Mace has a new, new CEO

Mace Security announced December 19 that John J. McCann will take over as CEO of the company on January 3. Michael Smith, the current “interim” CEO “has notified the Company that he will resign as interim Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company effective January 2, 2012.” The 8K says that Mace was conducting a search for a CEO during the pendency of Smith, but there was no “interim” in front of Smith's CEO title when he was appointed back in August to replace outgoing CEO Dennis Raefield. Here's a story about that transition.

McCann comes from outside the security world, having spent his career in the consumer products industry. That background would seem to make sense, given the company's stated goal of growing its personal defense spray division (its consumer products division). (It also has a monitoring business and a security products business.) Most recently McCann was president and CEO of Fitness Quest, Inc., a privately owned company that distributes and markets home exercise and fitness products. Before that, he was president and CEO of Saeco USA, Inc., a privately owned company that distributes and markets coffee brewing appliances.

Richard A. Barone, Mace's Chairman of the Board, said in a prepared statement: “In August, Mace received funding through a rights offering to shareholders and an investment by Merlin Partners, LP. With the funding from the rights
offering and the right sizing of the Company under the leadership of Mr.Smith, Mace enters 2012 with a strong working capital position, virtually nodebt, and a management team focused on achieving profitability and shareholder
value.”