena for MCI and later working for Gateway, Inc in multiple roles including product marketing, product management, training, and sales management.

Anto Budiardjo
Padi.io CEO, Mentor, Digital Twin & Cybersecurity Evangelist

Anto Budiardjo is a veteran in the connected building space. Since 1989, he has led the development and promotion of building connectivity and integration technologies. His first product, the CdC Engine, first installed in 1991, was deployed widely in the UK and Europe through integrators and OEMs. The “Engine” was the first PC-based integration platform and graphical UI for buildings. Today, Anto is focused on a new venture to bring system integration into the Internet era with an online integration and collaboration platform Padi.io. Core to the current work is the advocacy of CNS/CP (Connection Profiles), an integration mechanism created by Padi and now being adopted as an open mechanism by Digital Twin communities, including the Digital Twin Consortium, as a key integration tool.

James Carlini
President, Carlini & Associates

James Carlini, MBA, is author of LOCATION LOCATION CONNECTIVITY, Next-Generation Real Estate, Intelligent Infrastructure, Technology, and the global Platform for Commerce (Published 2014). As President of Carlini & Associates, since 1986, he is also a visionary and strategist for mission critical networks, technology, and intelligent infrastructure.

He is also a former Practice Area Director for Arthur Young (now, Ernst & Young, one of the Big Four Consulting Firms) and former award-winning adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University in both Executive Masters and undergraduate programs (1986-2006) developing and teaching courses in Technology Management, E-Commerce Business Strategies, Network Security, Six Sigma, Team Dynamics, and international applications of technology.

He is an expert witness in Civil and Federal courts on Mission Critical Networks and Intelligent Infrastructure. He was the Consultant to the Mayor’s Office on the Planning & Design of the Chicago Emergency 911 Center among other strategic mission critical infrastructure projects including those at O’Hare International Airport, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Sanwa Bank, AT&T, & GLOBEX.

His original “Platform for Commerce” definition of infrastructure and its impact on economic growth was written in a 2009 whitepaper for the US Department of Homeland Security entitled, “Intelligent Infrastructure: Securing Regional Sustainability” and was later adopted and referred to in the US ARMY Corps of Engineers’ Handbook, “Infrastructure and the Operational Art” (2014) and its 2016 publication of Infrastructure in Subpopulations.

Carlini wrote columns for several trade publications including Electrical Contractor,  International Policy Digest, ALLROYA (Dubai-based Financial Publication), Security Magazine Cabling Business Magazine, and whitepapers for the National Military Intelligence Foundation’s American Intelligence Journal and George Mason University’s School of Law’s Critical Infrastructure & Homeland Security Publication. He spoke at the SMART CITIES INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM (2021 and 2022).

He has appeared in several interviews on TV, a regular guest speaking on technology issues on a Public Affairs Radio Program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and keynote speaker at various national conferences on Intelligent Infrastructure, Smart Cities, Asymmetric Warfare, and Cybersecurity Issues.

Dan Diehl
CEO of Aircuity

Dan Diehl is Chief Executive Officer of Aircuity and has over 25 years of industry expertise across a wide variety of vertical markets and disciplines in commercial and light industrial building markets. Prior to Aircuity, Mr. Diehl led business development at Lutron Electronics, was a Partner for six years with Synergy and also spent 11 years at Johnson Controls, Inc. Mr. Diehl holds a BS from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Villanova University.

JD Dillon
Chief Marketing Officer

JD‘s experience spans the U.S. Armed Forces, semiconductors, solid-state drives, and the solar industry. His functional leadership has impacted pricing, new product introduction, customer experience, and communications at all levels. Most recently, JD has spent the last few years as chief marketing officer of Tigo Energy, helping to take them public in May of 2023.

Jill Frey
President & CEO, Cummins Facility Services

Jill Frey, CEO of Cummins Facility Services, is a well-respected leader in the facility services industry. Jill assumed leadership of Cummins Facility Services (CFS) immediately after graduating from the University of Toledo and has dedicated her career to developing the company her parents created. Under her leadership, the company has grown from 15 employees with operations in one state, to more than 1000 employees, with operations nationwide. CFS is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise through The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and is certified as a CIMS with Honors and CIMS Green Building with Honors through ISSA.

Jill has a keen understanding of the value of networking and surrounding oneself with successful individuals, both within your industry and beyond. Being a visionary, always looking for ways to set herself apart and recognizing the unlimited capabilities of technology, Jill has expanded her focus beyond the everyday business of CFS to create new technological endeavors.

FacilityinSite, a company Jill founded in 2019, is focused on using technology to enable buildings to tell users what they need, in terms of being “sick,” hot, cold, etc., and how to manage energy more efficiently. Projects for FI include sensors that determine when a building needs to be serviced; air purifying technology that is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal; and the development of nanotechnology-based functional fluids, or nanofluids. These advancements also conserve energy costs and automate the building for the best hybrid or optimization results.

In addition, Jill serves as Chairwoman and co- founder for The Facility Data Standard Consortium (FDSC), a 501(c)(6) dedicated to advancing global open standards for secure data transfer and integration in the facility ecosystem. FDSC was developed by industry subject matter experts, so that the benefits of electronic information technology are widely, quickly, and economically available to the industry. FDS opened a European chapter in 2022 partnering with Europe’s largest engineering trades organization.

Jill’s dedication to the facilities industry and uncovering new and innovative ways to improve technology, operations and efficiency in her field are at the core of how Jill continues to grow her business so successfully and positively impact the businesses and communities she serves. Jill sits on many board positions and is passionate about helping other women and minority businesses.

Michael Grant
Co-Founder & COO, Metrikus

Michael Grant is the co-founder and COO of Metrikus. Michael is an operations, strategy and management professional with over 20 years in the technology sector. Specialising in technology, software, IoT, ESG and cloud, Michael has over 10 years’ experience working at Senior Management and C-Level and has dealt with large teams to deliver solutions with exceptional service – clients include those from banking, commercial real estate and IT sectors.

Rick Heffernan
SDi Group Vice President, Americas – Codes, Standards & Strategy

Rick has more than twenty-five years of experience in the Fire & Life Safety industry. He is the Group Vice President of SDi, based in Merritt Island, Florida. Transitioning from a career in law enforcement, Rick has been very active in many facets of the life safety industry. He was appointed to the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) Board of Directors fifteen years ago and is the Immediate Past President. Additionally, he is currently Vice Chair of NEMA BS-SB. Rick is an NFPA Technical Committee Member on NFPA 72, NFPA 101/5000, NFPA 1, NFPA 915, NFPA 715, NFPA 461, NFPA 909/914, NFPA 170 and NFPA 420.

Hon. Russell W. Hartigan

Judge Russell Hartigan brings his judicial experience combined with his extensive experience litigating civil matters to his private mediation and arbitration practice. During his judicial tenure, Judge Hartigan was known as a highly effective pre-trial mediator, helping lawyers and their clients resolve pending litigation through the mediation process. He was rated “Highly Recommended” by the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association for Circuit and Appellate Courts.

Judge Hartigan completed Advanced Civil Mediation Training through the National Judicial College in 2012 and the Judicial Academy in 2013. He is currently President of the Illinois Bar Association, and partner at the law firm of Goldstine, Skrodzki, Russian, Nemec and Hoff, Ltd.

Before being appointed and then elected to the bench, Judge Hartigan represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation. He has tried over 60 jury trials in State and Federal court. Judge Hartigan is a member of the American Board Of Trial Advocates. Membership is invitational only, and is based on the number and types of cases the member has tried to completion.

Judge Hartigan has lectured or written on Jury Selection, Affidavits, Rule 213 Disclosure, Daubert/Frye expert disclosure, and Cross-Examination, Law Office Management, Post-Trial Motions and Appeals, and Uninsured Motorist Coverage for LawEd series, ISBA Seminars, West Suburban Bar Seminars, Chicago Bar and NWSBA Seminars. He has written Trial Briefs; Southwest Bar Rule 213 in 2014 and Articles for Civil Practice Committee, Illinois State Bar Association. Judge Hartigan is also a frequent speaker on Municipal legal topics.

Dr. Rick Huijbregts
Global Lead, Smart Buildings, Stantec

As Global Head of Smart Cities at Stantec, Dr. Rick Huijbregts is responsible for providing thought leadership and industry expertise in Smart City programming and solutions, as well as the development of an integrated approach towards Smart City opportunities in North America and around the world.

Prior to joining Stantec, Rick was Vice-President Strategy & Innovation at George Brown College (GBC) responsible for strategic planning and strategic partnerships to ensure the institution will be agile and resilient for a digital and rapidly changing future. Rick’s responsibilities at GBC included the formulation of the College’s Vision for 2030, as well as oversight and transformation of the Office of the Registrar, Marketing and Recruitment, the International Centre, Alumni Relations, Strategic Partnerships, Applied Research, Strategy, Planning, and Institutional Research, and return-to-campus plan for post COVID-19 as well as recent responsibility for IT and Facilities/Real Estate.

Before Rick’s time at GBC, he spent 12 years with Cisco in various leadership roles, most recently as Vice-President of Digital Transformation and Innovation as well as Head of Smart Cities in Canada and a member of the global Smart Cities team.

In addition to his responsibilities at Stantec, Rick is faculty at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education, Senior Scholar at George Brown College’s Center for Construction and Engineering Technologies, Executive in Residence at Ryerson for their Smart Cities Ventures Zone, and principal of a boutique advisory practice, Oranje Innovations Inc.

Between these roles, Rick practices his passion for municipal and community innovation, education, business transformation, digital strategy, Internet of Things, smart buildings, and smart cities.

Kim Johnson
Chief Marketing Officer, MHT Technologies

Kim Johnson has over 10 years of marketing leadership and experience in a wide range of industries such as consulting, retail data, consumer packaged goods, and technology. Today she serves as chief marketing officer for MHT Technologies, a leader in Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) lighting and building automation software. At MHT, Johnson leads marketing of the company’s core brands, products and platform-based solutions. Most recently, she was elected President of the newly formed PoE Consortium – an industry organization dedicated to the education and advocacy for PoE-based smart building solutions.

Johnson previously led marketing for a PoE lighting startup, where she developed and executed branding and communications strategy that earned significant market exposure. Johnson was recognized for her efforts by LEDs Magazine, as a member of their inaugural class of 40 Under 40 and received multiple marketing leadership awards.

Johnson has a bachelor’s degree from Augustana University in South Dakota and graduated with honors from the University of Iowa’s full-time MBA program with an emphasis in marketing.

Isiah Jones
Cyber Engineer ICS OT IIoT IoT | GICSP, CISSP

Isiah Jones has 18 years of progressive experience in various aspects of IT, security, assurance, and ICS. In 2014 he decided to work exclusively on ICS security and has since performed work in the Middle East, East Africa, Europe, Hawaii, and across the continental United States. Isiah has delivered ICS security for the US Navy, US Marine Corps, Siemens, and FERC in addition to various asset owners and operators across several sectors and asset-type verticals.  Has had a network of affiliations throughout US intelligence community, Defense community, Congress, FERC, DOE, DHS, Department of Commerce, various National Labs, ICS vendors, ICS integrators, and asset owners/operators. His rounded interdisciplinary experiences have touched many asset types and sectors (water, electric, oil, gas, building automation, airfields, maritime, manufacturing, life sciences pharma, pulp & paper, logistics & warehouse, SAP ERP etc.

Rick Justis
Managing Director

Rick Justis is the Managing Director at the Coalition for Smarter Buildings (C4SB). has spent the last several decades working with companies and organizations that have the potential to transform the built environment and drive broader adoption of technologies that can deliver positive change.  The variety of experience gained while working for companies like Apple, Dell, Johnson Controls, Honeywell and a long list of Start-Up’s in the Prop-Tech market has given him the ability to be relatively comfortable with conversations from board rooms to boiler rooms and he knows his way around Silicon Valley and Washington DC almost as well as his adopted home town of Kansas City, Missouri.

Walt King
Managing Director

Walt King has spent 10+ years in the building controls industry and specializes in lab airside optimization programs. He has spent 9 years with Aircuity and is also Managing Director of Thrive Building Solutions providing turnkey decarbonization programs for Life Sciences, Higher Ed and Healthcare organizations. Walt has a BS and BA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Martyna Kowalczyk

Martyna Kowalczyk, a passionate solar installer in Texas, has been leading her business with family since 2008 in Poland, EU, and in Texas since 2016. As a solar enthusiast, she educates and inspires thousands through her YouTube channel, “Solartime with Martyna.”

J. Christopher Larry
Director of Energy Engineering

Chris Larry is Director of Energy Engineering for exp US Services Inc, a top 10 ranked full-service A&E firm headquartered in Toronto, Canada with US headquarters in Chicago, Illinois with multiple offices throughout the country to service their clients. The Energy Services work supports the exp Solutions Group’s renowned work on Building System Integration. Chris has spent over 30 years working to minimize the building industry’s energy and environmental footprint through refining building design, building modeling, performance optimization, and intelligent controls. Chris has previous experience as Senior Energy Engineer for Siemens Building Technologies, Mid-Central District Performance Contracting Group, Consulting Engineer for Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Architects, and Flack + Kurtz Consulting Engineers. Chris is currently on the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium (CBC) with the DOE. Chris has held many positions within the ASHRAE Society (Chairman for Chapter Technology Transfer Committee, Chairman for Technical, Energy and Governmental Activities (TEGA), President of the ASHRAE Pittsburgh Chapter, Chairman of the Region III 2006 and 2014 CRC. Chris is also the past President of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) in Pittsburgh. Chris received the “Energy Engineer of the Year” from AEE in 2000 and currently instructs the Certified Energy Manager (CEM) certified training course for AEE.

Jim Lee
Founder & CEO, Cimetrics

Jim Lee is the founder of Cimetrics and has acted as its CEO since its formation. Mr. Lee has been a leader in the embedded control networking and building automation community for over 20 years. As founder and former President of the BACnet Manufacturers Association, the leading open systems networking consortium in the building automation industry, Mr. Lee’s aggressive promotion of the BACnet open protocol standard has helped make Cimetrics a high-profile player in the arena. Mr. Lee has a B.A. in Physics from Cornell University.

Birgitte Messerschmidt
Direcotr of Research

Birgitte Messerschmidt is Director, Research, National Fire Protection Association. She is responsible for NFPA’s Research Strategy, Research on fire problems and other safety issues, Data collection efforts to maintain NFPA’s fire incident and fire service databases and the NFPA Research library. She has a M. Sc. In Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and has spent her entire career working on fire safety issues.  Making our built environment more resilient to fire through better understanding of the impact of construction products and methods, as well as testing procedures and policy has been a career long passion. She has been involved in testing and research as well as standardization and advocacy. She has published and presented numerous papers on fire safety issues.

Darrin Mylet
Founder & CEO, Telosa Network

Telosa is a company that specializes in the planning, construction, and operation of new broadband networks, including fiber, fixed wireless, and nomadic gigabit networks. Their focus is on Commercial Real Estate (CRE) where most buildings lack advanced technology. They are also involved in developing Public Private Partnerships (3P) to create “Smart City” and “Smart Campus” networks, as well as implementing technologies like Gigabit Local Wi-Fi, 5G, drone networks, edge computing, and AI.

From 2016 to 2021, Telosa has completed various projects in Florida, Texas, and Colorado. Additionally, Mr. Mylet provided assistance to 6Harmonics, a prominent TV Whitespace/Super Wi-Fi technology company, in areas such as fundraising and regulatory affairs from 2014 to 2022. 6Harmonics specializes in wireless broadband hardware and software based on 802.11 standards, which is utilized by Microsoft’s AirBand rural broadband initiatives.

Prior to this, Mr. Mylet co-founded and served as COO of Adaptrum, a startup based in Silicon Valley, from 2009 to 2014. He also collaborated with Microsoft and Google on TV white space/Super Wi-Fi policy and technology implementation, working closely with global regulators and early adopters.

Between 2003 and 2009, Mr. Mylet held the position of Vice President at Cantor Fitzgerald, where he engaged in managing and trading wireless radio spectrum frequencies in both public and private sectors. He founded the Cantor Spectrum Exchange, the first real-time spectrum management and trading exchange, which formed the basis of FCC’s CBRS spectrum policy. Mr. Mylet was also involved in co-founding Cantor Gaming, a commercial mobile wireless system implemented at major casinos in Las Vegas.

Before joining Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Mylet worked as VP of Sales & Marketing-Americas at Radiant Networks, a UK-based pioneer in broadband wireless equipment (28GHz) utilizing “physical mesh” technology, from 2000 to 2003. Prior to that, he held executive positions at MFS/Worldcom/MCI from 1997 to 2000 and GTE Corporation (now Verizon) from 1992 to 1997.

Mr. Mylet served two terms on the Department of Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, under both President Obama (2010/11) and President Bush (2009/10). He was also the Chairperson of the Wireless Spectrum Transparency Subcommittee, advising NTIA, which in turn provides guidance on Spectrum and Broadband Policy to the White House.

Additionally, Mr. Mylet has acted as an advisor to various companies, including Airfill Networks, Yotta Solar, SpectrumEvolution.org, and Ondas Networks (which had an IPO in 2018), a leading provider of secure utility wireless network solutions.

Paul O’Malley
Founder, Paul O’Malley Associates

Paul O’Malley is the founder of Paul O’Malley Associates, LLC, a Boston-based strategy consulting firm founded in 1991. He has worked with CEOs and senior managers in a variety of organizations: start-ups, growth companies, Fortune 500’s and non-profits. Paul provides strategy and execution coaching to help organizations deliver great outcomes for customers and other stakeholders. He authored the white paper, Creating Value: Linking the Interests of Customers, Employees and Investors, published by Pegasus Communications as part of its Innovations in Management series, and coauthored with Dan Diehl (CEO of Aircuity) Facilities as Strategic Assets, published in A New Deal for Business.  Paul holds a Master of Science in Management from the MIT Sloan School (1991).

Derek Peterson
Founder & CEO, Soter Technologies

Derek Peterson serves as chief executive officer of Soter Technologies, and is responsible for driving the company’s innovation and strategies that have set benchmarks for safety, security, and wellness in education and other markets. Under his leadership, Soter has delivered environmental sensing, social management, and indoor air quality monitoring solutions to customers in more than 22 countries.

Peterson has over two decades of extensive technical, functional, and management experience in the wireless, mobility, and automatic identification industries. Prior to founding Soter, he was Vice President of both Business Development and Software Engineering at Intelligent Product Solutions, and served in executive roles at Neohapsis, Computers By Design, which he co-founded in 2003, and Symbol Technologies.

Hailed as a technology visionary, Peterson founded Soter Technologies in 2018 and has been granted 18 U.S. Patents for his inventions related to technology, product design, and development for the company. Among his accomplishments at Soter, Peterson developed FlySense, the world’s first vape and bullying detection and alert system for schools, which has been deployed in educational settings around the world.

His accolades include winning the prestigious Roy L. Clayton Technology award in 2020, as one of the top 50 most influential African Americans in Technology named by the Journal of Black Innovation. A national thought-leader and expert in the field of the Internet of Things (IOT), Peterson currently writes for TechTarget / IOT Agenda and regularly speaks at universities and conferences across the United States on technology matters.

Peterson works with several community groups and serves as treasurer for the Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch in Riverhead, New York, a not-for-profit organization that provides a safe haven and counseling services for at-risk youth. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.

Marc Petock
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Marc Petock is a highly accomplished Global Marketing, Strategy and Technology Executive known for positively impacting the growth and performance of organizations.

He has been successful in guiding entry and growth in emerging technology markets, including Smart Buildings and the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition to his formidable record of building and growing technology businesses, Marc brings experience in strategy, creating and enhancing position/messaging and brand, alliance partnerships, channel development, penetration of new markets, and spearheading new products.

Marc is an innovative, entrepreneurial leader in strategy, brand, product and marketing planning and execution of global marketing initiatives. He is known for providing corporate-wide leadership to manage change in dynamic business environments. In addition, he is a trusted team leader and executive relationship builder known for the ability to evaluate complex business scenarios and devise “outside the box” solutions and strategies to align resources with corporate goals.

Currently, Marc is Vice President, Chief Marketing, Communications and Strategy Officer for Lynxspring, responsible for leading corporate planning, shaping vision and strategy for the company’s product offerings, technology direction, defining and implementing marketing programs and initiatives and the budgets and people that support them. He is responsible for creating the company’s corporate and product brand positions, their evolution and communications that support them. He serves as the spokesperson and industry thought leader where he speaks at conferences and regularly contributes industry articles, briefings, and papers.

Prior to joining Lynxspring, Marc was the Vice President, Global Marketing at Tridium.

His career began by leading the technology practices for marketing, consulting, and advertising firms.

Marc is a industry author and speaker. He is a contributing editor to Automatedbuildings.com, advisor to the Realcomm Organization, serves on the Board of Directors of Lynxspring, is a founding member and serves on the Board of Directors of Project Haystack, and is an executive member of the Real Estate Cyber Consortium.

Marc has been recognized with several industry accolades including a Who’s Who from M2M Magazine; a Niagara Community Spirit Award; the “Petock Award”, an annual award named in his honor; Realcomm’s Top 35 People to Watch, a Digital Impact Award (Digie) and the Realcomm|IBcon 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. He also is an inductee into the Controls Industry Hall of Fame.

Vivek Ponnada
Technology Solutions Director

Vivek Ponnada is an OT industry veteran with global experience and serves as a Technology Solutions Director at Nozomi Networks.  Throughout his career, Vivek held multiple roles including Sales, Marketing & Business Development and Services covering Control systems & Cybersecurity solutions for Critical Infrastructure (Power, Oil & Gas, Water, Mining etc.) industries. He is a co-lead for the Top 20 Secure PLC Coding Practices Project and frequently speaks at various Industry conferences. Vivek has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from I.E. India, MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and GICSP certification from GIAC. Further, he is a member of the ISACA and ISA, and is a CS2AI Fellow.

Darlene Pope
President, North America, Planon

Darlene Pope is President of Planon, North America, overseeing all aspects of business operations for the world’s leader in integrated real estate management solutions.  With more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, technology, and smart building consulting, she is a globally recognized subject matter expert and visionary in the smart building industry.  Prior to Planon, Pope served as Global Lead for Smart Buildings and Digital Workplace at WeWork, and as EVP/Managing Director and Global Practice Lead for JLL’s Smart Building Practice.  She was also the founder and CEO of CoR Advisors®, a woman-owned small business, specializing in technology consulting for commercial and corporate real estate, which was acquired by JLL in 2015.  Pope is a passionate advocate for the application of leading-edge technology in buildings and is an inspirational author and speaker on digital transformation and the future of work.

Allen Proithis
CEO

Allen Proithis is chief executive officer of GXC, a leading provider of an award-winning, private enterprise 5G networks, and the world’s only provider of private cellular mesh technology. In this capacity, he is responsible for all corporate strategy, product development, go-to-market activities and operations. Before joining GXC, he founded Capstone Partners, a strategic advisory firm for clients interested in Digital Transformation enabled by mobile, IoT, software and managed solutions. Among his successes at Capstone was the creation of 5G optimized applications for one of the first US Department of Defense private 5G network deployments.

Prior to Capstone, Allen was  president of Sigfox North America, where he formed a high-performance team that built  a successful IoT business with top enterprises while providing wireless coverage for over 70M people across the US.

In addition, Allen created Convida Wireless, a $155M IoT joint venture with Sony &  InterDigital, serving as chairman. Before that, he oversaw the commercialization of IoT, Wi-Fi, shared spectrum and video content management solutions for InterDigital, and led strategy and business development for HP’s global Smartphone & Tablet division, which included the launch of HP’s first mobile app store.

Rodger W. Reiswig
VP, Industry Relations

Rodger Reiswig is a Fellow with Johnson Controls and serves as VP, Industry Relations. With over 37 years in the fire protection industry including training, product support, application design, sales, and management experience. Rodger currently serves on numerous NFPA Technical Committees as well as NFPA’s Standards Council. Rodger serves as a board member for the Center for Campus Fire Safety. He is the Immediate Past Chair of NEMA’s Life Safety Signaling Section and serves as Vice-Chair on NEMA’s Plenary Codes and Standards Committee. Rodger serves as Chair of the Electronic Security Association’s Codes and Standards Committee. Rodger Co-Chairs the USA delegation for ISO TC21 for Fire Alarm Systems and IEC TC 79 Security Systems and Components Committees. Rodger holds a NICET level IV Fire Alarm Systems Certification, NICET level II Inspection and Testing of Fire Alarm Systems and NICET level I Special Hazards Layout Certification. Rodger holds certifications from Two Rivers Technologies as a Master in Telecommunications and from Eastern Technical holds a certification in Electronics Technology and Microprocessor Design. Additionally, Rodger holds both a Master’s and Doctorate Degrees in Theology from Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Rich Tehrani
CEO, TMC

Rich Tehrani is a futurist and visionary in technology including cybersecurity, communications, blockchain and IoT. A well-respected voice in the technology space, Tehrani has been interviewed and quoted by The Economist, Boston Globe, Newsweek, WABC Radio, WMAL, New York Times, BusinessWeek, USA Today, The LA Times and CGTN. TMC, where he is CEO and Group Editor-in-Chief, has educated tens of millions of tech decision-makers via numerous web portals. The company’s ITEXPO #TechSuperShow has educated hundreds of thousands of global IT decision-makers for the past 20 years. Tehrani founded TMCnet and has fostered its growth into one of the most popular Web sites in the world covering communications and technology. Rich is also the author of a widely read and popular blog covering cybersecurity, IoT, communications, and other technologies. The author of a tech dictionary, Tehrani is also an expert witness, editor, top social media influencer and sought-after speaker. In addition, he serves as CEO of Apex Technology Services, a leading provider of quality, timely and professional managed & cybersecurity services to the Fortune 200 on down.

Brian Tuner
CEO, BuildingsIOT

Brian Turner is enthusiastic about leading the disruption to the way building systems are viewed, maintained, and reported on: “In short, we are bringing the back of house to the front of house. The control systems in buildings where we spend much of our lives help shape the people we are, the energy we use, the security we feel, and the overall environment we share. Most people only think of buildings as spaces to work or live, but they are so much more under the hood. People know when they are uncomfortable, but they do not always know why. The controls, infrastructure, and systems that bring these buildings to life is where the exciting opportunities live that will shape our future and this is the single mission that drives me and our team.” – Brian Turner

Brian has worked with some of the largest property owners and facility managers in the world in developing lasting strategies for managing complex integrations and building data for over two decades. This experience paired with his thirst to apply tech-enabled solutions to the problems found fuels his passion and forms the basis of their work at Buildings IOT.

“Building systems have a significant impact on our lives in all aspects from physical and mental well-being to the work we complete to the simplest life experiences.” – Brian Turner

Tim Vogel
Director of IoT

Tim Vogel, a ASHB member and Director of IoT at KMC Controls, is passionate about helping others see more, know how, understand why, act faster, work smarter, and be more successful. The keys to realizing these passions are using technology and leveraging partnerships through relentless collaboration. For buildings, this means disrupting the old-guard model, innovating the approach to “smart,” an ardent emphasis on looking 10-years-out, and building a team that loves what they do. It is all about people, from top to bottom!

Ken Wacks
Management & Engineering Consultant

Dr. Kenneth Wacks has been a pioneer in establishing the home systems industry and a management advisor to more than 150 clients worldwide. His business specialties include IoT (Internet of Things) and cybersecurity for home and building systems, energy management for smart grids, and digital media networks. He also provides due-diligence for investors and expert witness services for litigants including patent and employment non-compete cases. Please visit kenwacks.com for information about his industry services, projects, and publications.

Corporate managers depend on Dr. Wacks to make high-tech business choices clear and actionable. He helps them identify business opportunities in emerging markets with practical advice relevant for product development, market positioning, and strategic partnerships. Executives value his worldview, insights, expertise, and experience to facilitate competent decisions on complex technologies.

Dr. Wacks was appointed by the United States Department of Energy to serve four terms on the GridWise® Architecture Council, focusing on the grid interface to customer equipment including DER (local power from wind, solar, and storage) managed automatically with artificial intelligence (AI). He is a founding member of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, now part of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). He chairs the Customer Grid Edge committee at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

The member nations of ISO/IEC have elected Dr. Wacks chair of the committee developing international home and building system standards for nine terms. He received the IEC 1906 Award commemorating the founding of the IEC in 1906 and honoring experts whose work is fundamental to world standards. He has also written American National Standards in home automation and networked appliances for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), where he chairs the energy management standards committee.

Dr. Wacks is a featured contributor to the ASHB Journal (formerly iHomes & Buildings, available at www.caba.org) and a prolific author (more than 300 papers and presentations). He wrote the book Home Automation and Utility Customer Services. As an entrepreneur at a venture-backed startup, he developed UNIX workstations for the semiconductor industry. Dr. Wacks received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from MIT as a Hertz Fellow and studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is participating in the Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS) consortium investigating corporate initiatives to enhance data security.

Scott Wolf
Principal, Enviros

Scott Wolf co-founded Enviros with the mission of alleviating challenges faced by facility owners and operators. He has dedicated his 30+ year career to the advancement of facility performance and efficiency. Scott spent over a decade developing and running third-party commissioning programs for some of the largest commercial developers in the nation. Identifying frustrations and gaps in the industry, he spearheaded the development of software and performance management tools that minimize the fragmentation of information for better outcomes. Over the last decade, he has focused on building the team, technology, and processes to help owners and operators achieve and sustain performance optimization through technology.

Pay Wu
President & Co-Founder, MWBE Unite, Inc.

Pay Wu is a versatile Commercial Real Estate executive with 30+ years of industry and consulting experience, managing internal and outsourced teams to produce positive profit & loss impact. She offers a results- oriented track record in transactions, project management, portfolio/workplace strategies, facilities management, M&A, program management, cost management/reduction, vendor/outsourcing advisory, process/operations optimization, and technology implementation.

At MWBE Unite, she is responsible for advancing the firm’s mission, which is to maximize supplier and workforce diversity, build Next Gen talent and capabilities, and bring the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) industry best-in-class service from qualified and diverse professionals. The network of diverse suppliers participate in advisory and execution of services across the real estate lifecycle, from Consulting/Strategy through Facilities Management, ESG and Technology services.

Prior to MWBE Unite, Pay led Cushman & Wakefield’s outsourcing corporate services business in the Americas East Region representing $900M in P&L over 50+ accounts with millions of square feet. Pay was formerly a Senior Vice President at TD Bank and Vice President at American Express. Pay holds a degree in Facilities Planning & Management and Interior Design and is certified MCR and SLCR from CoreNet Global. She is a frequent speaker in industry events and currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the NYC Chapter of CoreNet Global and the Board of Partnership with Children in NYC.