Hurley leaves Bosch for water

FAIRPORT, N.Y.--Bosch Security Systems North America finds itself searching for a new president following the unexpected resignation of Shamus Hurley, who'd been in the position since 2005. In the interim, chief financial officer Chris Gerace will assume Hurley's duties. "He's been with the company 10 years," noted public relations manager Anne Insero of Gerace. "He played a big part in the integration of Detection Systems and Phillips with Bosch." Insero couldn't yet say whether Gerace is a candidate as a permanent replacement. "The Board of Management is looking for a successor," she said, "and they want to conduct a very thorough search, though we want somebody in place as soon as possible." In a letter to customers, Uwe Glock, president and chairman of the Board of Management for Bosch Security Systems, wrote that Gerace is prepared "to take on the leadership of Bosch Security Systems during this time of transition" and "we are confident that the leadership team we have in place will deliver the level of service you expect from us." As for Hurley, who originally joined Bosch in 2002 as vice president of sales for North America and was credited with tripling sales in three years, he is now chief executive officer and president of Kinetico, a manufacturer of water treatment systems for the residential, commercial, municipal and industrial markets, which has a dealer program similar to the security industry's. The company is based in Newbury, Ohio, and is owned by Swedish industrial firm Axel Johnson Group. Bosch Security's first North American president was Peter Ribinski, who was promoted in 2005 to serve on the board of Bosch's Power Tool division in Germany.