PSIJune2018

INTERVIEW
Meet the President, COO and CEO
This month we talk to Ronald
Virden,the COO at ACRE who is also
the President of ACRE International
and the new CEO of Vanderbilt. PSI
speaks to a very busy man...
ast month we reported that Ronald Virden,
Lwho was recently named ACRE COO, is to
assume the role of President of ACRE
International. The evolution of the company’s
leadership roles will allow ACRE to refocus its
efforts based on geographic regions, allowing
greater alignment between its Vanderbilt and
ComNet brands in the Americas, Europe, the
Middle East and APAC.
Ronald, who assumed his expanded role as
of June 1, 2018, will be based in Dublin, Ireland,
and take over the Vanderbilt CEO role from Joe
Grillo, who will continue to serve as ACRE CEO.
All of the management of Vanderbilt’s
international operations, as well as ComNet’s
UK-based operations, will fall under Ronald’s
purview and he will also remain COO of ACRE.
PSI caught up with Ronald to find out his
plans for the organisation and also to discuss
the US and UK market.
ACRE may not be a company that people
know, while they will be familiar with
Vanderbilt and ComNet. How would you
describe ACRE’s role in the security
industry?
While ACRE isn't a large conglomerate, the
company is still sizeable in that the Vanderbilt
and ComNet brands are truly global companies,
serving more than 15 countries. The two brands
also span not only the access control, integrated
solutions and intrusion markets, but also the
fibre optic, electrical and wireless solutions
markets as well. The size of our brands within
ACRE allows us to be influential in these areas
while remaining flexible in our ability to meet
customer expectations and deliver exceptional
service to our partners. This differentiation is
important as we look toward the future of the
business and prepare for more growth and is
what sets us apart in the industry.
Do you think you will have a different
approach to the role than Joe Grillo?
Joe remains the ACRE CEO through this next
evolution of the company, and my role will be to
offer additional support on the operations side
of the business so that Joe can concentrate on
the strategic vision for the company as we look
to add to our portfolio. My background is in
operations, so I bring additional insight into the
customer-centric perspective, including
satisfaction levels, metrics and operational
efficiencies, as well as ways we can gain
positive sales synergies between the two ACRE
brands. As we continue to refine our operations,
we've made strategic additions to the
leadership team, which will help propel the
brand forward and solidify our strength in the
marketplace.
How would you compare the US security
market to the one we have in the UK?
One of the biggest factors affecting the security
market in the UK and Europe is the GDPR and
the quest to protect data. Both ComNet and
Vanderbilt have been proactive in addressing
these concerns before the rule is (continued over)
Ronald Virden
“Allowing
organisations to
increase their
situational awareness
through AI, analytics,
surveillance and
access control will be
important to us
moving forward”
www.psimagazine.co.uk
35