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Committee Member Spotlight: Josh Akre

June 25, 2025

That culture of continuous learning and goal setting has fueled my own development and helped me grow in ways I never imagined.” 

Josh Akre, Application Engineer Manager, Northland Controls

Emerging Technology Committee

Josh Akre’s career in the security industry unexpectedly launched the day after he returned home from college. He helped a neighbor install a door in one of their rental properties and earned a job offer the next day.  

“When the neighbor saw I could handle tools, he asked if I wanted to help pull cable,” said Josh. “I had no idea what that meant, but I couldn't pass up a job opportunity. The next day, I had two interviews and a job offer within an hour. I was handed a job site address, a list of tools to buy and told to be there by 6 AM the next day.” 

Now with his footing in installation, Josh made a conscious effort to volunteer for the lead technicians’ least favorite tasks to gain hands-on experience in multiple areas and build trust with senior team members.  

“The lead technicians were usually more than happy to teach me how to handle the work they preferred to avoid,” said Josh. “That became my primary strategy for growth in my early years as a technician and engineer.” 

In his current role as application engineer manager, Josh focuses on customer success, employee development and resourcing as well as various dynamic areas such as technology reviews. He credits his tenure at Northland Controls to its deep commitment to professional and personal growth.  

“With the support of my managers and mentors, I’ve earned several manufacturer and industry certifications,” said Josh. “I also took advantage of Northland’s tuition reimbursement program to earn my MBA and achieve the AMA-CPM (American Management Association Certified Professional in Management) credential. That culture of continuous learning and goal setting has fueled my own development and helped me grow in ways I never imagined when I first started.” 

As a manager, Josh aims to create the same environment that grew his career for his team. He also continues his leadership development through regular check-ins with other leaders and supporting their needs to stay connected to the broader needs of the business.  

In 2019, Josh joined the PSA Emerging Technology Committee where he expanded his understanding of the manufacturers’ processes and the strength of those partnerships.  

“Before PSA, I mostly worked internally, only reaching out to manufacturers when something broke, or when I had a service ticket to escalate,” said Josh. “Now, I proactively engage with them, build relationships and help drive our partnerships at Northland. This continues to expand our strategic capabilities and elevates the value we offer our clients.” 

For the past two years, Josh led the committee as their chairperson. When becoming chair, he admired the previous chairperson’s authenticity and camaraderie. With big shoes to fill, Josh sought to build on this foundation and set a goal of increased manufacturer demos. 

“It was important to me to bring more visibility to evolving industry trends and deliver tangible value to our committee members,” said Josh. “Partnering with PSA to connect manufacturers and integrators has been an absolute blast, but what stands out most to me are the discussions that happen after presentations when committee members share different perspectives and real-world experiences with the technologies we’ve seen. Those open conversations have been the most impactful and rewarding part of my time as chair.” 

As his chair term comes to an end, Josh is excited to see what the next chair brings to the committee as he plans to stay involved. He encourages the next chair to experiment and think outside the box to make the space their own.  

Being this committee focuses on emerging technology, we asked Josh what he thinks will have the most significant impact on the security industry in the next few years.  

“I believe local AI agents will emerge in the next few years for physical security,” said Josh. “As wearable devices become more powerful, we’ll need to rethink how organizations identify, track and protect against what used to be harmless accessories. This will require increasingly sophisticated integrations and object/pattern recognition, likely processed at the edge by AI agents analyzing metadata and triggering alarms.” 

“On the access control side, some manufacturers are already opening their hardware for custom integrations, so we may even see AI agents embedded directly into those systems. It’s an exciting time, and the pace of change will demand a much more agile and tech-savvy approach from all of us.” 

Outside of work, Josh enjoys adventures and traveling; however, it was a work trip that piqued this interest. His personal and professional interests crossed paths when he took his first international trip to the Rwandan mountains where he installed solar panels for a school. This meaningful work trip and Northland’s global footprint opened the door to new experiences.  

“That experience gave me the travel bug,” said Josh. “Given Northland’s international presence, I realized that if I stayed with the company long enough, I would have the opportunity to visit every continent—except Antarctica. We just don’t provide services there! With that in mind, I used my 10-year sabbatical to travel to the tip of Antarctica on the trip of a lifetime. Getting there was truly half the journey!” 

Interested in joining a PSA committee? Learn more!