The Management Summit, which will take place on July 22 and 23, 2015 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Airport & Convention Center Hotel, in Miami, and is organized by the Latin American Security Association, ALAS, will be an unbeatable space to bring together industry professionals.
By Santiago Jaramillo Hincapié
The ALAS Management Summit is the only event of its kind in the region for several reasons, it is focused on all of Latin America, it is a two-day academic congress that touches on managerial aspects in the security industry, where you can also find an exhibition of products from the most outstanding companies in the sector.
As for what kind of professionals attend the ALAS Management Summit, it is key to note that managers mainly attend, including presidents, directors and general managers of the security areas; as well as owners and senior executives of companies in this same area. It should also be noted that it convenes in large numbers authorities and leaders of the sector in the region.
It is also noteworthy the presence of sales and marketing personnel of companies that provide security products and services, security consultants, directors or heads of security and people who wish to make business contacts in the managerial field.
Precisely to know in detail what the Management Summit is and, at the same time, to delve into its 2015 edition, we invited Alberto Álvarez, CEO of ALAS International, an industry veteran who is in charge of the projection and growth of ALAS in all areas, and who has paid great attention to the preparation of this year's version of the event.
It is noteworthy that Alberto has more than 30 years of experience in the security, building management and automation sector, has served as a consultant in building systems and business development, although his greatest career was in companies such as Honeywell and Johnson Controls. It should also be noted that he was a founding partner of Detcon S.A., a company of automation and electronic security systems.
SECURITY SALES: What are the most important or noteworthy points in the preparation of the conference program of the 2015 Summit?
ALBERTO ALVAREZ: The idea is to have a broad event that covers the different points of view of the manufacturer, user, integrator, industry trends and management training that help the development of knowledge and skills of the attendees.
We have distributed the conferences in topics of great importance such as:
-Safe Cities Latin America: what governments did to reduce crime with the use of technology.
-Management and Leadership.
-Industry Trends: What will be the future of security systems
-Case Studies.
-The vision of the end user.
-Integration with the area of information technology.
-How a security project should be developed and who the participants are.
-What are the standards used in Latin America and what is its future.
SECURITY SALES: What expectation (commercial and academic) does the 2015 edition of the Management Summit arouse within the organization?
ALBERTO ALVAREZ: Our expectation is to grow and turn this event into the benchmark of the security industry for Latin America where we bring together all the players in the industry and allied associations.
SECURITY SALES: Looking in detail at the figures of the event, how many attendees to the academic program do you expect to have in 2015, and, in the same way, how many and which companies will be exhibiting in the commercial exhibition?
ALBERTO ALVAREZ: Our expectation is to exceed 300 attendees and 40 exhibiting companies, in addition to various industry media and regulatory institutions such as NFPA and UL.
SECURITY SALES: Miami is a venue that has given excellent returns to previous editions of the Summit, for future editions is it planned to maintain this venue or will it return to the rotation figure of previous years?
ALBERTO ALVAREZ: He was approved by the Board of Directors to leave the WINGS Summit in Miami. We will soon announce the dates of 2016. We believe that by settling in this place we can consolidate an event that is a benchmark for the industry.
SECURITY SALES: We know of the valuable work that is done from ALAS in terms of training, training and updating of industry professionals, please list the different initiatives that have been advancing and what projects in this section do you project in the future?
ALBERTO ALVAREZ: The idea is to reinforce the development and knowledge of people not only through courses but also with more conferences and webinars.
Today there is a technological convergence that intertwines electronic security with communications technology, cybersecurity, the audiovisual media industry and different vertical markets.
We are focused on expanding relationships and networking with other representative associations of these industries and with regulatory developers to bring norms, standards and good practices to our partners and the community.
Among the new proposals for 2016 are: expanding the offer of courses and certifications, in addition to offering access to information, regulations and training from other allied entities.
