(PUBLIC) ASIS Hires CEO With Extensive Security Experience

For at least 30 years, the American-based security organization ASIS has had a CEO hired from outside the security industry. Now, facing ongoing challenges, ASIS has shifted its strategy and selected a leader with 30+ years of experience in security, which we view as positive for the organization and industry.

ASIS Strengths

The nearly 70-year-old organization has built core strengths with its local chapters delivering important networking for security end users and its certifications, reporting over 12,000+ total holders, including 8,500+ for its CPP, which is commonly required for senior security roles.

Challenges For ASIS

ASIS revenue and net assets have declined significantly, with COVID exacerbating problems for ASIS's main revenue source - the annual GSX show, but problems continuing throughout the decade. Its net assets were under $9 million for 2022, the most recent year disclosed, down relatively steadily from $26+ million a decade prior.

ASIS's 2022 annual report did admit the need for containing costs and generating more revenue, with the relatively low goal of being budget neutral by next year:

The pandemic has catalyzed even deeper analysis and improvement in the organization's methods for cost containment and generating revenue.

ASIS financials improved in 2023, with show attendance generally returning, though ASIS GSX's attendance gap with competitor RX/ SIA's ISC West show has grown.

Moreover, ASIS has reduced staff over the years as its revenue and funds have declined.

Focus On Vendor Money

Industry participants have debated what has caused these challenges, but IPVM, along with many of ASIS's key members (see ASIS Money Over Education Allegations Debated), has seen ASIS prioritize vendors over end users (e.g., ASIS Gives "Education Credits' For Exhibiting At GSX, ASIS Sells GSX Education Sessions). On one level, it is perfectly reasonable since vendors are where ASIS generates most of the cash to fund its work and the very lucrative salaries its executives receive (e.g., ASIS CEO Peter O'Neil Makes $656,219). On the other hand, ASIS is supposed to be a non-profit that is focused on serving security end users rather than sellers.

Structurally, most of ASIS's revenue comes from their events, most notably GSX, and even more so, the remaining balance (not profits since ASIS is registered as a non-profit) that funds other parts of the organization.

No "Renewing" Current CEO

Last year, ASIS politely fired CEO Peter O'Neill, who had been CEO for ~7 years, following Michael J. Stack, who had been CEO for 20+ years before him. Neither had previous security industry experience, though they had previous experience managing associations.

The job listing for the new ASIS CEO emphasized candidates pursuing a "successful execution of the new direction and strategy." The specific strategy was not disclosed, though sources close to the organization emphasized the importance of hiring someone with security industry experience.

The visual below contrasts the outgoing CEO with the new CEO's heavy security background:

New CEO Background

The new CEO, Bill Tenney, unlike the outgoing, has an extensive background in both corporate security and the US military, something that ASIS emphasized in its own marketing:

Outlook

We view this positively for ASIS. First, this demonstrates that it has listened to its core membership base, which was widely enthusiastic about having a leader who had experience similar to theirs and deeply understood the work they do. Moreover, that experience should help him favor programs and activities that support his peers - ASIS security end users.

It will be important to see how Tenney balances, figuratively and literally financially, what he knows well—security—with the realities of operating an organization that primarily sells marketing to security vendors who want security end users to buy products and services from them. These security vendors have provided ASIS significant cash over the years but, as a group, they fundamentally warp the mission by their drive to sell rather than educate end users.

We hope Tenney does well as ASIS CEO and returns to ASIS's roots of supporting and helping end users, first and foremost.