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CommandScape: South Florida’s Newest New Thing

By Chris  Fleck

I remember reading Michael Lewis’ The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story, a book about James “Jim” Henry Clark in the good old days of the dot-com boom. It was a motivational story that helped inspire many would-be entrepreneurs to make the startup plunge, myself included.

Clark’s success record has been remarkable as founder or co-founder of five tech-related companies across multiple industries. This includes Netscape, Silicon Graphics, WebMD, MyCFO and Shutterfly. His formula for success was using technology to solve problems that he recognized before others. More than just seeing the problem, he acted.

Delray Beach-based CommandScape is Clark’s latest venture in yet another industry primed for disruption. CommandScape is a digital building management system designed for commercial and residential properties.

The service leverages the cloud and the “internet of things”—the interconnectivity among digitally enabled devices—to securely manage air conditioning, heating, building security, video surveillance, fire alarms and more. This has been a slow-moving $100 billion market, with aging disconnected technology. The new service will provide a consolidated view and management console for an entire building and strengthen cybersecurity with digital certificates.

I love hearing stories about what motivates people to start a company. In this case, the spark started years ago while designing a command center for the 300-foot yacht he was building and not being satisfied with any of the available technologies. Clark has invested $10 million of his own money to fund CommandScape. He is confident it will become a significant player along with Honeywell, Tyco Integrated Security and Lutron Electronics.

CommandScape already has an experienced team led by CEO Don Boerema, former chief corporate development officer for ADT Security Services, along with nearly 20 employees. “We think the time and place are right to reshape the market,” Boerema says about the launch of CommandScape—the “new new thing” born in South Florida.

Chris Fleck is on the board of the South Florida Technology Alliance and vice president of emerging solutions for Citrix Systems (Nasdaq: CTXS), a Fort Lauderdale company that provides secure delivery of applications and data.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.