Protos Leadership
Protos Security Names Mark Hjelle Chief Executive Officer
Seasoned National Services CEO Brings Deep Strategic, Operational and Technology Background
October 26, 2022
NORWALK, CT – Security Services Holdings, LLC (dba Protos Security), the leading technology-enabled managed services platform in North America delivering an integrated suite of physical and technology-based security services to commercial customers, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Mark Hjelle as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective immediately.
Protos Security, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, has experienced strong double-digit organic growth over the last several years. By leveraging the national managed security services platform it has built, Protos delivers data-driven, high-quality security solutions and provides customers with a unique model which delivers better outcomes than traditional security guarding and off-duty police companies.
Protos’ proprietary software platform is supported by an ongoing investment in innovation and its technology platform enables the success of its customer base across a rapidly growing number of end markets. Protos has also added tremendous capabilities through its acquisition strategy including the largest off-duty police officer network in North America, several best-in-class self-perform guarding businesses and more recently a cutting-edge remote video monitoring service.
“Mark has tremendous experience in building and scaling national businesses and does so with a keen focus on leveraging technology while creating a highly engaged and aligned company culture,” stated Andy Levison, Managing Partner at Southfield Capital. “It became clear that now is the right time for a leader with Mark’s experience to join the Protos team as his strategic guidance coupled with a continued investment in the software platform will further accelerate the growth of Protos. We’re confident that Protos’ innovative approach will continue to position it as a leader in the security space.”
Mr. Hjelle commented, “I am excited to join Protos at this stage of growth where there is so much opportunity to serve customers across all verticals such as logistics, distribution, high tech, retail, financial services and manufacturing. The technology-enabled managed services provider model has not been offered to these customers before. It is also clear to me that Southfield Capital, the management partners who have joined Protos, and the Protos executive team all share an aligned vision of what can be accomplished with an unrelenting focus on the customer. Protos customers and vendor partners alike are experiencing a differentiated and unique model that is unparalleled and the momentum in the business and the trajectory is simply tremendous. It is an honor and a privilege to be joining Protos as CEO and I look forward to engaging with my Protos colleagues and our clients to continue to forge our path forward.”
Mr. Hjelle is an experienced Chief Executive Officer and Board Member who has led large, private equity backed national business/facilities services firms for nearly 25 years delivering strong top-and-bottom-line growth while building high-performing teams with strong culture. Most recently, Mark was CEO for CSC ServiceWorks, a $1.2 billion B2B2C provider of technology-enabled consumer services where he led the development of a proprietary digital platform leveraging IOT, artificial intelligence and machine learning that enabled consumer-driven revenue growth and services extensions. Prior to CSC, Mr. Hjelle was President of Brickman/Valleycrest (nka Brightview Holdings (NYSE: NV)) a $2.5 billion national provider of exterior landscape and snow removal services where he led over 20,000 team members across 250 branch offices. Over the course of his 18-year tenure at Brickman, Mr. Hjelle held numerous leadership positions in operations, finance and business development. Mr. Hjelle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania and a Law Degree from Case Western Reserve School of Law.
About Protos Security
Protos Security, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, is a technology-enabled security services company offering security guarding, off-duty police, monitoring and device solutions for a wide spectrum of customers across North America. Protos Security prides itself on delivering a high touch service, actionable insights, transparency and program flexibility for its clients. For more information on Protos Security, please visit www.protossecurity.com.
About Southfield Capital
Southfield Capital is a private equity firm that invests in exceptional, growing lower middle market companies in the outsourced business services sector. Southfield targets companies with $4-15 million in EBITDA and partners with owners and management teams that are enthusiastic about scaling their operations through a combination of organic and acquisition growth strategies. For more information on Southfield Capital, please visit www.southfieldcapital.com.
Contact Information
Alyssa Wilson
(203) 941-4707
awilson@protossecurity.com
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