Mike O’Neal, former president of Nortek Security and Control LLC (NSC), has left the home-automation, security and A/V company after eight years in the role. NSC provided no reason for the departure and did not name a replacement, but spokesperson Bill Hensley said in a statement (below) that “a search is now underway for a new leader.”

When O’Neal took the helm in 2011, he presided over Carlsbad, Calif.-based Linear and other Nortek security brands, including security and home-automation pioneer 2GIG, which Nortek acquired in 2013 for $135 million.

Nortek was acquired for $1.4 billion in 2016 by investment firm Melrose Industries. O'Neal was annointed the primary “liaison” between Melrose and the Nortek companies, which included the custom-centric Core Brands group of home automation and A/V companies (formerly AVC group), as well as a strong portfolio of HVAC and indoor air quality solutions.

A key Melrose imperative was to more closely align complementary Nortek units, especially related to security, home control and audio/video. Previously, Linear, 2Gig and the other security and home-automation brands in Carlsbad operated quasi-independenty of the Core Brands companies in Petaluma, Calif.

In 2017, Nortek officially merged the two operations into NSC under the direction of O’Neal (president) and Core Brands president Joe Roberts (EVP NSC).

Since that time, Nortek has worked – pretty much for the first time – to integrate products and resources from the security group (including 2Gig) with the Core Brands empire that includes Elan Home Systems, Niles, SpeakerCraft, Panamax, Xantech and other iconic home-technology brands.

The happy family exhibited under one roof for the first time at CES 2018, where NSC showcased the integration of 2Gig with Elan Home Systems via IP – the first 2Gig integration with any third-party control system. Later that year at ISC West, 2Gig and Elan demonstrated rich integration between 2Gig security, Elan control and Elan’s new IP cameras and networked video recorders.

Meanwhile, NSC has been consolidating e-commerce, education and other business platforms for its security, home-automation and A/V dealers. A new, integrated online portal encompassing a wide range of business and technological functions for the NSC brands was introduced at ISE 2019 in Europe. The demo prompted this author to hail the solution as the “winner of ISE 2019.” CE Pro will feature the new platform later this year.

NSC Brands

The Nortek Security & Control family of brands includes:

Security, Surveillance, Access Control, Automation

• 2Gig
• GoControl
• Linear
• IntelliVision
• Mighty Mule
• Numera
• Linear

Custom Home-Control and A/V (“Core Brands”)

• Elan Home Systems
• Gefen
• Panamax
• Xantech
• Proficient
• SpeakerCraft
• Niles
• Furman
• Sunfire

FLASHBACK 2012: Grant Rummell Reflects on 23 Years Running Nortek CE Brands

PRESS RELEASE

Nortek Security & Control Announces Leadership Change

CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, May 24, 2019 —Nortek Security & Control LLC (NSC), a global leader in wireless security, home automation, access control, and health and wellness technology, today announced that President Mike O’Neal has left the company. According to Bill Hensley, Senior Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, a search is now underway for a new leader.

“All of us on the Nortek team thank Mike for his leadership and contributions over the last 8+ years,” Hensley emphasized. According to Hensley, the Nortek Security & Control senior management team will share responsibilities during the transition. “This leadership team has been instrumental in taking the company to the point where it is accelerating growth with personalized and intelligent security, control and access solutions for our channel partners and their customers,” Hensley said. “With our recent 2GIG^® eSeries and ELAN Intelligent Touch Panel launches, we’re creating exceptional experiences for the markets we serve.”

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