They convinced Echeandia that security would be as rewarding as anything in the law enforcement field. “I was thinking I would be a police officer or something in the criminal justice field.”īy chance, two of Echeandia’s closest friends from his unit in the military, Alex Ruiz and Casey Israel, had both found post-Army work as branch managers for ADI. “Through my experiences in the military and being part of something bigger, I knew that I wanted to help protect people (upon joining the private sector),” Echeandia says. After his schooling, he immediately joined the Army.

He moved to the Maryland area from Peru with his family when he was just five. “Roger is the true American dream,” Radoski says.Įcheandia is a first-generation American. To say that Echeandia and Radoski started at the bottom in this industry is entirely accurate in fact, their stories of self-education, hard work, learning on the job and eventual rise to business owners in the security integration industry is one that should probably be shared among the millennials looking for a clear career path in this industry.Įven aside from his successful business career, Echeandia’s story is inspiring. This accelerated growth – and it is clear there is much more where that came from – is the reason the Bethesda, Md.-based integrator has been named by SD&I as the Fast50 fastest-growing security integrator in North America. TIC leveraged its foothold in the government market, and favorable market conditions and partnerships enabled the company to nearly quadruple its sales in a single 12-month period. That dream became a reality two years ago this March, when Echeandia was able to bring Radoski on as president of the integration firm he founded in 2009 – The Integration Company, or TIC for short.įrom there, the past 23 months has been what the two would call a whirlwind of good fortune.

Still, both of them hoped that one day in the future, they could be reunited as business partners. Eventually, they ascended up the ladder at ADI, and in due time, their career paths in the security industry diverged, with Echeandia focusing on integration and sales in the federal sector and Radoski settling into key sales positions on the integration side. While coming from diverse backgrounds, the two men quickly grew to be close friends. There was a time, way back in 1990-something, when Roger Echeandia and Derek Radoski stood side by side and literally swept the warehouse floors at ADI.

Broom standing up 2018