Tip of the spear, tip of the cap

If James Brown was considered the hardest working man in show business, John Nemerofsky may be the security industry’s equivalent to the “Godfather of Soul.”

To list John’s accomplishments in his more than 25 years in the security industry would take several paragraphs. Instead, let’s focus on John Nemerofsky, the man – one of the hardest-working individuals I have come across in my nearly four years working for Security Systems News.

I’ll start with his role as chief operating officer at SAGE Integration, where he has been a guiding force behind the company’s status as one of the top integrators in the country since joining SAGE in 2019.

I won’t bore you with too many numbers; I’ll just share a few notable figures. In 2023, SAGE Integration grew revenue by 14.6%, EBITDA by 11%, and RMR revenue by 16.7% - impressive numbers to say the least.

In addition, John is extremely involved in the industry serving on SIA’s Board of Directors, leading SIA marketing and engagement efforts, sitting on the board for the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST), working closely with ESA supporting education and membership, and serving on over a dozen PSA committees and its Board of Directors.

John also knows a thing or two about corporate social responsibility. SAGE works with Mission 500 by serving on the board of directors and packing backpacks to help children in Title 1 and Title 9 schools around the country.  Three weeks ago, John traveled down to the Caldwell School in McKinney, Texas, to personally deliver backpacks and school supplies for needy kids just in time for the start of the school year.

Another example of John’s commitment to help those in need took place last year, when he and other Mission 500 volunteers took a trip to Ponce, Puerto Rico, to rebuild homes after the city was devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Just this week, SAGE hosted its Charity Golf Classic in Atlanta to successfully raise enough money for a local police department to cover the cost of training a dog (that will be aptly named SAGE) to join the force.

John is not the type of person who says no when called upon to help or contribute when asked. When I was planning our recent webcast on cyber risk management, I asked John if he would like to be a panelist to get an integrator’s perspective. His response – “It would be an honor.”

Not even 10 minutes after the webcast concluded, John put out a LinkedIn post saying that “Being part of this group of distinguished industry experts was an honor.” That says a lot about John Nemerofsky, the person.

It was an honor to present John and the SAGE Integration team with the Security Systems News/PSA Bill Bozeman Award as Integrator of the Year in May at PSA TEC. The award is a testament to how the integrator treats its customers, while also taking care of its employees, referring to its staff as being the TIP of The Spear! The thesis around this is, “Good companies take care of the customer. Great companies take care of the employee.”

For John Nemerofsky, perhaps the hardest working man in security, it’s all about taking care of others.