Editor’s Note: It has been a busy year at Identiv. The company sold its physical security, access card, and identity reader operations to Vitaprotech, a security solutions provider, for $145 million. In conjunction with the sale, Kirsten Newquist, an experienced RFID industry leader, became the new CEO of Identiv.

Newquist joined Identiv after 17 years at Avery Dennison Corporation, where she was most recently global VP, Avery Dennison Smartrac, and previously held other leadership roles including VP/GM of Avery Dennison Medical. Newquist offers her insights on Identiv’s opportunities going forward in the RFID and IoT segments.


Printed Electronics Now: What led to the decision to sell the Hirsch side of the business to Vitaprotech?

Kirsten Newquist: Both the RFID/IoT and Physical Security segments were growing and needed resources to continue on their growth trajectories. It was decided to sell one of the businesses off, with the funds from the sale going to the balance sheet. Now we have complete focus on our RFID/IoT business, and the funds will be reinvested in the growth of our RFID and specialty IoT business.

The Physical Security business had some limited overlap with RFID, but at the end of the day, there were two different sets of businesses and business models. It made a lot of sense to separate the two businesses so the Hirsch side could expand and grow, and now we can invest in and grow the Identiv IoT business.


Printed Electronics Now: How will this move allow Identiv to focus on the IoT field?

Kirsten Newquist: We can put all our resources into the RFID/IoT side of the business, ensuring that we have the right resources to execute our growth strategy. Now we will be great stewards of the funds and determine the most promising areas to invest in the business.

There are some great macro trends out there, including digitization and IoT expansion, sustainability, security and anti-counterfeiting measures, and regulatory compliance and safety. These macro trends are driving the growth of RFID and our business. RFID, and specifically NFC, enhance the consumer’s engagement and experience, as well as provide security through authentication. We see RFID as a really important tool to address these macro trends.

The RFID market is expanding beyond apparel and retail and into multiple industries and applications. These new applications often require more highly engineered and customized solutions. This is where Identiv has unique capabilities and can develop solutions to meet these needs. 


Printed Electronics Now:  Identiv has been building out its RFID infrastructure, adding production capacity in Thailand and opening its IoT Excellence Center in Germany. How will this help Identiv going forward, and are there further moves on the horizon?

Kirsten Newquist: Identiv has made some investments in our great R&D center outside Munich and our brand-new manufacturing facility in Thailand. Now we can continue to invest in R&D resources and in the development of markets that have the most opportunities. It also allows us to grow inorganically if we wish, with highly targeted acquisitions.


Printed Electronics Now: What are the opportunities going forward for Identiv?

Kirsten Newquist: Healthcare is one of the areas where we see a lot of opportunities. We are seeing the shift in care moving from healthcare settings to the home. We see some great opportunities with medications that are now being delivered to the home, to enhance adherence and provide important information with NFC-enabled smart labels, where RFID can lead to improved adherence and better patient engagement. We see opportunities within the pharmaceutical market for cold chain monitoring.

We are also seeing some unique opportunities with the Digital Product Passport initiative in Europe, where NFC and RFID more broadly can help ensure sustainability. Smart packaging is also interesting, and we are pursuing use cases that require highly engineered solutions.


Printed Electronics Now: You have held numerous leadership positions in the RFID/NFC field. What do you see as Identiv’s strengths?

Kirsten Newquist: Identiv has positioned itself as a leader in highly engineered specialty IoT applications. Our technology and engineering capabilities allow us to deliver superior products, tailored for high value-add applications.  When a unique customer design is required, Identiv really shines. With all these new specialty IoT applications coming online, we are well positioned to grow in these nascent markets.


Printed Electronics Now: Is there anything you would like to add?

Kirsten Newquist: I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with our talented team and develop IoT solutions that ultimately create a smarter, safer, and more sustainable world. Not only do we have a great set of employees, but we also have great customers and partners. The RFID industry has many stakeholders involved, and everyone has an important role to play to grow the industry and create the value we know it can provide. I am looking forward to working with every one of the stakeholders.