Ivey named CEO of BrandWatch Technologies

Anti-counterfeit technology specialist BrandWatch Technologies has named security veteran Neil Ivey as its new chief executive.

Ivey steps up from the position of vice president, and previously held positions at the Security Industry Association, Authentix and Payne Security of the UK. He will succeed former CEO Phil Huff, who will continue to serve on BrandWatch's board of directors.

The new CEO (pictured) has been taken on to spearhead the strategic growth plan at the Portland-headquartered company, which is perhaps best known for taggants with unique DNA markers that businesses and governments use to track products and high-security documents using proprietary detection devices. It recently added a forensic-level identifier to its range of materials.

The company also provides overt technologies such as bar codes, specialty inks and labels, holograms, watermarks, and tamper-evident films. It has recently been expanding into new markets including premium wines and spirits, thanks in part to an alliance with France's Prooftag, and the automotive after-parts sector.

"BrandWatch continues to improve not only our materials, but is committed to delivering state of the art detection and reading technologies that have not been seen in this market previously," said Ivey.

He noted that the company's newest device - called TAU - will enable the creation of custom, unique signatures from a single taggant material.