Networking works for Executive Electronics

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.—Networking opportunities is a major reason Executive Electronics of Southwest Florida, a long-standing security dealer based here, joined Honeywell's First Alert Professional program.

John A. “Johnny” Minerva, VP of consumer services for Executive Electronics, told Security Systems News that FAP “dealers tend to share more in terms of best practices.”

“There's a dealer in Myrtle Beach that's very similar to us in their size and approach and is a family business, and we can talk to those guys and pick up the phone,” he said. “It's not like we're competing with them; it's actually a sharing atmosphere.”

He said that since joining First Alert earlier this year and talking to other companies, “it's challenging us to think a little bit more about how we utilize and incentivize different employees … I don't know where it will go from all that, but it sparked some good ideas about how to just create an overall better environment for our technicians and service people.”

The history of Executive Electronics dates back nearly 30 years. Minerva said his family has owned it for more than a decade. The company acquired Premier Security about three years ago and now Executive Electronics has approximately 3,000 customers, about 15 employees and has just doubled the size of its office, Minerva said. “We're definitely trying to grow at a reasonable pace,” he said.

The company, which serves Naples and other communities in southwest Florida, is 80-90 percent resi and does everything from alarm systems to home theater, he said. “Ever since we started off, our bread and butter, our core, has been the high-end residential market,” Minerva said.