New VP looks to expand Mace CS' footprint nationwide

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Mace Central Station has seen its share of change in the past three years, including the acquisition of CSSS, a shift in CEOs and the recent departure of Morgan Hertel as vice president and general manager. As Hertel's successor, Michael Joseph sees an opportunity and a challenge: instill continuity in the company's operations and leverage the Mace name to expand nationwide.

Joseph was appointed to his new position on Aug. 1 and is “getting up to speed quickly,” he told Security Systems News. He has more than 30 years of industry experience and for the past 10 years served as VP of operations for SentryNet, an independent central station.

“I'm real familiar with the business and happy to be on board with Mace,” he said. “It's an opportunity to step up and really make a difference for a growing company. I think Mace CS on the whole is well known out West, but the chance to grow another company nationally is appealing to me.”

Joseph said he was aware of the recent changes at Mace CS and that it had probably been a difficult period for employees and customers (Hertel, who is now VP of operations for Rapid Response, left Mace in March). Joseph also said that although he was still in the early stages of evaluating operations here, it was clear Mace CS has an excellent staff.

“There are some extremely talented people and wonderful skill sets,” Joseph said. “I think they were kind of looking for somebody to pull everything together and give them some direction and continuity.”

Part of Joseph's plan will focus on using the presence of the parent company, Mace Security International, to expand the footprint of Mace CS. The UL-listed wholesale central station has about 70,500 accounts and 490 dealer clients across the United States.

“I think one of the things that we want to do … is to leverage the Mace name and find some synergies between the different products of Mace Security International and Mace Central Station and package those to offer our dealers a little bit of a competitive advantage in the marketplace,” Joseph said.

Mace Security International is a provider of electronic surveillance and personal defense products that are marketed under the Mace name.

John McCann, president and CEO of Mace Security International, praised Joseph's experience and expertise in the industry. In addition to SentryNet, he has held management positions at Brinks Home Security, Honeywell, Protection 1 and Interface Security Systems.

“I feel with the addition of Michael Joseph and the recent promotions of Michael Kallio [VP of business development] and Jason Pak [operations manager], the central station is well positioned to thrive and grow now and in the future,” McCann said in a prepared statement. “We have added a strong player to a great team.”