Speaker Biograghy: Andrew is responsible for leading the multi-layered security strategy that enables more than 100 million passengers to safely travel through O’Hare and Midway International Airports each year. Prior to CDA, he was the presidentially appointed Administrator of the US Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region V from 2010-2016, where he was responsible for coordinating preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation activities for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Andrew previously held state and city cabinet level positions as the Illinois Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor, Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Executive Director of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. He also serves as a lecturer for the University of Chicago’s MSc programme in Threat and Response Management.


Day 2 - 21 March
Session: Aviation Security, Border Control & Facilitation

16:45 - 17:30 - Panel Discussion: A tale of two cities: airport responses to danger
Synopsis: Around the globe, airports are confronting challenges ranging from natural disasters to acts of terror. They are responding to acts on their grounds as well as disasters in their communities and regions. Alignment of personnel, processes and technology is essential for effective response. Case studies of Swedavia’s preparations to confront serious incidents, and O’Hare International Airport's recent reception centre operations for persons displaced by hurricanes, offer insightful examples of how people, processes and technology can be adapted to address the range of threats that confront airports, offering a glimpse of how emerging domain awareness technology can facilitate future operations.

Audience will learn:

• The challenges confronting airports responding to threats within their boundaries as well as those affecting their communities and regions
• Approaches of airports in shaping personnel, processes and technology to respond to emergencies
• Differing demands posed by the range of emergency response scenarios airports must confront
• The promise of emerging technology for domain awareness can assist in improving the efficiency of response operations