BAE Systems - Experts & Thought Leaders

D-Fend Solutions, the pioneer in radio frequency (RF), cyber-based, non-kinetic, non-jamming, counter-drone takeover technology, announced the expansion of its U.S. team. In response to the rapid growth in demand for the organisation’s solutions, these additions to the company will support the continued advancement of its U.S. presence and operations from its Mclean, Virginia office. The company has appointed Gordon Kesting as Vice President, U.S. Sales and Business Development, and Glenn McArthur as Business Development Manager. With their expertise and experience, D-Fend Solutions is poised to continue developing and leading in multiple C-UAS market sectors through its U.S. operations, sales, partnerships, and implementations. Part of D-Fend Solutions "Gordon and Glenn have tremendous and highly relevant experience and industry presence, and we’re fortunate to have them as part of the D-Fend Solutions team," said Zohar Halachmi, Chairman & CEO of D-Fend Solutions.  "The extensive leadership and proven on-the-ground experience of our new hires will be invaluable as we continue to grow and expand our presence in the U.S. market and focus on providing our partners with the most trustworthy technology for their counter-drone challenges," said Danny Rajan, U.S. General Manager, D-Fend Solutions. Prior roles of Kesting  Kesting has previously held positions at pioneering defence companies including prime contractors Gordon Kesting joins the team as Vice President, U.S. Sales and Business Development, and he is responsible for the region’s sales, capture management, customer engagement, and business development.  Kesting has previously held positions at pioneering defence companies including prime contractors and mid-tier firms such as Hughes Aircraft Company/Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and DRS Technologies. In his most recent role at Elbit Systems of America, Gordon led the company's growth into the homeland security and international foreign military markets. Prior roles of McArthur Glenn McArthur joins the team as Business Development Manager, responsible for driving business growth and strategic partnerships in homeland security and other public safety sectors. Prior to joining D-Fend Solutions, Glenn had an extensive career with the U.S. Border Patrol, spanning twenty-five years. During this time, McArthur held multiple leadership positions, most recently focused on C-UAS intelligence and operations within the agency.

BAE Systems has partnered with Change Awards to help promote change management as a key discipline across all business areas and sectors, supporting career progression while recognising its vital role in delivering successful organisational change. The security firm’s new collaboration will allow them to not only celebrate practice in this important area of business but will also provide them with access to industry events such as Change Talks, helping them to gain both recognition themselves while also acting as advocates for this developing discipline. Approaches to change management Offering of internal courses and external qualifications will be kept by their alliance with Change Awards Their offering of internal courses and external qualifications will be bolstered by their partnership with Change Awards, highlighting their commitment to supporting industry experts who help businesses deliver new approaches to change management. Change Awards brings together academia and practice to champion industry pioneers, recognising the individuals, teams and organisations that are contributing to change management while offering businesses support as they navigate a new and emerging business role. Effective change management Margo Waldorf, Founder of Change Awards, commented: “In the age of transformation, successful continuous organisational evolution warrants provision for internal change management capability to access experienced resources at the time of need." "It is vital to invest, promote and celebrate those skills across sectors. Together, we aspire to elevate the importance of change management skills, fostering a culture of adaptability and innovation. Join us on this transformative journey as we redefine the future through the lens of effective change management.” Benefits of Change Management As such, we have been investing in this key discipline across all our business areas and sectors" Karen Gregson, Head of Business Change Management and Improvement (Corporate), at BAE Systems commented: “BAE Systems recognises that effective Change Management is key to delivering successful organisational change. As such, we have been investing in this key discipline across all our business areas and sectors." "Not only is imperative to internal transformation and continuous improvement; we also recognise the benefit of Change Management capability in all our projects and programmes. As such we have a dedicated career pathway, framework, training solutions and procedural guidance; all aimed at supporting our people in this exciting career." Involvement in the Change Talks Gregson added: "Our Change Management Roles are varied, and we are pleased to be able to recognise this profession through internal courses, external qualifications and our partnerships with both the Change Management Institute and the Change Awards." "The Change Awards have been hugely beneficial to our organisation, they are not only crucial to celebrating great practice in this area, but our involvement in the Change Talks and sponsoring the Change Awards goes a long way in helping us get this fantastic profession recognised across our business and beyond.”

Drive System Design (DSD), a specialist in the engineering and development of electrified propulsion and actuation systems, is set to make its debut at DSEI. This follows significant growth in the UK defence sector which has seen government expenditure in the sector increase by 18% to £55.5 bn. Defence and security sector DSD’s debut at DSEI, the world’s largest fully integrated defence and security hybrid event, follows significant growth in the international defence space, with a strong presence in the US now supplemented by active projects across Europe and into Asia. Held in London (12-15 September), DSEI brings together key stakeholders to discuss and debate the present and future of the global defence and security sector. DisTec propulsion trail DSD experts will be on stand to discuss the development and benefits of the newly updated OPI At DSEI, DSD will be on stand to showcase its power electronics expertise, which includes DSD’s Open Platform Inverter (OPI), which enables quick and efficient development of motor control systems. DSD experts will be on stand to discuss the development and benefits of the newly updated OPI and how it can drive value across defence applications, and beyond. DSD’s stand is part of the event’s DisTec propulsion trail, which showcases the very latest in ground-breaking disruptive technology. DSD’s Business Development Executive, Richard Dunne, will also be chairing a panel discussion on how electrification can improve sustainability within the defence industry, highlighting the key questions businesses must ask themselves when setting sustainability targets and devising strategies to realise their sustainability ambitions. The panel will include speakers from the Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems to name a few. Author's quote Lee Sykes, Commercial Director at DSD, commented: “With the global defence electric vehicle market set to grow at a 34.1% CAGR from 2022 to 2027, DSD is proud to showcase its defence capabilities internationally, at DSEI. As we continue to expand our expertise, capabilities, and reach, moving from supporting tiered suppliers up to working with major defence OEMs, we’re pivoting our focus to full powerpack and system architecture definition and development for next gen platforms." “This comes at a time whereby we are continuing to invest in further strengthening our relationships with UK government R&D bodies in the defence space and are proactively increasing our impact in the UK market and beyond.”

There will likely continue to be high numbers of lone wolf and soft target attacks in the year ahead. The drivers behind these tragedies are a confluence of self-radicalisation, social media, violent extremism, and mental illness. They will require our skills as security professionals — observation, investigation, interviewing, due diligence — like never before.   Looming in the background of these physical attacks is the prospect of combined physical and cyberattacks that could disable network control systems and target critical infrastructure, leading to cascading effects that could result in the crippling of sectors of society. This past year, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security began warning of cyberattack threats on the U.S. power grid. These threats require strong relationships with our public-sector counterparts and public-private partnership groups, like InfraGard, to broadly disseminate information and best practices.Recent member research by ASIS International shows that few organisations have truly converged security departments that can holistically deal with cyber, physical, personnel, and information risks.Internet of Things risksAnd speaking of cyber-threats, we are dealing with an ever-evolving and increasingly complicated threat landscape. Not least among the targets is the Internet of Things (IoT). It is projected that by the year 2020, more than 50 million objects will have discrete IP addresses, including cars, airplanes, pacemakers, control systems manufacturing process control components, access control—and yes, even your refrigerator letting you know you need more milk.The IoT opens an organisation up to incredible risk, which was illustrated this past October with the Mirai DDoS attack that took down Twitter and other mainstream websites. Its attack vectors were largely unsecured IP cameras and DVRs, two entrenched residents of the IoT. We need to raise awareness on product security and educate stakeholders about vulnerabilities (from default logins and password settings to embedded backdoors sending information via unencrypted channels).Holistic security managementOne area of security that often gets overlooked is management. Long gone are the days of the reactive "corporate cop" using a command-and-control management structure.Today's emerging security leader is a holistic risk manager, dealing not only with security, but investigations, loss prevention, fraud, cybersecurity, safety, and other issues.He or she must be steeped in Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) — which has become a global strategic priority at ASIS. Security leaders must also become business strategists, trusted advisors/collaborators with the C suite, contributors to the bottom line, talent acquisition experts, and empathetic leaders. Security managers must lead a widely-dispersed staff encompassing many cultures, backgrounds, and geographies According to Professor Mario Moussa of the Wharton School of Business, the workplace of the future will be "flatter, looser, wider, and faster." This means that hierarchies will matter less, flexible schedules will predominate, and remote work will become commonplace. Yet, staff will need to be more collaborative and team-oriented.Over the longer term, security managers must lead a widely-dispersed staff encompassing many cultures, backgrounds, and geographies. Facilitating communication will be critical, especially with the proliferation of millennials who will make up 50 percent of the workforce by 2020.And, although women currently make up only a small minority of security executives, their day is coming. Multiple studies show that companies see a bigger rise in revenue under female leadership than under male leadership. They are shown to be more transformative, collaborative, and empathetic than their male counterparts. Over the longer term, security managers must lead a widely-dispersed staff encompassing many cultures, backgrounds,and geographies 2017 changes at ASIS InternationalThis past year saw tremendous change at ASIS International. We welcomed a new CEO, Peter J. O’Neil, who has brought fresh energy, wisdom, passion, and leadership to the association. We’ve undertaken a top-to-bottom review of our operations and have a number of exciting new initiatives in store.This year, we are launching a revitalised member-focused strategic plan that will move the Society in a more transparent and inclusive direction. We are exploring expanded membership categories, increasing our online learning, revamping our website, and strengthening partnerships with groups like ISSA and InfraGard to ensure our members maintain access to best practices throughout the security spectrum. We know people across the globe are entering our profession, and we want to be able to serve their educational and professional development needs, while forming local communities of support to make them stronger and more successful.In 2016, our flagship event, the Annual Seminar and Exhibits, hosted the first U.S. Outstanding Security Performance Awards, as well as the launch of Security Week, which provided an opportunity for us to give back to the event’s host community.  We experienced a 10 percent increase in registrations and are looking to build on this momentum in Dallas at ASIS 2017. ASIS plans to make a significant investment in reshaping this event to provide attendee and exhibitor partners with more value than any other security-oriented event in the United States. We will convene an enhanced programme, including new learning formats, networking events, and show floor features. See the full coverage of 2016/2017 Review and Forecast articles here   Save

Sometimes companies want to buy their physical security software separate from the servers it runs on. Other times, companies prefer to buy an “appliance” – a purpose-built machine that is perfectly matched with the software it is running. The latter category is especially popular among small- and medium-sized business customers. For example, preconfigured video management appliances contribute an element of simplicity. That’s why you see video software companies – Genetec, Milestone, and others – coming out with pre-loaded appliances that match up their software systems with just the right hardware to optimise (and simplify) operation for small- and mid-sized end user customers. Pre-configured appliances are also used in access control applications. It was this trend that brought MBX Systems to the ASIS 2014 show in Atlanta. MBX is seeking to become the “hardware arm” of software companies in the security market; in effect, to provide a soup-to-nuts solution that matches software with the right combination of off-the-shelf and customised hardware to yield a pre-loaded and preconfigured appliance solution. The company incorporates off-the-shelf computer servers from manufacturers such as HP and also customises any cosmetic or mechanical components a system might need. “Our focus at ASIS was to attract other exhibitors to our booth,” says Chris Schmidt, MBX Systems director of sales and marketing. “We were showing solutions that are preloaded onto a server or a PC. What we have found in the past is that exhibitors want to be able to see that you are there and investing in the same shows they are investing in. Then, at their leisure, they come to your booth and get a better understanding.” For dealer/installers, installing a single, pre-configured and pre-loaded system can be a huge time-saver. Also, using a pre-loaded system, there is less price transparency so end users are less likely to expect dealers to match low-margin pricing of generic server equipment. End users also have one company to deal with warranty claims.  “Customers want something they can take out of the box, put it in a rack or closet and, boom, you have what you need,” says Schmidt. “They don’t want a whole data centre.” "We work with the software companies to hone in on what’s the best combination of hardware and software, adding things along the way, and then private-labelling or branding it" Schmidt compares MBX Systems’ role to that of Foxconn, the Chinese company that works behind-the-scenes with Apple to make products such as the iPad and iPhone easy to use right out of the box. “We work with the software companies to hone in on what’s the best combination of hardware and software, adding things along the way, and then private-labelling or branding it,” he says. MBX Systems also handles the support and after-sale warranty. Customers MBX already partners with related to the security market include Agilence and BAE Systems. Chris Nietzold, MBX Systems’ senior platform engineer, sees a trend toward systems that require higher bandwidth and greater performance requirements. Given the trend, there is a higher likelihood that software could be deployed on a hardware system that is already feeling resource strain or may not be adequate for the application. Pre-loaded hardware prevents the problem. “They want something they can push right to the edge with bandwidth and performance,” says Nietzold, and custom-matching the right software and hardware delivers on that expectation. “You don’t want your security system competing with general computer systems,” adds Jeff Luckett, MBX’s director of engineering. In the case of retail stores, for example, there may be an appliance configuration that is consistent across hundreds of locations. “It depends on the software vendor, but some want each system to be turnkey. We have to input all that information so the store manager can just plug it in,” says Nietzold. Smaller end users have historically been among the final hold-outs using analogue technology. The perceived (and real) complexity of integrating IP camera systems are an obstacle to implementing the technology, especially among companies that may not have IT-savvy staff members to trouble-shoot the technology – and even among dealer/installers whose IT resources may be limited at best. The role of companies like MBX Systems will likely increase in our market as dealers and end users demand IP solutions that are as easy to implement as analogue.