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Guardsmark founder Ira Lipman passes away

Ira Lipman

Ira Lipman, founder of security firm Guardsmark, has passed away at age 78.

A native of Little Rock, Ar., Lipman founded Guardsmark in 1963 and sold the company to Universal Protection Services (a predecessor of Allied Universal) in 2015. According to a statement from Allied Universal, at the time of sale, Guardsmark generated annual revenue of more than US$500 million and employed 17,000 security personnel in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Lipman served as an observer to the Allied Universal board of managers following the sale.

During his career, Lipman was active in many philanthropic endeavours, authored books on safety and security, and served in leadership positions for several industry associations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

“Ira Lipman was a widely-respected leader of our industry for over 50 years,” said Steve Jones, CEO of Allied Universal, in a statement. “His unwavering commitment to quality and professionalism has had a wide-spread impact on the security industry. I am appreciative of his advice and guidance during his association with Allied Universal. We extend our sincerest sympathies to the entire Lipman family and to all Ira’s friends and colleagues.”