Ongoing innovation has driven ADT’s success in the security industry for more than 150 years. Sometimes that innovation is evident in our partnerships with companies such as Google and State Farm, or our new products and services such as the ADT+ Security System and Trusted Neighbor™. As importantly, ADT has also evolved when it comes to customer experience.
It started with a simple question: How does a company keep up — and elevate — its customer interactions with so many buyer paths now available? ADT’s answer stems from a group of leaders with a grounding in customer care and a drive for innovation.
Todd Dernberger, Amy Root and Jonathan Marvin all began their careers at ADT in customer-facing positions, answering calls and visiting clients. Now, as company leaders, their deep experience is helping transform the ADT customer experience.
Todd Dernberger: Sales background drives understanding of the customer journey
Todd Dernberger’s journey at ADT began in 2007 as a sales representative in Greenville, South Carolina. His rise through progressively senior management roles spanned multiple markets, from Charleston to Atlanta, and eventually to broader regional oversight in the South and Puerto Rico.
More recently, Dernberger was given an opportunity to move to operations, and it unlocked a different set of talents in him. “I found operations intuitive — pull lever A, lever B moves,” he said. “I found that I really liked solving problems.”
This mindset proved invaluable when COVID-19 disrupted ADT’s traditional in-home service calls. Dernberger’s team rapidly scaled Remote Services, in which a technician can support a customer via video chat, from 100 daily interactions to over 7,000. ADT conducts about 1.3 million Remote Service calls annually — about 60% of all service calls.
“Launching Remote Service was transformational,” Dernberger said. “We not only preserved customer relationships but strengthened them by proving we could be there even in the toughest circumstances.”
Today, as an Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer, Dernberger oversees a broad spectrum of sales teams. Under his leadership, these teams are being refined to best serve the customer. “I’ve lived frontline roles. Structuring teams around the customer journey instead of internal silos ensures we're continually aligned with customer needs,” he said.
Dernberger wants to build on these recent successes, helping evolve ADT into a broad-based platform, where “the whole home becomes an extension of your safety perimeter.”
Amy Root: Empowering frontline teams for impact
Amy Root began her ADT career answering calls at a customer service center in Rochester, New York. Now, as Vice President of Operations Service Center, Root champions a collaborative leadership style that prioritizes frontline empowerment.
“I never make decisions in a vacuum,” Root says. “Involving those directly impacted ensures buy-in and better outcomes.” This inclusive strategy was especially crucial during the pandemic, when Root transitioned call center staff to remote work and helped pioneer Remote Service appointments. Many technicians who previously worked in customers’ homes found renewed purpose when applying their expertise virtually.
The transformation also highlighted an essential insight: Customers readily embrace self-service when appropriately supported. “Customers have shown openness to solving problems themselves with guidance from our teams,” Root said.
She’s now taking this message out more broadly at ADT, empowering frontline agents with the tools to resolve customer issues efficiently and confidently on their first interaction.
Technology integration remains central to Root’s vision, blending human expertise with intelligent digital support. “AI tools should genuinely support agents, removing friction from interactions,” she said. “Customers no longer have to navigate cumbersome processes; they simply ask for help. Our goal is to ensure every conversation is tailored and effortless.”
Jonathan Marvin: Driving empathy and predictive service
Jonathan Marvin joined ADT in 1999 as a college student, handling customer calls during evening shifts. Today, he still works just one floor above his first workstation, now as Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Retention Operations.
He was fortunate, he said, that an early mentor encouraged him to lead a technical support team, despite his initial self-doubt. “I learned that leadership isn’t about being the singular expert — it’s about empowering others,” Marvin said. This approach remains central to his leadership style, as he regularly meets with frontline teams to source innovative ideas.
One of Marvin’s initiatives, “Moments that matter,” identifies critical moments in the customer experience, such as onboarding, billing inquiries or relocation. His team found that enhancements at these points dramatically improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
“We've implemented a 'white glove' service for new customers who contact us with an issue within their first 90 days, routing them directly to our top-tier agents,” Marvin said. This targeted approach has boosted customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Scores, a key measurement of customer loyalty.
Marvin is also working to improve ADT’s proactive, predictive communication with customers. “We're moving beyond reactive support by anticipating customer needs before they arise,” he said.
AI tools have enabled more personalized and effective customer interactions by streamlining routine tasks so agents can focus on complex issues and meaningful engagement. “With AI, we will keep finding ways to help customers autonomously resolve their own issues,” he said. “And we’ll be ready to elevate to human support as needed.”
Join us in putting customers first
Dernberger, Root and Marvin all emphasize that meaningful customer interactions are central to their focus. “As we move forward and evolve the technology and the very nature of the customer experience,” Root said, “the fundamentals must and will stay intact.”
If you’re interested in working with the best team in the industry to protect our 6 million+ customers, visit the ADT Jobs Site to find all open roles.