Jack Doyle, fifth-generation CEO, guides ever-evolving, century-old family business | Profile

Jack Doyle always knew he would, at some point, end up working for the family business.

The only real questions were a: when, and b: in what role.

But before he could take on any responsibilities within the company, he first needed to prove himself elsewhere. Family members wouldn’t just be given a job at Doyle Security Systems because their name was Doyle.

“My father (John G. Doyle Jr.) established some ground rules for having a position within the company,” Jack Doyle said. “A long-standing rule was simply that you had to have experience outside of the company if you intended to come work for the company.

“And then further to that, you have would have to be qualified for a position that is available. A position would not be created for you.”

That’s why, following completion of his undergraduate degree in business management from St. Bonaventure University in 2006, Doyle ventured off on a career outside of the alarm and monitoring sector. He worked in sales for a company in Syracuse; then, in 2012, founded his own corporate apartment rental business in Washington, D.C.

Those endeavors provided the proper foundation for Doyle to return home and join Doyle Security, the Henrietta-based provider of integrated security management products and services.

He was hired in 2017 as a business development and marketing agent, spearheading marketing campaigns while also managing an inside sales team, advertising spend and marketing strategy.

In 2021, he became a division president, overseeing integrated systems and support services, and then, in January of 2023, he was named successor to his father as CEO, officially taking the reins of the 104-year-old company on July 1.

“I always admired my dad, the reputation he had in the community, everything he was able to accomplish and the sense of pride seeing our name in the community,” Doyle, 39, said. “Growing up I just admired it. I knew I wanted a career in business and, ultimately, I wanted to go work in the family business.”

Now that he’s back as the fifth-generation CEO, he’s intent on plotting sensible growth but also determining how to ensure sustainability and remain family owned and operated for the next 100 years.

“I always tell people internally that I feel very lucky to be in this position at this time,” Doyle said. “We have a model that works, and we have a senior leadership team with virtually no turnover; some very sharp, talented people who have been doing this for a long time, who are incredibly reliable.”

Which means there is stability, not chaos or crisis.

“Usually when you’re coming in as a CEO, you’re doing that because there’s some type of turnover; there’s something that needs to change internally,” Doyle said. “For us, I’ve got a lot of time and runway to figure out what our next step is as a company.

“Right now, we have a great system that has seen us grow conservatively over the last 15, 20 years, and it’s a model that we don’t need to deviate from anytime soon.”

The time between graduation from college and his return to Rochester provided Doyle with a chance for personal growth and the development of business acumen. It also allowed him to meet his future wife, Jill — while they were watching their beloved Buffalo Bills on TV.

“I met my wife at a Bills bar — then the Laughing Man Tavern — in Washington,” he said. “She’s from Webster and also was working in Washington.”

They dated, got engaged and then realized they both wanted to return home.

“We knew we wanted to raise a family in Rochester,” he said. “I love Rochester, I love this community. And there’s this desire to give my kids a similar experience to what I experienced.”

He also had completed the requisite outside learning, something his three younger siblings also needed to do. His oldest sister, Alexandra Justis, is the company’s director of marketing and engagement. Younger brother Eric Doyle is regional sale manager. And youngest sister Chloe Doyle is executive assistant and human resources specialist.

“I don’t think it is very common that people have set rules to enter a family business,” Justis said. “We’re both involved in a lot of peer groups with other family businesses and it doesn’t seem like it’s super common. I feel like our dad made a really big point to create a lot of different strategies to preserve family harmony and that was one of them.”

His father hasn’t gone anywhere, either. He’s now executive chairman, managing the board of advisors and acquisition activity. He had Jack meet weekly or biweekly and the leadership transition has been smooth. Long-time customers, of course, expected nothing less.

“You can tell a lot about a company by who’s in charge,” said Trevor Holly, president of Sage Rutty & Co. Inc., the Brighton-based financial services firm. “When you get people with such high character, it’s no surprise the company continues to have success.”

That success included some pretty significant growth. In the past five years, Doyle has more than doubled its employee base (from 80 to 205) and recurring monthly revenue (from $800,000 to $1.8 million). They’re ranked 23^rd in the nation among security firms, and No. 1 among those based in New York.

In terms of clients, the mix is about 60/40 in terms of residential vs. commercial. In terms of revenue, the split is similar, but with the commercial side bringing in more dollars.

“Our sweet spot is in that small- to medium-sized business category,” Doyle said.

Customers rely on Doyle for video surveillance, intrusion and fire alarm systems, and maintenance and inspections. That’s quite a change from 1919, when John A. Doyle founded Doyle Detective Bureau. Over the next two decades, they added uniformed patrol and armored car services.

But as client needs changed, so did Doyle. The armored guard division was sold in 1999. Now it’s all about monitoring and technology. About 20 percent of the workforce is based in Rochester, as is the 24/7 Emergency Response Center. They remain a trusted partner for thousands of households and businesses across New York, but especially those in the Rochester area.

“We’re a community bank and we prefer to keep as many of our vendor relationships within the local community as possible,” said Megan Antonitto, vice president, risk management, for Genesee Regional Bank. “A big reason we made the switch to Doyle is that, with our previous vendor, we weren’t feeling that partnership that Doyle gives us .

“And that’s important to us. They not only protect the business assets, but they also protect employees and customers.”

Doyle is building similar relationships in other regions of the state as well, including the Catskill Region through the 2019 acquisition of CIA Security, headquartered in Fishkill (Dutchess County).

“It’s been hugely successful for us,” Doyle said, “but scary at the time: ‘If this goes wrong, that’s a huge problem.’ That acquisition came with two brick and mortar branches (in Fishkill and Catskill) and they are two of our best performing markets. They’re wonderful communities that we have really enjoyed getting to know.”

Acquisitions will be a key to continued growth in the near future, but they will be measured.

“We are going to stay family held,” said Doyle, a 2022 honoree in the Rochester Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 awards. “That means that for us to fund activities like acquisitions or big advertising campaigns … we’re going to have to do it through traditional funding mechanisms.

“We maintain a generally conservative posture when it comes to financing so we know there are only so many investments we can make.”

The ideal target: A security firm with a similar customer base (generally in the 1,000 to 5,000-account range), has similar cultures and values and is located within Doye’s geographic footprint.

“One of the things that has worked well for us (with acquisitions) is our reputation,” Doyle said. “We’re retaining almost all of the employees, we’ve treated their customers well, we’ve agreed to certain terms like we won’t change your rates for a defined period and we’ll do welcome calls to each customer.

“People hear about that in the industry within New York State and they know this is a place they can go to find an exit strategy for themselves and also have a great landing spot for their customers and employees.”

Such dedication to quality comes from the very top. Doyle Security strives to be a great place to work, which, in turn, leads to high-end customer care.

“A lot of it is his vision and his leadership, knowing his employees are the foundation that company sits on, and you can see that when their people come out,” Antonitto of Genesee Regional Bank said.

While Doyle looks to grow, other security conglomerates will be eyeing Doyle. The security and monitoring industry has become a prime target for private equity groups.

“It seems out of control how many inquiries we get,” Doyle said. “Since I’ve taken on this title, I get them weekly and sometimes daily. But we are very committed to keeping this closely held to the family and keeping this within the family. The four siblings purchased majority stock in the company in 2022. We’ve moved mountains to make this transaction happen and we’re working extremely hard to make it successful.

“I have no intention of going anywhere and I know my siblings feel the same way. We know there’s an opportunity for growth for this business with our model and our vision, so we’re just too excited about that to think about anything else. We’re not selling.”

Instead, Doyle is trying to envision what the next iteration of the family firm could be.

“We can’t grow organically more than 4 or 5 percentage points a year,” he said. “For any business owner, that’s a challenge. We need to find a way to boost that. That’s been difficult to do in this industry for anyone.

“My next mission is to figure out, once these acquisition opportunities cease to be viable or just dry up, what is the next chapter for Doyle. I’m spending a lot of time with our senior leadership team thinking about that, trying to understand the direction that’s going to lead us to more organic growth.”

Considering Doyle Security Services started as a detective agency, who knows what’s next. The ability to adapt is one reason the company is 104 years old.

“We have come and gone through many different security-oriented versions of our mission since our founding,” Doyle said. “We didn’t start as a security alarm firm; we started a private detective company. Then we got into guards and armored cars and facilities management and private investigations, lie detector tests.

“We try to stay true to our founding mission, but maybe that means we branch out into something else, another bold new sector that we haven’t totally envisioned yet. I wouldn’t say that’s out of the question. To me that’s a big one, trying to figure out what we’re going to do in the future to keep growing and staying relevant in a wildly changing market.”

[email protected]/(585) 653-4020

Jack Doyle

Title: CEO of Doyle Security Services.

Age: 39.

Education: B.S. in business management from St. Bonaventure University in 2006.

Family: Wife, Jill; sons Eli, 6, and Owen, 5; daughter Juliette, 3.

Hobbies: Travel, watching the Buffalo Bills.

Quote: “I always ask, ‘How long have the other companies you’re considering been around?’ We’ve been around for 104 years. These other companies you’re considering may have been bought and sold several times over. Are they still going to be the same company 12 months from now, 24 months from now? We have a track record; they don’t.”