UCC appoints former CVS security czar to lead business development

SAN ANTONIO—United Central Control, a wholesale monitoring company based here, has hired James Beaty, formerly the general manager of central station operations at pharmacy giant CVS, to lead its business development initiatives.

In previous jobs, Beaty helped develop in-house security systems and vetted new technology at both CVS and Autozone.

At UCC, his hiring could signal some new avenues of business for the wholesale monitoring company, like telehealth, and expand some product lines already in place, such as PERS devices, Mark Matlock, senior vice president of marketing and sales, told Security Systems News.

“One thing about third-party contract central stations is that we are constantly being approached by new technology [vendors],” Matlock said. “As VP of sales and marketing, it's been my job to do technological evaluations, but now [Beaty] is going to take that on.”

Beaty's background makes him a strong candidate to lead the company's PERS and telehealth push. While at CVS, Beaty oversaw the implementation of PERS devices through virtually every phase, doing the vetting and testing, and coordinating the devices with CVS' in-house central station. “He's got some good PERS experience and some ideas on how to come to market with PERS in a little bit different way,” Matlock said.

Beaty himself says working for one of the largest retail pharmacies in the U.S. puts him in a good position to take on a project like telehealth, which, while distinct from PERS, shares some of the same characteristics. Beaty worked on similar projects at CVS, but because such products did not fit within the pharmacy giant's core business model, they were not taken on.  “But the research I did to develop those products I'm now using for UCC,” he said.

At both CVS and Autozone, Beaty helped implement proprietary, UL-listed central stations, a process that involved tailoring in-house security systems to the needs and requirements of each company. That aspect of his proprietary security experience, coupled with his status as a founding member of the proprietary council for the CSAA, also fit well within UCC's goal of expanding its dealer base.

“We as a company would like to convert proprietary monitoring to wholesale monitoring, so [Beaty] gives us a lot of insight on how to approach a business about giving up their monitoring and coming to us through our dealers or directly,” Matlock said.

Beaty added that UCC's focus has “always been to grow dealers, so dealers come to them not just for monitoring but for things they can't get other places. That's what I intend on helping them do.”