Cosmo Perrone

Mr. Cosmo Perrone offers a unique perspective on cutting edge solutions for an array of current and future security needs based on decades of experience in senior positions in both the public and private sector. As a recognized innovator in the security arena, Mr. Perrone provides a rare combination of cutting edge thinking and practical leadership experience in key operational posts.

Mr. Perrone is the former Director of Security for the Port of Long Beach, California, serving in that capacity for 6 years (2005-2011). He directed the Homeland Security Program for the 3,000 acre complex including 24-hour patrols, anti-terrorism programs and the operation of security systems with a strong emphasis on resiliency.

Recognized by Security Magazine in 2007 as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People in the Security Industry,” and a “Port Authority Visionary,” and again in 2009 as “the most aggressive change agent” in the port security sector, Cosmo Perrone’s innovations to revamp and modernize security at the Port of long Beach include port-wide network of surveillance cameras, radar and sonar sensors to enhance “domain awareness” below, at, or above water and ground level. This concept of “system and regional integration” which is now maturing into a “Virtual Port Concept” is housed in the Port’s state-of-the-art- Command and Control Center which opened in 2009.

His more than three decades in the security field also include 10 years with the Department of Defense Investigative Service and 23 years in the aerospace industry, including nearly twenty years as Director of Security and Fire Services for McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. He was responsible for the development and implementation of key policies for the companies’ global security functions, and was Boeing’s Southern California Executive Coordinator for all Homeland Security issues.

Mr. Perrone has also been engaged in legislative and regulatory policy development for maritime security through membership in the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, the California Maritime Security Council, the Port Security Caucus (which he co-founded and co-chaired), several industry associations including American Association of Port Authorities, the California Association of Port Authorities, the Association of Pacific Ports, and numerous academic advisory committees. He has also served on the City of Long Beach’s Public Safety Commission, the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council, the American Society for Industrial Security, and the National Academies: Science and Technology for the Yucca Mountain Physical Security Committee.

He holds a law degree from Western State University and is a member of the California Bar Association.