The Electronic Security Expo has announced that Francis Taylor, vice president and chief security officer for General Electric (GE), will deliver the 2009 keynote address. Taylor's keynote will be presented at the 2nd annual ESX on the morning of June 24 in Baltimore, Md., at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Taylor is a former head of security from the U.S. Department of State, where he oversaw protection of U.S. embassies around the world, as well as the consulates and State Department personnel. He has served as a senior advisor to the President on the topic of counterterrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

His topic for the keynote is "Local Solutions for Global Security Threats," and he will be discussing how companies involved in security systems integration and monitoring can become "providers of choice" to the government and corporate security decision makers.

Along with the keynote, GE Security will be sponsoring the keynote, as it did during the 2008 Electronic Security Expo in Nashville, Tenn. The 2008 keynote featured former NFL player Cris Carter and brother John Carter, of security and project management firm Carter Brothers.

ESX is an annual event co-owned by the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA). The expo features a tradeshow and numerous training sessions related to fire detection systems, alarm systems, networking, access control and video surveillance as well as business management. Sessions are designed with systems designers, technicians, business owners and systems developers in mind. More information on the expo, scheduled for June 23-25, 2009, is available at www.ESXweb.com.

About Frank Taylor (information provided by GE and ESX):

Francis X. Taylor is Vice President and Chief Security Officer for the General Electric Company. He joined GE on March 7, 2005. He is responsible for overseeing GE’s global security operations and crisis management processes. Prior to joining GE, Mr. Taylor had a distinguished 35-year career in government service, where he held several senior positions managing investigations, security and counterterrorism issues.