Meet the first woman president of CSSA International

Petrow began her career at Vector Security in  1982, and was appointed senior vice president  of the Central Stations and Information Services Group in 1997

Petrow has served as CSAA First Vice President since October 2013 and was slated to become CSAA President in October 2015. She assumed the presidency early following the change in roles for former President Jay Hauhn, who resigned that position in March to become CSAA’s executive director. Her appointment, voted unanimously by the CSAA Board of Directors, will run through October 2017.

In an exclusive interview with SourceSecurity.com, Petrow unveiled her vision of the central station of the future, balancing career endeavours, and other priorities as she takes the helm of one of the oldest professional organisations in the security alarm industry.

Regarding her vision for the future of monitoring, Petrow honed in on current and emerging interactive services.

Elevating the stature of monitoring

“I think central stations have the opportunity to be the hub of connected devices,” she says. “They can receive and respond to anything capable of communicating. With automation we can filter and respond to priorities, and we can continue to be the intelligent eyes, ears and voice of our customer for anything they want to monitor, track or respond to. The opportunity is huge with everything from healthcare to manufacturing automation and the need for someone/someplace to analyse and react appropriately.”

Petrow says CSAA has an opportunity to elevate its stature as a leading voice in providing trends and technology awareness to members through educational programs, conferences and greater interaction with associate members. (CSAA not only has central station monitoring company members, but other levels of membership, including associates, who are from manufacturing and distribution segments of the industry.)

“New players have been entering our space, and we anticipate many will seek companies to partner with for monitoring and field services,” Petrow says. “We want to make sure our members understand the opportunities that exist in terms of new services, products and relationships that can add incremental value or transform their organisations.” 

Background and History

Petrow has been leading Vector Security, ranked among the oldest, continually running installation and central station monitoring companies in the industry, since October 2010, when she was appointed president and CEO. She began her career at Vector Security in 1982, and was appointed senior vice president of the Central Stations and Information Services Group in 1997. In 2004 she was promoted to executive vice president, and in 2008, chief operating officer. In October of 2010, Petrow was named president and CEO of Vector Security.

Petrow has been extremely actively in the Electronic Security Association, Pennsylvania Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and CSAA. She is involved with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials – International (APCO), and received its President’s Award in 2009 for outstanding contributions to the electronic transmission of signals between central stations and 911 dispatch centres. In 2014, she was presented with an Ernst and Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia program. In addition, she also received a Woman of the Year award by the Women’s Security Council.

With her professional plate full, Petrow shared the secret to balancing a challenging career with her new, top-level association leadership position. “The secret is to surround yourself with great people and empower them to make decisions,” says Petrow. “Having Jay Hauhn in the Executive Director position for CSAA is a huge win for the association and for myself as president. He understands the challenges and opportunities that exist for the industry and will really be key to our future success. With his leadership, the team at CSAA will flourish and the members will benefit.”