Introducing the SSI Industry Hall of Fame Class of 2022

SSI’s Industry Hall of Fame hails those who have contributed most significantly to the security industry. Cheers to 2022’s inductees!

Introducing the SSI Industry Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Lance Dean | Semi-Retired, Various Advisory Boards

Bio

  • Born in Salt Lake City, in 1963
  • One of three children, father was a salesman and mother a homemaker
  • Married to wife Veronica, with one daughter
  • Has also served as an advisor to Stanley Security and Clare Controls
  • Other security honors include Alarm Suppliers Vendor Rep of the Year (1987), several salesmen of the year awards, Honeywell Global Man of the Year (2005) and multiple Honeywell President Club awards
  • Says if career had taken another path would have gone into the Secret Service
  • Was on an American Airlines flight to New York on 9/11
  • Other interests include golf, boating and traveling

Why He’s on the List

  • Serving the industry since 1982, a trailblazer on the edge of new technologies changing the industry, including Nortek’s Go!Control home automation and security panel and CellBounce wireless alarm signal transmission conversion
  • As young adult, moved to Texas and worked as alarm installer for Westec before hired by a billionaire to protect his family and assets
  • In 1985, hired by SSI Industry Hall of Famer Ben Cornett at Bluegrass Electronics as a regional rep, then spent 25+ years working for C&K Systems (1992) and ADEMCO/Honeywell (1997) managing national accounts
  • In 2009, co-founded 2GIG Technologies (acquired by Nortek in 2013 for $135M) with the late Scott Simon and launched Go!Control in 2010, which won several industry awards
  • 2GIG was a pioneer in self-contained home automation/home security systems, with its panel incorporating a CPU, touchscreen interface, and Z-Wave, cellular, WiFi and 345MHz communication abilities

lance dean

Keys to Success

“Meeting the right people and working hard for my customers helped my success. Ben Cornet was a mentor and I just tried to be like him. He hired me when I was 26 and I spent many years watching and learning from him. Boy, I got lucky meeting him! Relationships will get and keep customers. Learning and watching Todd Pedersen [also a Hall of Famer] and Keith Nellesen at Vivint go from a small industry player to a major player has been inspiring. They took chances, never quit and work hard. I grew up being competitive in sports and rolled that into my business practices. I wanted to be No. 1 in sales every year, so I went the extra miles to get things done. If my customers were looking for a new solution, I did my best to find it for them … or make it.”

Bearing Witness to an Evolution

“In the 1980s, security dealers sold systems for good money, but the industry was small. Then it changed to sell to the masses, and it was low cost down and $29 a month. Then, the door-knockers came and wanted $0 down but $60 a month, but they wanted better products that looked better and had more features. The door-knockers really pushed the manufacturers for better products. 2GIG helped dealers get more RMR with color touchscreens and more features that could be controlled remotely. Now the RMR is lower, and dealers are using consumer financing to pay for the hardware.”

The Path to Industry Innovation

“Many times, innovation comes from smaller or start-up companies. It’s much easier as a start-up or small company to move fast and make things happen. Big companies buy innovating new companies to drive new products and sales in many cases. Over the years, I’ve worked for small companies, start-ups and a huge company, so I understand the reasons the cycle will continue. Working with a start-up is exciting. Presently, hardware and software companies are for the most part separate groups that work with each other. Consolidation between the two can lead to more innovation and better products.”

Wet and Wild in New Orleans

“On New Year’s Eve 1990, George De Marco [also an SSI Industry Hall of Famer] and I traveled to watch the L.A. Rams play the Saints in New Orleans. After the game and a long fun night on Bourbon Street, we stumbled back to our hotel as it began to rain around 2 a.m.

“An hour later, the fire alarm went off and I hear George yelling, ‘Get up! It’s a fire!” And then I smelled the smoke. We all got outside and as it was still raining. We watched across the street as the firetrucks rolled in and put out the fire, which was a few floors up from ours. We were wet and not wearing much since we had just run out of the room. Around 4:30 a.m., the fire chief said it was OK to go back to bed. We left early to airport the next morning without much sleep, but boy did we have a great time in New Orleans!”

Continue to the next page for a profile of Lynn de Seve…

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About the Author

Contact:

Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].

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