OUR TEAM

Melissa Brinkman

Chief Executive Officer

Melissa Brinkman grew up in Rochester and is a graduate of Lourdes High School, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Melissa started her career in the security industry after moving back to Rochester in December 1998. Before Custom Alarm, Melissa spent several years in various management positions in the hospitality industry. The decision to relocate back to where Melissa grew up was based on the desire to find a good community in which to raise a family, Rochester was a natural choice.

Since starting in the ‘family’ business in 1998, Melissa has held several positions within Custom Alarm from marketing, to sales manager, business development director, and customer services manager. Most recently she was Chief Operating Officer before Leigh J. Johnson, founder and CEO at the time, announced his retirement and Melissa’s promotion to CEO in February 2014. In the 15 years leading up to her promotion she moved throughout various departments and was committed to learning as much as possible about the security industry and Custom Alarm with a focus on taking care of the customer.

Melissa serves on the boards of directors for Spark, Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. (RAEDI), Lourdes Foundation Inc. (LFI) and Think Bank. She also serves as an advisor with some security industry manufacturers. Melissa previously served on the boards of directors of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce and served as board chair, Olmsted Medical Center Board of Trustees, Sales Tax Extension Steering Committee, Journey to Growth, Minnesota Children’s Museum. United Way Emerging Leaders, and the United Way Campaign Cabinet.

Melissa received the Mayor’s Medal of Honor- Community-Wide Service in 2013, was recognized as 10 Who Make a Difference in 2012, Rochester Chamber Volunteer of the Year 2008 and named as one of the 5 Extraordinary Women by Rochester Women Magazine in 2009.

In her spare time, Melissa enjoys going to concerts, traveling, photography and spending time with her two kids.

Time at Custom Alarm: 26 years

What do you like about Custom Alarm?

The people that work here and our customers. Everyone is like family here and truly care about the customer which makes it enjoyable to come to work each day.

What do you like about what you offer to Custom Alarm customers?

I believe we offer innovative, customized solutions to our customers. I really like how we can design and install interactive security systems to make peoples' lives easier, more convenient, and safer leveraging technology.

What do you enjoy most about working with our customers?

Helping our customers find ways to make their lives easier and safer knowing we are here to help them, no matter what. 

What makes Custom Alarm the right partner for customers?

We are a local, family-owned and operated security integration company with an awesome team committed to our customers, the community, and the safety of everyone. We live and work here and have a personal interest in ensuring our customers are happy and taken care of properly. We are proud to be active in the community and supporting local businesses and our customers and are committed to doing what is right.