I hope that you all managed to enjoy your Easter, sun one day and snow the next? That’s what we got in Surrey! So; lockdown restrictions are staring to lift; let us hope this is the last time, so we can all get back out there again.
Anyway let’s get stuck into that gossip that I know you so love and may I start with Mike Tolley, who has told me that he is leaving Gratte Brothers at the end of April and starting with an American IoT company called Quanergy in May. He told me: “I am going to lead the growth in UK, Ireland and Nordics. They have a security vertical for their LiDAR sensors so am trying to get early approval to attend all of your ST events. I will definitely be at The Belfry as it will be great to see everyone. My new boss was the Germany Country Manager for Anixter.” Mike of course was at Hikvision for a few years and prior to that was with Cogent for some 15 years. He even did two years with Dedicated Micros having left the police in 2000. Not many of you will know but Mike worked on Sea Harriers as a weapons engineer so I would think working with sensors will be a breeze for him. We wish you luck, Mike.
Whatever happened to Scott Douglas you may ask. He has taken a couple of years out, been making babies and moved to Newcastle but is returning to the industry this month. Scott is joining Jamie at Suprema to launch a new product called AirFlow that they are bringing to market. You may recall that Scott was ex-Norbain as was Jamie, but helped Shaun Bowie build up DVS until they sold to a management buy-out some years ago. Scott told me that he will be at The Belfry and all the ST shows in fact and is looking forward to getting back into the industry and meeting up with you all once again. So welcome back Scott.
LenelS2 is joining Zitko Talent, an alliance for developing new engineering talent for the fire and security industry. The company will be contributing its CPD courses to the syllabus, along with training and accreditation in LenelS2’s OnGuard and NetBox solutions for the staff of its registered VAR network. Zitko partners include the FIA (Fire Industry Association), Skills for Security, CDVi and manufacturers such as Texecom, Suprema and 360 Vision Technology. Zitko MD George Zitko says: “LenelS2’s technological innovation is legendary and they’re well known for the quality of the training and education they provide to their VARs. “My thanks especially to Mark Staples at LenelS2, for his enthusiasm and support in making this a reality.” Launched in 2020, Zitko Talent is a 12-month programme of employer-hosted work experience, technical education and accredited manufacturer training; for graduates, engineers from other sectors and career-changers, with programmes personalised to the needs of trainees and host employers.
Tim Newton joins Boltonshield as Head of Operations, North-West Europe. Adam Baneth, CEO, said: “Having spent over ten years as a cyber-security adviser, Tim brings a wealth of experience to our organisation and will help UK businesses to become more secure against ever increasing volume of cyber-threats.” Tim said: “I am very happy to be involved with such a vibrant and enthusiastic team and I look forwards to helping smaller UK companies to become more secure in their daily business life. Our Swiss cyber security services shield organisations against blackmail, ransomware and financial loss. Our Next-Gen Security Operations Centre, augmented with Artificial Intelligence technology, enables us to protect your corporate assets wherever they are vulnerable or exposed to the threat of an attack, while our penetration testing services, founded by a veteran team of dedicated ethical hackers, ensure that your company’s IT systems and web/mobile applications are thoroughly tested against malicious attacks. We find the vulnerabilities before someone more sinister does.”
In brief: let us congratulate Richard Lack who has become the chief revenue officer for an analytics company called Cazana. I first met Richard when he worked for Ipsotek in 2006. An unusual job title Richard!? Natalie Freakley has joined Fenix Monitoring, the alarm receiving centre, as company secretary; Stacey Adams joins Apollo the fire detectors firm as marketing development manager; also Glenn Cameron has been promoted to Apollo Chapter President at BNI Birmingham, Coventry and Black Country. And John Hartley joins Security Dynamics (Europe) ltd as their Northern Area Sales Manager.
Oprema have spent a lot of time and money creating a new website which is, I believe, now live. They tell me it features some key USPs, such as: it is a fully integrated e-commerce site with pricing that will always be up to date. Designed for multiple company users with customised permissions for sub-users such as credit limits. It has been streamlined for ordering with favourite items and CSV input. It offers remote support for you (their customer, will feature case studies, plugins and downloads. And is your one stop shop with ordering 24/7, and has thousands of live products and more to come … worth a look I would say!
