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. SIA will present him with the award on Wednesday, Nov. 15, during the 2023 SIA Honors Night reception.
Brian 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,” said Harrell. “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.”
Harrell is a prominent security thought leader and has participated in a number of SIA events, conferences and initiatives. His many 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.
“SIA is proud to announce Brian Harrell as the 2023 recipient of the SIA Insightful Practitioner Award. 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,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “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.”
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. Brian Harrell was quoted:
“It’s an honor to be recognized by such an impactful and important security association. I will say, that this award is only possible because of some of the great mentors, colleagues, and professionals I’ve worked with throughout my career. People who come to work everyday with the goal of protecting our people, infrastructure, and information from bad actors.
Much has changed in the 25 years I’ve been doing critical infrastructure security, and the threat landscape continues to evolve. Today society is more violent, nation state adversaries are targeting key systems, and we are witnessing a digital transformation that requires security departments to quickly adapt to change. Add to the mix, an expanded regulatory environment, a challenging economy, and a competition for resources and talent. This game is a tough one, but when we embrace collective defense with our private sector and National Security partners, we can be successful. I still maintain a very rosy outlook, despite the challenges ahead.”
SIA Honors Night is a premier dinner, networking and awards reception held concurrently with ISC East, the Northeast’s leading security and public safety event hosted in collaboration with premier sponsor SIA. This annual event honors exceptional members of the security industry for their leadership, commitment and service to the industry and benefits the work of the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST). New in 2023, SIA Honors Night brings together and connects up-and-coming security talent with established industry luminaries for an evening of celebration and supporting the future of the security industry. At SIA Honors 2023, in addition to benefiting 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.
