Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40004
10 NEWS www.securitysystemsnews.com SEPTEMBER 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS Capital One is new entrant in security finance market By Martha Entwistle ST. LOUIS, Mo.—There were two separate, but related announce- ments in the world of security finance. Will Schmidt has taken over the role of managing director of CapitalSource, and three Capi- talSource executives—Bill Polk, Tom Pagnani and John Robuck— have left CapitalSource to head up a new security lending group at Capital One. Schmidt joined CapitalSource Lenel_Choice_SSN_08.11.pdf 1 7/11/2011 4:59:36 PM as part of the 2004 SLP Capital acquisition. He started his career at CapitalSource as a loan officer. He has served in several roles over the past seven years, most recent- ly as director and business devel- opment officer in the Security Lending Group. "This is a great opportunity to take over the reins and con- tinue the leading security practice in the U.S.," he said. In his new role, Schmidt will develop new Will Schmidt client relationships and structure, underwrite and fund transactions within the security and govern- ment services markets. Capital- Source does most of its business in the $10 million to $50 million range "to security businesses with a large RMR component." It also does loans in the homeland secu- rity/government services business. In the past couple of years, it began loaning in the $1 million to $10 million range. CapitalSource will make loans in this range for "well- established companies and people we know well," Schmidt said. Schmidt expected to announce additional members of his team soon. "CapitalSource has been lending in the security space for seven years," he said. "It is very high priority for senior manage- ment ... they know what a great asset class this is and they're excited and supportive. As we continue to move ahead, we don't intend to miss a beat." Former CapitalSource manag- ing director Bill Polk is now Capi- tal One's managing director secu- rity, defense technology. His long- time colleagues, John Robuck and Thomas Pagnani, have joined him at Capital One. "Capital One has targeted the security industry as a very attractive place to play in a significant way," he said. Capital One will be able to offer the securi- ty industry "a set of financial prod- ucts and services that will be very attractive to the security industry." And, bottom line, it means more capital for the industry. Capital One is "not just looking at the security monitoring sector; it's looking at the whole expanse of the security industry," Polk said. That includes: physical securi- ty—traditional burg, fire, access, video; the homeland security and disaster recovery market that's emerged since 9/11 and Katrina; and public safety—in particular private sector companies that pro- vide goods and services to public- safety entities such police, fire, EMS and corrections. "Capital One has the platform to work within and across all the different sectors in the security industry," Polk said. "The team that joined Capital One has deep and longstanding experience in the security market. When you mix that with Capital One's strong balance sheet, financial services, and back office processing capa- bilities, that's a powerful cocktail of things to offer the industry." SSN ASIS Continued from page 9 The conference keynote speak- ers are Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, and Vicente Fox, for- mer president of Mexico. Bush, who now heads his own consulting firm and is chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, will speak on Sept. 20, at 8 a.m., while Fox will address attendees at 8 a.m. on the 21st. Burt Rutan, an entrepreneur and aerospace engineer who was Inc. magazine's 2004 "Entrepreneur of the Year," will address the closing luncheon on Thursday. SSN