SIA Insightful Practitioner Award
Recognizing Excellence in Promoting the Implementation of Innovative Security Solutions
About the Insightful Practitioner Award
The Insightful Practitioner Award is presented to a security practitioner who demonstrates leadership and excellence in promoting the implementation of innovative security solutions through education, advocacy and teamwork with the security industry and other stakeholders. The SIA Insightful Practitioner Award is presented at SIA Honors Night. Nominations information is accepted annually August and September.
2024 SIA Insightful Practitioner Award Recipient: Scott M. Gross
SIA has named has named Scott M. Gross, facility security officer at Con Edison, as the 2024 recipient of the SIA Insightful Practitioner Award.
Scott Gross has over four decades of experience in security and fire protection. In his role at Con Edison, he has played a critical role in improving security practices for one of the nation’s most extensive and complicated utility companies. All this, coupled with his long experience in deploying the latest state-of-the-art security technologies and proactive stance toward emerging threats, has made him an industry trailblazer. Since joining Con Edison in 2004, Gross has played an invaluable role in mitigating the growing menace of drone activity over critical infrastructure, integrating airspace security solutions to monitor and respond to drone incursions and ensuring comprehensive surveillance and real-time threat assessment. His innovation and strategic vision have made Con Edison much more capable of protecting its operations from potential disruptions.
Gross has been proactive in advocating for legislative changes to enhance the authority of critical infrastructure operators in mitigating drone threats, contributing to broader security strategies at the state and national levels. Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, he has ensured that Con Edison’s security systems autonomously and accurately detect, track, identify and differentiate drones. In addition to his leadership at Con Edison, Gross is an active member of various industry organizations and advisory boards, using his knowledge and vision to help shape the future of security practices. He holds SIA’s Certified Security Project Manager (CSPM) credential.
Gross 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 serving on the SIA Utilities Advisory Board, which develops recommendations and guidance for the physical security and cybersecurity of utilities infrastructure, offers formal responses to security rules and guidance proposed by regulatory agencies, shares knowledge with related industries and develops content for SIA events and publications; sharing his expertise as a speaker at ISC East and ISC West; actively participating in a variety of SIA projects and activities related to critical infrastructure security; and supporting SIA’s efforts related to counter-drone solutions.
Previous Insightful Practitioner Award Winners
- 2023: Brian Harrell
- 2021: Bonnie Michelman
- 2020: Jack Hanagriff
- 2019: George W. Anderson
- 2018: Guy M. Grace, Jr.
- 2017: Dave McGowan
- 2016: Dr. Lou Marciani
- 2015: Ray O’Hara
- 2014: Evelyn Meserve
Back to Top