Walker is new Pinnacle CEO

PROVO, Utah—Signaling Pinnacle Security's move into its next phase of growth, Christopher Munday has stepped down as Pinnacle CEO and Kelly Walker, Pinnacle president, has taken over the reins, the company announced May 10.

“It's good for me and it's good for the company,” Munday told Security Systems News. “Pinnacle is in great shape. Kelly is ready to take over. He knows the industry inside and out and has been groomed for the position. This is a great time to make the change.”

Stepping down as CEO of Pinnacle will enable Munday to “focus exclusively on my role as an operating partner of Golden Gate Capital. We are very committed to building out this platform, making new acquisitions and finding new opportunities.”

Golden Gate, an $8 billion private equity firm, acquired Pinnacle in 2008. As a result of Golden Gate's investment, Pinnacle now keeps and services all of its accounts.

Noting that Pinnacle created 100,000 new accounts in 2009, which represents 60 percent growth over 2008, John Gilligan, partner at Golden Gate Capital, said Pinnacle's next stage is “maturing into a leading, full-service provider in the residential market in the U.S.”

What does that mean? Munday said it involves three components: “the creation, managing and monitoring of accounts.”

While they haven't made an acquisition since last fall, when they acquired Devcon Security, Golden Gate has been actively looking. “We've looked at all the big names that have been bought and sold in the market, and, frankly, all of the smaller names too,” Gilligan said. “We're being selective and are forward-leaning toward building scale in this platform.”

When Golden Gate acquired Devcon, executives said there would be some collaboration between Devcon and Pinnacle. “The two teams meet frequently,” Gilligan said. “Although there's no formal linkage between the two companies besides Chris and myself [Gilligan and Munday serve on both boards] the degree of shared learning is significant.”

What will change for Kelly Walker as new CEO?

“He'll be challenged to focus on high-level strategy and driving the business ahead for the next five years, to manage and motivate a great team—which includes a number of people including a strong COO in Steve Hafen—and we have the ultimate confidence that Kelly has the capabilities and the skillset to exceed expectations,” Gilligan said.

Asked if he had any particular goal in mind for his first summer as CEO, Walker said: “Our team has spent a great deal of time ensuring sound sales practices, and I plan to continue that focus. In addition, we will continue to invest in people, processes, and end user equipment to maximize the satisfaction of our growing base of customers and ensure a best-in-class experience.”

Other executive changes at Pinnacle include the addition of Jeremy Pixton, one of the founders of Platinum Protection, another summer-model company. Walker said Pinnacle is “excited to have Jeremy Pixton as a part of the Pinnacle team. We look forward to seeing him rise up as a leader in the sales organization. We have a very strong executive team. Like any organization, we are always searching for opportunities to strengthen the management and leadership within our company.”