40 under 40: Veronica Moturi, senior vice president of customer experience, Brinks Home

YARMOUTH, Maine—Veronica Moturi, 36, is the senior vice president of customer experience at Brinks Home, one of the largest smart home security providers in the U.S., based out of Dallas. Find out what inspired her to pursue a career in the security industry, what being a "40 under 40" winner means to her, what appeals to her about the security industry, and more. 

SSN: Describe your roles, duties, and tenure at your current job. 

MOTURI: I started as a customer service phone representative in the home security industry in 2010. In 2012, I joined Brinks Home as a manager of consumer affairs and I’m now the senior vice president of customer experience. My position focuses on transforming the customer support call center through universal agents, career pathing, and learning effectiveness through technology. Outside of these responsibilities, I’m also a sponsor for our Women of the Workplace employee resource group which empowers change against gender-based obstacles while building a safe, strong, and inclusive community within our organization and beyond. I’m an experienced executive in customer strategy and my role allows me to execute initiatives to improve the company's customer lifetime value and customer experience and helps me lead a highly effective team.

SSN: What inspired you to pursue a career in the security industry?

MOTURI: When my husband and I moved back from El Paso, I needed a job. I looked in the paper and found that Broadview was hiring a customer service agent. I got hired making $13.00 an hour and chose to stay in the industry, grow in my career, and grew to where I am today. I chose to stay in the industry and ultimately with Brinks Home because it feels good to be behind a business that provides peace of mind and protects our customers daily. There is nothing more important than that and being a part of a team that is focused on improving the experience of our customers when they need us most.

SSN: What does being named a winner of SSN's 40 under 40 mean to you?

MOTURI: Some of my peers at Brinks Home went to Ivy League schools, but being able to win something like this, without that caliber of an alma mater, and to do it my own way, means the world to me. I have been able to climb from a frontline representative to manager of consumer affairs to senior vice president of customer experience in only 10 years with Brinks Home.

In my role, I work hard to step back and create foundations that not only everyone can build on but can also improve on. It has been rewarding to evolve as a leader and develop new strategies while also empowering and mentoring my team to achieve both professional and personal success. As a young leader, seeing and supporting my team to achieve our company goals while also achieving milestones in their personal lives has been such an amazing and humbling experience. This proves to my direct reports, other leaders that I mentor, and even children that when you dedicate yourself to something, there is nothing that you can’t do regardless of the circumstances.

SSN: As a young leader, what appeals to you about the security industry?

MOTURI: The way the industry is evolving. It’s interesting to see how we are now competing with players like SimpliSafe and Google who were not part of the security industry previously and how that has encouraged us to level up our efforts. Compared to industry standards for old, traditional style security, it is growing into home automation and changing today’s market. At Brinks Home there is never a moment of complacency due to the unlimited opportunity to grow and improve throughout the business. I have a core team that has been with me for the last 10 years, so still seeing them evolve has been rewarding.

SSN: With the hiring, recruitment and retention challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, how can the security industry engage young talent?

MOTURI: We need to create relatable onboarding strategies that focus on engaging new and potential employees. If a candidate loses interest or gets bored with your company, they are not afraid to hop onto the next location.  

We are working to create new ways to shift from the traditional “boring textbook” onboarding of the past and replacing it with hands-on strategies that allow new team members to quickly finish training and start their positions. My goal is to teach others to build on certain skill sets that aren't really in the books and give them the push to develop confidence to grow and evolve in their position.

I'm passionate about team environments where I'm able to build leaders. I love teaching others conflict management, because that's where a lot of leaders get reserved and they're not able to build that skill set.