Attendee Spotlight: Melissa Brinkman, CEO, Custom Alarm

ESX brings together leaders in the electronic security and life safety industry — professionals who are passionate about what they do. Meet Melissa.

Q: What are your day-to-day responsibilities at the company? I drive the vision and culture of the company and focus on overall growth by working with the sales manager and marketing specialist and evaluating other strategic partnerships and acquisitions opportunities.

Q: Why register for ESX? I find a ton of value in participating in this event every year. I truly believe that it is the best industry event as it has a little bit of everything…from networking, to inspiring keynote speakers, to education sessions, to product showcases and walking the show floor, to looking at products and talking to vendors/manufacturers, to recognizing the best of the best with awards, to the opportunity to meet up with the various industry associations and participate in the meetings, to reconnecting with industry friends and meeting new ones. I like the structure of this event and that you can attend whether you know a lot of people or no one at all, and when you leave you will have walked away with a ton of new knowledge and have grown your network.

Q: Are you attending with any team members? Yes, I have two ‘first-timers’ attending from my company.

Q: What are you hoping to get out of the show? We are looking at how we can grow, whether that is organically or through acquisition, while keeping our costs in line.

Q: What do you think is the biggest obstacle and the biggest opportunity facing the industry? The biggest obstacle is still a lack of awareness by customers as to all we can do to help make their lives safer and easier...although, that is also our biggest opportunity.