Ian Verhappen is a Senior Solution Architect at Willowglen systems who has been active in the automation industry since the 1980s, contributing to the body of knowledge as a regular columnist for automation trade journals and the co-editor of ISA’s Automation Book of Knowledge.  

Verhappen is a active in the digital communications and IIoT community, including the associated safety and cybersecurity aspects of that space. He is the technical lead of Willowglen Systems’ development team for their SIL-2 rated Safety Manager and IEC 62443 compliant Security Manager functions of their next-generation SentientQ SCADA platform. As a certified automation professional, he is also a certified EN 5012x safety engineer, a professional engineer in three provinces, an ISA Fellow and a member of Control’s Automation Hall of Fame. 

Verhappen’s dedication to upholding industry standards is clear. He is the international chairperson of IEC SC65C Industrial Networks that oversees all fieldbus protocols, a member of the IEC Strategic Management Board, a member of ISA’s Standards & Practices Board, and Managing Director as well as Convenor for the development of the IEC/ISA Intelligent Device Management Standards. He is also actively involved in developing standards, including TC65 WG10 (IEC 62443), the Canadian Mirror Committee for TC65, and the ISO JTC 1 SC41 Internet of Things.