W&J to honor entrepreneurs at annual leadership dinner
Washington & Jefferson College will honor Larry O’Brien and Helen Hanna Casey as Entrepreneurs of the Year at its 28th annual Entrepreneurial Leadership Dinner Thursday at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh.
O’Brien, a 1966 graduate of W&J, is the chief operating officer for Universal Protection Services, one the largest providers of total security solutions in the United States. He is an expert in contract security services, integrating security technology and team building. Previously, O’Brien was the chairman and chief executive officer of Security Forces Inc. and its subsidiaries, SFI Electronics and SFI Whelan. Under his leadership, Security Forces grew from a $1.2 million company in 1971 to over $110 million today, making it one of three largest privately owned security companies in the country. He was the founder of SFI Electronics and the co-founder of SFI Whelan. An innovator in security management, O’Brien also was a founding owner of TransNational Security Group and Security-Net.
In recognition of his success, O’Brien was named North Carolina Security Executive of the Year by the North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of International Security and National Security Executive of the Year by the National Association of Security Companies.
O’Brien received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington & Jefferson College in 1966 and a master’s of business administration in marketing from Temple University in 1971.
Helen Hanna Casey, her sister, Annie, and brother, Hoddy, are the second generation of leaders of the family-owned Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, the fourth largest real estate company in the United States, overseeing 170 offices and 6,200 sales associates and staff in eight states in its real estate, mortgage, title and insurance divisions. In 2013, the company sold more than 52,000 homes and commercial properties with total revenues of nearly $300 million.
Casey serves on several boards, including the Executive Committee of the Allegheny Conference, TriState Capital Bank and the Pennsylvania State Planning Board. She also has chaired the national groups Realty Alliance and the Real Estate Services Advisory Board Committee of the National Association of Realtors. She has been named by Inman News as one of the 100 Most Influential People in real estate, and was named among the Top 200 Women in Business by Working Woman’s Magazine, for which she was invited to the White House.
Casey is a nationally recognized speaker on real estate and business. She has received honorary doctorate degrees from Carlow University, where she also served as executive in residence for its MBA program, and Georgian Court University.