Each year, Security magazine honors top security executives who positively impact the security industry, their organization, their colleagues and their peers. They change the security landscape for the better. They are nominated by their colleagues and associates, and they are chosen based upon their leadership qualities and the overall positive impact that their security projects, programs or departments have on their shareholders, organizations, colleagues and general public. This year’s Most Influential is organized by nine categories: Corporate Security Practitioners, Information Technology/Cyber Security Practitioners, Non-Government Organization Security, Government Security, Solution Innovators, Security Organizations, Think Tanks/Universities, Cities, Counties, States Security and Defense Industrial Base Security. Congratulations to the Class of 2010 Most Influential People in Security.

Special thanks goes to Bob Hayes, Lynn Mattice and the Security Executive Council staff and Emeritus Faculty, who were our Recognition Project Partners and who provided subject matter expertise and research.

Corporate Security Practitioners

Donald P. Bitner,

Executive Director, Corporate

Security & Aviation, Amgen

Don Bitner is responsible for the worldwide security program at Amgen, the largest independent pharmaceutical and biotechnology company in the world, with more than 17,000 employees globally. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science’s promise of bringing safe, effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant, to patient. Bitner has been in the security industry since 1978, when he began working as an investigator with United Technologies Corp. (UTC) in Hartford, Conn. Bitner was the first security manager at Amgen and coordinated its expansion to all sites worldwide (spanning 37 countries). Bitner’s direct reports include regional security managers who cover Amgen sites around the world. He also started the aviation operation and began building the team in 2001 after the company bought its first aircraft. In his 18 years at Amgen, Bitner has developed and maintained an access control philosophy of “one card throughout the world.” He transitioned the access control system from analog to digital in 1995 and established one access control software for all company sites worldwide. He also moved digital video recording from external digital video recorders to internal servers to provide a cost-effective method to store video. 

Marco (Marc) Fidanza,

Senior Director, Security,

Takeda Pharmaceuticals

When Marco Fidanza went to work at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2001, he was tasked with building a security function that now also handles brand protection, information protection, investigations and crisis management oversight. Takeda is a world-class pharmaceutical company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, and is the largest, oldest pharmaceutical company in Japan with a significant presence in the United States. Fidanza was part of a team that led construction of a new Takeda North American corporate campus in the Chicago area. In addition to overall design and development of the campus, he was instrumental in developing a security master plan and architecture to protect and safeguard personnel and company assets. Managing many security program issues for the global company while operating in a U.S. subsidiary, Fidanza has put together a first-class global security staff, including full-time employees and an outsourced security provider. He emphasizes the importance of professionalism, relationships, of holding people accountable and of surrounding yourself with people who challenge you rather than with those who always agree. Before coming to work at Takeda, Fidanza was manager of security investigations at Abbott Laboratories, where he was responsible for global company investigations. 

Randy L. Harrison,

Director Corporate Security,

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

As Director of Corporate Security worldwide for Delta Air Lines, Randy Harrison has reorganized the security program to integrate security into the company business model. Harrison oversees diverse security program elements at Delta that include investigations ranging from theft to narcotics trafficking, workplace violence to asset protection, customer misconduct to fraud (related to customer promotion products, employee benefits and credit cards). Possessing exceptional decision-making, project management and negotiation skills, Harrison has driven a corporate philosophical transformation that incorporates a threat/risk methodology to drive business decisions in support of a changing business model and board-level risks. He has also orchestrated security for the largest international expansion in aviation history, including expansion into third-world countries with the highest levels of threats and risks. Harrison has implemented Security Information Management Systems to systematically capture security incidents and to proactively influence the implementation of programs/processes to manage threats and risks. He implemented an enterprise-wide Security Council to engage senior leaders in continuous security review and policy decisions. When Delta and Northwest Airlines merged, he developed and implemented a combined organization responsible for operating both security programs on the date of the merger; all security programs were aligned within 14 months.

Mike Howard,

General Manager

Global Security, Microsoft

Microsoft is the world’s largest software company, providing services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Headquartered in Redmond, Wash., the company operates subsidiary offices in more than 100 foreign countries. Mike Howard, General Manager Global Security, is a recognized leader within the security industry. He is sought to share his insight on successful leadership strategies to help other organizations succeed. His influence in the physical security industry is so significant that organizations outside of Microsoft are implementing their physical security infrastructures based upon the Microsoft model. Howard has been with Microsoft since 2002 where he was first hired to run the Executive Protection Unit responsible for the protection of Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and other senior leaders. In 2003, he was appointed to run all of Microsoft Global Security. Microsoft Global Security encompasses executive protection, global operations, investigations, risk mitigation/crisis management, and a number of other areas, including Global Security Operations Centers (GSOCS) responsible for global monitoring and response 24 x 7. These GSOCs are located at Microsoft campuses in Redmond, the United Kingdom and Hyderabad, India. Prior to joining Microsoft, he spent 23 years with the CIA.

Tim Janes,

Vice President & Chief Security Officer, Corporate Security Services,

Capital One Financial Corp.

Tim Janes has been at Capital One for nine years. Prior to Capital One, he spent three years as a security executive at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, following seven years in security at First Chicago NBD. He is looking to develop the next generation of security leaders, both within Capital One and in the security profession at large. Janes serves as co-chairman of the American Society for Industrial Security Chief Security Officer (CSO) Roundtable, focusing on succession planning, increasing security awareness within businesses and bringing a business and risk focus to the industry. As chairman of the International Security Management Association Education Committee, he has worked to introduce business acumen into development programs aimed at security professionals. The newest example is “Emerging Issues for Emerging Leaders.” This course, developed in concert with the faculty of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, combines real case studies from seasoned CSOs with recent academic research and various business profiles and frameworks. He is working to enhance existing strategy and leadership development programs at both Kellogg and Georgetown University. He seeks to create a future vision of what the next generation of security programs and practices will look like, including business models, technology, visual analytics, forecasts, management and leadership.

Robert A. Messemer,

Chief Security Officer,

The Nielsen Company

As The Nielsen Company’s first Chief Security Officer, Robert A. Messemer designed and implemented a new world class corporate security program that protects The Nielsen Company’s people, data, intellectual property, operations and reputation around the world in more than 100 countries. The Nielsen Company is a leading global information and measurement company that provides its clients with a thorough understanding of consumers and consumer behavior. In his first year at Nielsen, Messemer streamlined operations and implemented a completely new set of corporate security policies. He provided Nielsen employees with guidance and new practices in information security, social media usage, safe disposition of assets and the proper care of confidential data. He designed and implemented a comprehensive special event security plan, including an emergency medical contingency plan for Nielsen’s engagement as a sponsor for the 2008 Olympic Games. In his second and third years, he introduced new business continuity plans, new emergency evacuation procedures, pandemic flu contingency plans as well as a crisis response plan, all of which were adopted globally. Additionally, he conducted several risk assessments resulting in a reduction of risks for workplace violence and business interruptions arising from politically inspired acts of violence. Over the past three years, he has led highly sensitive internal investigations that served as deterrent to fraud and yielded actionable insights to senior executives. Prior to his current position, he retired as a Special Agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation after a distinguished 24-year career.

  Melissa Hathaway,

Former Senior Advisory to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Cyber Coordination Executive,

Executive Office of the President

Melissa Hathaway worked on cyber security for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and led President Obama’s 60-day Cyberspace Policy Review from February to May 2009. She assembled a team of experienced government cyber experts and inventoried relevant presidential policy directives, executive orders, national strategies and studies from government advisory boards and private-sector entities. Hathaway then produced a comprehensive report that contained multiple annexes and 25 near-term and mid-term recommendations. After reviewing Hathaway’s report, President Obama announced that cyber security is one of his administration’s priorities. As acting Senior Director for Cyber Security at the National Security Council, Hathaway convened the policy meetings that began work related to the top 10 recommendations contained in the Cyberspace Policy Review and set the expectation and pace to move the United States toward a stronger, more resilient information and communications infrastructure. Hathaway is currently a senior advisor to the Project Minerva cyber security initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.