Mike O’Neal Named Primary ‘Liaison’ Between Melrose Industries and Nortek
Melrose Industries and Nortek security and home automation groups get common leadership under Mike O’Neal after this past year’s acquisition.
Mike O'Neal, who is already president of Nortek Security & Control, will stay in that role while taking on new responsibilities, working with Core Brands president Joe Roberts and GTO leader Doug Waldal.
Editor’s Note: The following story first ran in Security Sales & Integration’s sister publication CE Pro.
Mike O’Neal has been named as the primary “liaison” between Melrose Industries and the Nortek companies it acquired earlier this year: Nortek Security & Control (including the 2GIG brand of home security and home automation), Linear (commercial access controls), GTO (access control), and Core Brands (audio, video and smart-home systems for custom installers).
Melrose, an investment firm and turnaround company based in London, acquired Nortek earlier this year.
O’Neal, who is already president of Nortek Security & Control, will stay in that role while taking on these new responsibilities. Joe Roberts, president of Core Brands, and Doug Waldal, president of Linear’s GTO Access Systems, will report to O’Neal. Core Brands is an umbrella group of custom home-technology brands including SpeakerCraft, Niles Audio, Elan Home Systems, Panamax and Furman.
“Everything will continue to operate as is. For integrators, it means they can look for increased possibilities of crossover products and collaboration between the companies, but it’s business as usual in terms otherwise,” he tells CE Pro. “I am going to be the conduit with Melrose and look for ways to collaborate and find common goals among the various brands so we can realize our potential and offer ultimate performance for the Melrose portfolio.”
Melrose purchased Nortek in July 2016 for $1.4 billion. With annual revenues of about $2.5 billion, Nortek owns leading ventilation brands incuding Broan and Nutone, as well as the mass-market security and home automation company 2GIG. In addition, Nortek owns a slate of audio, video and control companies under the Core Brands umbrella. Those brands, sold through home-technology specialists, include Elan Home Systems, Gefen, SpeakerCraft, Niles, Panamax, Proficient and Xantech.
O’Neal says the new structure is streamlined in that it does not add a layer of new management to the group, while allowing the leaderships teams at Core Brands and Linear/2GIG to focus even more closely on their brands while he acts as the conduit with Melrose.
He noted that Melrose is allowing the brands to “autonomously operate,” adding that the “environment is much different than it was under Nortek.”
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About the Author
Jason Knott
Jason Knott is Chief Content Officer for Emerald Expositions Connected Brands. Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990, serving as editor and publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He joined CE Pro in 2000 and serves as Editor-in-Chief of that brand. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He has been a member of the CEDIA Business Working Group since 2010. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California. Have a suggestion or a topic you want to read more about? Email Jason at [email protected]
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