PSIJune2018

INTERVIEW
The widespread UK security
market became fully aware of
ACRE in 2015 when Vanderbilt
completed the acquisition of
Siemens Security Products
(continued from previous page)
enacted in late May, hiring a compliance officer
to perform an audit on our systems to ensure
the protections are in place for the personal
data being collected. Being proactive in this
approach will help us in the future when similar
rules emerge in the U.S. market. ACRE also
addressed the differences in the two geographic
regions with its recent leadership change that
elevated ComNet's Andrew Acquarulo to
President of ACRE Americas and added another
role for me as President of ACRE International.
The two markets require different strategies for
sales, support and operations, so we wanted to
reflect this in our leadership trajectory.
In both markets, the cloud and mobile-centric
applications are becoming core to the services
we provide as more and more partners and
customers move toward increased connectivity.
We're poised in this regard to move into a
market leader when it comes to embracing the
next generation of access control and
networked solutions.
How do you plan to grow Vanderbilt and
ComNet going forward?
As I mentioned, my background is in operations
and I'm focused on approaching the business
from a customer-back perspective, learning how
we can continue to serve our customers while
aligning our sales strategies across both
brands. There are many natural synergies that
exist between Vanderbilt and ComNet and there
are numerous ways we can harness them to
continue growth in a number of sectors. ComNet
also has sales reach in areas where Vanderbilt
may not have support and vice versa, creating
opportunities for us to deliver our solutions to
an expanded market quickly.
There are people who believe that the
future of security will centre on AI,
analytics, surveillance and access
control. Do you agree?
Absolutely. The industry is being driven by
emerging technologies that are both intelligent
and integrated, and these four areas easily
address these qualities. Just as we hope to
improve efficiencies in our own operations, we
aim to help our customers do the same by
harnessing the latest technological
developments to ensure that as our customers
evolve, so too do our offerings. Allowing
organisations to increase their situational
awareness through AI, analytics, surveillance
and access control will be important to us
moving forward.
“ACRE is in a good position to
invest in the next evolution of the
business, but it has to make sense
from a strategic perspective”
Do you have any plans for adding
security companies to the portfolio?
What is it that makes an attractive
business proposition?
ACRE is in a good position to invest in the next
evolution of the business, but it has to make
sense from a strategic perspective. Late last
year, we divested Mercury Security, which was a
solid business, but created some conflict with
our other brands in the way that the products
were sold to the customer through the channel.
Since doing so, it's positioned us well by
strengthening our balance sheet and putting us
in a stronger financial position to go out and
execute other acquisitions. Along those lines,
it's important for us to identify companies with
similar distribution strategies so we can avoid
the natural channel conflict that existed when
Mercury was a part of our portfolio.
Has anyone told you what the weather
will be like in Dublin?
I have been “warned” by my new work
colleagues on what to expect. The good thing is
that the weather is very similar to Salem, Ore.,
USA, where I have maintained a home for the
past 17 years. Although, I grew up in the
Phoenix, Ariz., USA, desert, I have acclimated to
the rain and am confident I will adjust. I am used
to not seeing the sun for months at a time! I am
excited to be in Dublin and am enjoying working
with the terrific team.
36
www.psimagazine.co.uk