It has been reported on BusinessWire.com that Eric Fullerton, formerly Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Milestone Systems A/S, has been appointed as Vicon Industries Chief Executive Officer and as a Director of Vicon to succeed Kenneth M. Darby.
SecurityNewsDesk.com spoke exclusively with Jos Svendsen at Milestone to confirm Fullerton’s move away from the company after a decade. Svendson told us that Milestone is thankful for Fullerton’s hard work during his time with the organisation.
“We wish Eric the very best in his new endeavour,” he said, “and we are all grateful for his efforts at Milestone. We were fortunate to have worked with him for so long.”
The BusinessWire.com article reports that Vicon’s Board sought a candidate who could return Vicon to prominence in the video security and surveillance systems market as well as integrate the businesses and operations of Vicon and IQinVision, Inc. following their recently completed merger.
It quotes Julian A. Tiedemann, a Vicon Director as saying, “We had very specific criteria for our new CEO, and we were highly strategic about finding the right person – Eric is that person. No one better understands the market intersection of video management software and HD/megapixel cameras, which he demonstrated during his 10-year tenure at Milestone Systems, the world’s leading provider of open platform IP video management software. Eric has a recognised ability to set strategy, lead teams and drive growth and innovation at the highest level. He is also a natural cultural fit for Vicon. This is a great development for our company.”
Fullerton joined Milestone Systems A/S in 2004. During this time, the company grew from a start-up to an organisation worth $70M in revenue and it was named a Europe Fast 500 company.
“It is a great privilege to be asked to lead Vicon at this important juncture in the company’s history,” BusinessWire.com quotes Fullerton as saying. “I see great opportunities ahead for us by combining IQinVision’s strong brand in HD/megapixel cameras with the long history that Vicon has in video management systems. I look forward to joining this great team.”
This announcement concludes a transition process that began when Darby announced his decision to retire from Vicon in February 2013.
BusinessWire also states in its report that in connection with Fullerton’s appointment Vicon will issue to him an inducement award consisting of up to 600,000 shares of common stock. The shares will be issued in four equal amounts on each of the first four anniversaries of Fullerton’s employment, subject in each case to his continued employment with Vicon on such dates. However, 50,000 shares of the 150,000 shares allocated to the first year of Fullerton’s employment will be issued earlier upon the Vicon Board of Directors’ approval of a restructuring plan for Fiscal Year 2015, to be submitted by Fullerton to the Board within the first ninety days of his employment. The award was made outside of Vicon’s shareholder approved equity incentive plan and was unanimously approved by the independent directors of Vicon’s Board of Directors as an inducement material to Fullerton entering into employment with Vicon, pursuant to Section 711(a) of the NYSE MKT Company Guide.