Presidential change for UTC Fire & Security

FARMINGTON, Conn.—When Scott Buckhout became president of UTC Fire & Security in March, his job as president of Global Fire Products became vacant.

In May, the company, which is based here, announced that Mark Barry has now stepped into that position.

Barry joined UTC Fire & Security in 2010 through the acquisition of GE Security. He has spent more than 20 years in the security and life safety industry, including senior leadership positions at Tyco, ADT, and most recently at GE Security, according to a company press release.

In an email interview, Barry was asked about the impact of the change in senior leadership on dealers and installers in North America.

“Our dealer/installer channels across the product lines have been very successful and we will continue to support them as we always have,” he told Security Systems News. “As I look at the rest of 2011 and beyond, our focus will be on driving a more customer-centric organization. To grow the business, it is absolutely imperative that we listen to our customers, and ensure that they have a positive experience each time we interact with them. The dealers/installers have direct contact with the end-users, some on a regular basis, and are an integral part of our strategy to create a customer-focused organization.”

When it comes to goals, Barry said, “Over time, I'd like to drive synergies across the businesses more naturally and offer our customers a seamless way to select our products for a total solution that can solve needs for detection, suppression, and firefighting.  We do this well in many parts of the world today and I want to take it to the next level of integration.”

Buckhout in a statement said, “Mark's deep industry and global experience positions him well to assume this critical leadership role in our fire products business. Mark's responsibility for Global Fire Products includes 27 factories and significant operations in North and South America, Western Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.”

UTC Fire & Security is a unit of United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford. Conn.