A Good Pedigree Helps
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Jan 01, 2013
Good networking and a professional pedigree are significant advantages
in any professional endeavor, but in the security world,
qualifications mean just about everything. And, it doesn’t hurt to
have a love for the business either.
Carey Boethel and Ken Francis have both, and they freely admit that they
have a different approach to things. Call it a true love for the security business
and making other people’s lives more secure. And about that pedigree: They
have it.
In early 2012, both men added that final notch to a list of good works. After
years of professional and personal friendship, Boethel and Francis blended
their acumen for security into what is now Securadyne Systems, located in
Carrollton, Texas. The company was consummated through the acquisition of
SecureNet in February 2012.
“We love this business, integrating security systems and bringing a new
way of thinking about integration and customer service,” Boethel said. “Our
goal is to develop security programs tailored to the end user. We aspire to become
subject matter experts in a select few industries, and take a consultative
approach with our customers towards problem solving, using the best available
technologies in order to create highly customized security programs.”
Securadyne has strong relationships with numerous consultants, and in
partnership with those consultants, they provide a holistic approach towards
program development. Francis said the company is security-centric on creating
business solutions, working on a life-cycle basis through the complete life
of the project. In other words, staying with the customer long after the sale.
“This entire process of buying and evolving a new company has been a
whirlwind,” Francis said. “Nothing drives a person to work harder than having
their own company, and wanting to succeed.”
Success Doesn’t Come Easy
Hard work is a key factor for success, but also a vision of where to take a business
once the new ownership arrives. Boethel and Francis didn’t let much grass
grow under their feet as they took charge. Securadyne opened with offices in
Dallas, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Soon thereafter, the company
acquired Surveillance Specialties, Ltd., a leading New England-based integrator, which expanded the company’s reach deep into the northeast.
Both purchases were made with financial partner, Pamlico Capital, located
in Charlotte, N.C., who believed in the vision Boethel and Francis has proposed.
Securadyne now has seven branch office locations in Texas, Oklahoma,
Massachusetts and Maine.
“The acquisition of SURV, which enjoys a commanding market presence
in New England, ideally complements our build-up strategy focusing on bestof-
breed operating platforms,” Boethel said.
The acquisition greatly expands the geographic reach of Securadyne, but
there is still a lot of the United States between the two businesses. Fortunately,
Arthur Bourque, former president and CEO of SURV will be on the company’s
board of directors and will be active in future projects. To maintain an
ongoing presence in the New England office, Justin Davis, former COO of
SURV, remains in that office as a vice president of operations in that region.
Expansion plans are in the works, but Boethel said the company is carefully
weighing its options, though their direction is clear with numerous options
available in achieving their goals. He said the company has adopted a
bifurcated approach that leverages both small- and medium- size businesses
and large enterprise-class users.
“We don’t see one as being more important or prominent than the other
(SMB vs. enterprise) over the long term,” Boethel said. “Over the short term,
we see SMB as early adopters because of the economic benefits of the cloud,
but we also see enterprise-class users embracing it in the future because of improved
quality of service, enhanced information security, increased flexibility
and scalability, and resiliency.
“We believe the cloud provides a more resilient solution. We have historically
focused on large, enterprise-class users, but as we embrace cloud-enabled
technologies we recognize that the enterprise market may not be quite
ready, so we will have to invest a lot of time and money in educating them on
the virtues of the cloud. We also believe our security plan is well suited for
disaster recovery, crisis management and security integration.”
A Degree in Pedigree
As Boethel and Francis began working on their security pedigree, they arrived
at the point of purchasing Securadyne at about the same time.
Prior to starting Securadyne Systems, Boethel was vice president business
unit head for Siemens’ Security Solutions, where he was responsible for all
aspects of organizational leadership, corporate development, profit/loss management,
sales, marketing, operations, finance and strategic planning within
the United States and Canada. While at Siemens, he orchestrated a complete
business turnaround, launched the managed services and integrated systems
businesses and was honored with a “Systems Integrator of the Year” award,
which recognizes the top U.S.-based security systems integrator in the areas
of operational excellence, innovation and customer service.
Prior to his time with Siemens, Boethel held various leadership positions
for NetVersant Solutions, SafirRosetti, Kroll and Schiff & Associates. His corporate
specialties include transformational leadership, strategic planning,
change management, consulting, P&L management, turnarounds, start-ups,
mergers and acquisitions and field operations.Boethel says that Francis brings
a unique bill of services to the table for the company and his background is
equally impressive as a services, product and software expert.
Before joining Securadyne, Francis was the vice president of sales and
marketing at UTC Fire & Security’s global security products group, and was
responsible for the global growth of the company through strategy and execution
of top-line initiatives, emerging markets, M&A and price. He also spent
two years as a product general manager at UTC and was responsible for the
global growth of enterprise product businesses through product development
plans and localized commercial strategies. He also spent time with AMAG
Technology and ADT Security Services.
The two men met while employed at NetVersant Solutions, where Francis
was the vice president of enterprise systems and Boethel ran the security systems
integration business.
A New Vision
“At Securadyne Systems, we view leadership a little differently than most,” Boethel
said. “Our goal is to always lead from the front, whether we’re talking
about the security industry as a whole, technology innovation, project implementation
or compliance.
“Thought leadership is our true passion. We’re in the solutions business
and today’s ever-changing risk landscape necessitates that we help redefine
ways in which risk can be mitigated through security technology.”
Francis said the company is always looking for ways to improve security
solutions and service, which requires that employees constantly re-evaluate
the way the company goes to market, does business, interacts with customers
and develops and trains employees. He said that thought leadership requires
questioning the status quo, thus, the company embraces new and disruptive
technologies, such as cloud computing, and look for ways to leverage them for
the customer’s benefit.
“We’re also passionate about organizational leadership and we invest
heavily in the professional development of our employees,” Francis said. “We
believe that leaders are made, not born, and that key leadership traits, such
as passion, optimism, trustworthiness, honesty and integrity must be exemplified
in every one of our employees. Everyone in our company is a leader,
whether he or she is a technician, a sales executive, a project manager or the
CEO. We all must meet the leadership test every day.”
A Test of Leadership
Securadyne had been percolating as an idea for a couple of years, and thanks
to the economic downturn in 2008, Boethel and Francis delayed their plans
to jump into the security market as a partnership. But, what seemed to be a
disappointment then actually became a boon to business in September 2011,
when final plans were adopted and the business concept was approved.
After completion of the SURV acquisition, Securadyne recruited Chris
Young to serve as the company’s chief financial officer.
Well-schooled in the security industry, Young had been with SourceHOV,
GVI Security Solutions and i2 Technologies. His exposure to the industry also
meant a familiarity as a financial executive with broad experience in all aspects
of finance and accounting.
The company also appointed Taylor Carr as vice president of integration
and business development. Prior to joining Securadyne, Carr had previously
been with Seimens in both sales and leadership capacities, focusing on the
eastern United States. Carr’s role at Securadyne is critical to its mission. He is
responsible for integrating newly acquired companies and for ensuring enterprise-
wide standardization of business practices.
“We are passionate about standards and believe that our laser-like focus
in this area will be a real differentiator for us as we complete nationally with
larger service providers,” Boethel said.
Bringing the leadership all together, Securadyne positions itself as covering
the integration gap between large enterprises and small companies that
operate on a local basis.
“We’re always going to be a really good system integrator,” Boethel said, “but
our approach is a little different than most, and we believe that more changes to
the integrator model await us. The cloud brings with it new ways of solving security
challenges and new ways of creating value for not only the customer but
also the integrator itself, relative to RMR. We view the cloud as an enhancement
to the integrator model, not a wholesale change.”
Train the Troops
One of the most viable and important
offerings to the customer is having a
certified and trained workforce. Boethel
said the Securadyne team will
always have high-level technicians,
required to have expertise and proper
certification before they begin any
particular job. Well-trained technicians
and engineers are a part of doing
things the right way, and serving
the customer.
Like any other successful business,
Securadyne is focusing on several
key vertical markets, including
education, healthcare, petroleum,
energy, pharmaceuticals and the insurance
businesses. As such, they
have to stay tuned into government
regulations, oversight and maintain
security at higher-than-normal
levels, to conform to SOX, HIPPA,
CFATS, NERC, FERC, CIP and other
high-profile mandates.
Because they want to establish
a standard of core responsibilities,
Boethel and Francis are aware that
daily threats are real, and that there
are lots of compliance-related issues
that are part of the security domain.
It’s all part of a judicious growth plan
and part of how the company respects
its growth.
Growth has been constant for
Securadyne, which started with just
Boethel leading the search company
up until the acquisition of SecureNet,
which added approximately 50 employees,
and today more than 150
workers. This is all good news because
as a small business in the United
States today, not one worker was
dismissed. This follows the company
theme of quality growth and better
customer service.
Because of their association with
Pamlico, Securadyne has a financial
partner who views the marketplace
as an opportunity to grow the business,
but to do it responsibly. Pamlico
has a long track record of success
investing behind strong management
teams in the security marketplace
and in a variety of other complimentary
industries.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better
financial partner in Pamlico,” Boethel
said.
“We work collaboratively with
our customers to help ensure that
technology serves a meaningful and
value-added role in securing their
most prized assets,” Boethel said. “In
order to fulfill these objectives, we
have selected the most reliable and
innovative product partners in the
world, and we invest a tremendous
amount of time and money to make
sure systems are installed correctly
and cost-effectively the first time.”
Securadyne officials are proud of
the fact that company executives are
active in their role and dedication to
integration, seeking the qualified talent
and best practices to run the business.
They also want to connect the
dots between their Texas base of operations
and their New England reach.
“Among our core values is the
belief of concerted teamwork and
excellence through standardization,”
Francis said. “There are no exceptions
to ethical and lawful business
behavior.”
This article originally appeared in the January 2013 issue of Security Today.