“40 under 40” Class of 2019 — Matthew Brandon, 36

After purchasing his first home in 2010, Matthew Brandon realized the importance of owning a security system. He did some research, spoke with a friend in the industry and saw a post on LinkedIn for a sales representative position with Telguard. “I applied, interviewed and accepted the position,” Brandon said, adding that his interest in the industry grew through a strong network of association members, clients and colleagues that resulted in a career change to AvantGuard. For five years, Brandon has worked at AvandGuard identifying, developing, training and growing customer partners in the North American wholesale central station space by engaging in project management and developing, expanding and maintaining partnership opportunities.

Brandon has recently observed alarm companies trying to change their identity. “They're forming new divisions to specialize in DIY, commercial fire, home automation and PERS, incorporating services like AI to text notifications or phone app capabilities to support the importance of dispatching real alarm events,” he explained. “Video verification also continues to improve through better analytics; PERS dealers are offering complete wellness packages, security included; and strategic partnerships are becoming more common to accomplish the same customer-focused goals.”� Automation is exciting to Brandon as he has “seen security go form a commodity to something straight out of an old Jetson's episode,” he said, “where homes/business owners show more enthusiasm toward automating.” He identified the smartphone and tech giants entering the space as the reason for the industry embracing change, and to continue evolving and innovating.

Thinking in terms of generations, “my generation and the one behind want to work for a brand that has a great culture and shows promise for upward mobility and advancement,” Brandon said. “Make your brand unique, create a vision of all opportunities, and identify technology and future success stories.”