ANAHEIM, CA--(Marketwired - September 11, 2015) - MorphoTrak, a U.S. subsidiary of Morpho (SAFRAN), announced today that MorphoTrak President and CEO Celeste Thomasson has been selected as one of five recipients of the inaugural annual Women in Biometric Identity Awards. The awards were presented by SecureIDNews.com and re:ID magazine at a reception on Thursday evening, September 10, during the Borderpol International Security Meeting in Washington D.C.
Ms. Thomasson assumed the position of CEO and President at MorphoTrak in 2014. Under her guidance, the company has demonstrated a clear focus on advancing biometric technology through expanding internal expertise and academic partnerships, sharing industry knowledge, and delivering groundbreaking products and solutions.
Prior to assuming her current leadership role at MorphoTrak, Ms. Thomasson served as Vice President of Legal Affairs for SAFRAN. Ms. Thomasson received her Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California. She is a board member of the International Biometrics & Identification Association (IBIA) and supports corporate memberships in additional industry associations including the Security Industry Association (SIA), and the Secure Identity and Biometrics Association (SIBA).
Ms. Thomasson’s efforts to expand technological expertise have led the company to acquire the best talent from industry specialists with backgrounds in law enforcement, forensics, government relations, and biometrics-related policy. Under her direction, the company has also successfully completed several strategic growth initiatives including expansion of the MorphoTrak facility in Alexandria, VA; implementation of key engineering resources in West Virginia, home to the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division; and an expanded technology partnership with West Virginia State University.
Ms. Thomasson’s dedication to the advancement of biometric technology is also reflected in MorphoTrak’s recent technological achievements such as the Security Industry Association (SIA) 2015 award of Best New Product to MorphoWave, the market’s first biometric access solution featuring high-speed contactless fingerprint capture, and MorphoTrak’s tattoo recognition algorithm placing first in the 2015 Tattoo Recognition Technology -- Challenge (Tatt-C) evaluation conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
“I am honored to receive this award for Women in Biometric Identity, and to share the spotlight with the skilled executives and practitioners who have also been acknowledged as leaders in the field. I offer my colleagues my sincere congratulations.” said Ms. Thomasson. “The biometrics industry has the potential for great advances in nearly every facet of life -- from protecting personal privacy to protecting our borders -- and I look forward to continuing to lead MorphoTrak as we achieve new, market- changing biometric solutions.”