Maceo Brown, CEO of top Black-owned security company, dies at 67

Family, friends and colleagues are saddened by the passing of Southwest Atlanta Entrepreneur Maceo A. Brown. 

Brown was the President and CEO of System 5 Electronics, the largest African American owned and operated security alarm and monitoring company in the state of Georgia. 

He directed daily operations, implemented strategies for success, created product distinctions and positioned the company as an industry leader. Brown died recently from cancer at age 67.

Incorporated in 1989, System 5 Electronics’ purpose was to provide the newest technology in life-safety devices to protect residential properties and commercial establishments. The corporate philosophy was “exceed customer expectations by delivering unprecedented service, rapid response and affordable, error-free monitoring”. 

A respected entrepreneur in Atlanta, Maceo was often recognized for his leadership, business acumen and philanthropy. 

He was the recipient of the Atlanta Business League’s, Corporation of the Year Award; Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta Business of the Year Award; Bronner Brother’s Scroll of Honor Award, Atlanta Tribune’s Business Achievement Award, ICABA’S Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Georgia Minority Business Heritage Award, The Jaguar Foundation’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Community Empowerment Development Corporation’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Herndon Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding accomplishments as an entrepreneur and role model for the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

Maceo was inducted into the Atlanta Business League’s Business Hall of Fame and was also a recipient of Invest Atlanta’s Southside Champion Award. He also received an invitation from President Jimmy Carter to serve as a Board of Councilor member for the Carter Center.

In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Maceo founded Maceo’s Kids (Mentoring Aspiring CEO’s), a non-profit organization created to pair African American youth with mentors in an effort to foster an entrepreneurial spirit. The non-profit provides the opportunity for young men and women to learn the importance of economic empowerment, community development and enrichment; key necessities needed to start, grow, and maintain their very own businesses.

Over the years, Maceo was featured in several publications including the Atlanta Voice, Atlanta Tribune, The Overground Railroad, Atlanta Metro and Who’s Who in Black Atlanta. He was often sought to deliver motivational and inspirational messages to aspiring youth, enterprising entrepreneurs, community leaders and church congregants encouraging all how to live life victoriously.

In addition to his wife, Brown is survived by three brothers, all of metro Atlanta: Milton Woodward, Wendell Brown and Thomas Brown, a former sheriff of DeKalb County. A memorial service was held on Saturday at Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell.