Security Environmental’s Co-Founder Leaves the Firm

Jonathan Grossman has resigned from Security Environmental Systems Inc., the environmental services company he helped create. The Thursday announcement came two days after his brother, co-founder Stephen Grossman, announced his resignation from the company’s board of directors.

The brothers, along with their father, Alfred Grossman, had run the Huntington Beach company for the past 20 years. Alfred Grossman, who had his annual salary reduced from $125,000 to $60,000 earlier this week, still sits on the board of directors. At the same time, Jonathan Grossman had agreed to a 28% annual pay cut to $90,000 a year.

Ellen Batzel, Security Environmental’s president, said the Grossman brothers agreed “to get out of the way and let the new management take over. . . . They don’t have the skills to the take the company to where it should be in the growth cycle.”

In addition to Batzel, a new chief financial officer has recently been appointed and the company is currently searching for a new chief operating officer.

Jonathan Grossman, 39, was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment. Albert Grossman declined to be interviewed.

Terms of Jonathan Grossman’s severance package were not released and Batzel said that he has not announced his plans.

Stephen Grossman, 43, has said he will continue as a consultant to the company’s bio-medical waste program, which it plans to restart in New Mexico this year, according to Batzel.

All the changes signify the corporate officers’ commitment to make Security Environmental more responsive to the company’s shareholders. “We think it is working,” Batzel said. “The company’s stock has been on the upswing for the last week.”

Security Environmental Systems specializes in the disposal of hazardous waste. Its stock priced closed unchanged at $2.87 in Nasdaq trading. Company shares recently hit a 52-week low of $1.37 on Aug. 31.