Peter Evans
CEO | Patriot One Technologies
Peter Evans took over as CEO of Patriot One Technologies in November 2020 at a time when facilities were shut down and the immediate future of public gatherings remained uncertain.
Evans likes to think of Patriot One “as an experience company, not necessarily as a security or a safety company.” Removing friction at the point of entry while improving safety is largely a matter of moving away from 50-year-old technology and toward the cutting edge of innovation, he said.
“It feels like we can be a compelling part of driving that change in the industry,” he said. “We actually spent a lot of time asking customers, ‘What do you really need in order to dynamically change this experience?’”
Patriot One’s technology has myriad potential applications “in a time when societal unrest is very strong,” but the company is focused on the venues industry, said Evans, who brings a 25-year track record of transforming other business sectors through the use of new tech.
“The path to success for a technology company like ours, which is an early-stage start-up, is to get hyper-focused on delivering value to a specific target market — In our case, live entertainment, arenas, stadiums and venues — and lining up our business model around that,” he said.
“The live entertainment and sports business is living in very interesting times,” Evans added.
“The constantly changing impact of digital transformation, where all aspects of the experience — from ticketing, to entry screening, to onsite engagement, can and are being radically changed. We are only at the early stage of adoption of all the possibilities of what digital transformation can deliver.”
As for upcoming trends in patron screening and safety, Evans says Patriot One sees “the patron entry experience being further streamlined, with fast and frictionless solutions not only for weapons detection, but also integrating in ticketing, patron guidance, banned patron identification, premium patron identification and more all into a single solution that creates a ’walk-right-in experience’ for patrons. Imagine that — a fully integrated solution for all entry functions and no lines.”
The company’s latest offering, The Smart Gateway, has been deployed at Moody Center in Austin, Texas; Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington; and Central Bank Center/Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, among others.
