Jacquelyn Davies has gained expertise in almost every area of professional security, from alarm monitoring to integration to representing or working directly with some of the biggest brands in the business.
She has taken some wisdom and knowledge from each of those experiences during her almost 30 years in the security industry, but there’s a common thread throughout. “I’ve always thought that protecting people and assets is important,” she says. “We’re not just selling products, we’re selling peace of mind. What I’m doing is protecting people and making their lives safer.”
Davies came to security in the mid-1990s as a sales rep with Silent Witness, a B.C.-based CCTV company that became part of Honeywell through acquisition in 2003. Through the 90s and early 2000s, she worked with a variety of companies including Paladin Security, AlarmGuard with husband Ken Hall, then LRG North, the Canadian division of the manufacturer’s rep firm LRG based in Texas.
Davies stepped into the product world full-time as Canadian sales manager for On-Net Surveillance Systems Inc. (OnSSI) before moving over to Bosch Security Systems eight years ago and is currently vice-president of sales for Canadian operations.
Davies says that each new experience represents a learning curve, particularly as the technology has evolved over the years. Working with a well-known brand like Bosch also means she has fostered relationships and partnerships with people and organizations throughout the security ecosystem, including distributors, integrators and end users.
While the security industry still needs to take some strides towards inclusivity and attracting newcomers, Davies says she has found it to be a welcoming and supportive environment.
The Canadian security market in particular is a tightknit community, and Davies has established herself as an integral member. “That’s part of the beauty of [it]. You really meet everybody,” she says. “I’ve always felt at home in the industry.”
In addition to serving a higher purpose of protecting people through the provision of security solutions and services, Davies says the market has also proven itself to be remarkably robust — both in terms of its economic viability and ability to sustain professionals with rewarding careers. “It has a lot of integrity and it has a lot of good people,” she says.
As someone who has taken on a variety of leadership roles in her career, Davies says she’s in a position to give back and pass along some wisdom and encouragement. Her exposure to different aspects of security also means she has developed an informed and well-rounded view of how the business operates.
“I’ve gone through a transformation of developing my own sales skills and learning how to develop people and bring out the best in them,” she says.
Over the years she has been involved in security, she has seen it grow in technical sophistication (she started off in 90s selling videotape changers) and develop a more cohesive ecosystem, with effective partnerships between hardware and software vendors. End users are also asking the right questions and their technical knowledge and appreciation has developed to a very high standard. Davies says most of her interactions today, outside of her company and team, are with this group.
“Now I spend most of my time with end users,” she says. “I don’t want to sell you product, I want to understand what kind of pain you’re having and how I can help you fix that. If I can’t, then I’ll put you in the direction of someone who can. It’s really an evolution of how we’ve done business.”
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