Our Team

Mark Bates has worked in the lock industry for more than twenty-five years, starting as a locksmith and safe technician. In 1993 he founded MBA USA, Inc. which has grown to be a leading provider of security education and equipment.

Mr. Bates is a longtime member of the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA), the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), and the Safe and Vault Technicians Association (SAVTA). In 2000 he was inducted into the SAVTA Hall of Fame. Mark is the author of the reference book "Modern Safe Locks", and has contributed articles to leading industry journals.

In addition to his duties as instructor at MBA, Mark has conducted classes for ALOA, SAVTA, and for numerous regional associations. These classes have taken Mr. Bates throughout the U.S. and Canada, to England, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Italy, and the Middle East. From these travels, Mark has developed a deep understanding of locks and security from a global vantage point. Mark is also an ACE Certified instructor through the ALOA Security Professionals Association, Inc.

Paula has been with MBA since 1995. Her background is in design as she completed her studies in Landscape Architecture in 1984 while living in California. Her contribution to MBA has covered a diverse listing of departments, working in areas that include, but are not limited to the layout and planning of advertisements, newsletters and catalogs, bookkeeping and attending trade shows with co-workers.

Andy Dennison has been a locksmith since 1990 and an instructor since 1999. His experience covers a wide variety of locksmithing services with the majority of his time spent in the area of safes, vaults, and GSA containers. Before becoming a locksmith, he served four years in the U.S. Navy and another four years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. After working for 15 years at a major locksmith company in the Washington, DC area, he moved to Kentucky in 2006 to work for MBA as a full-time instructor.

Mr. Dennison has been a certified instructor for Mas-Hamilton/Kaba-Mas since 1999. He is also a factory authorized instructor for Sargent & Greenleaf, an ACE Certified instructor and Certified Master Locksmith through the ALOA Security Professionals Association, Inc., a Certified Master SafeTech through the Safe and Vault Technicians Association (SAVTA), and is certified by the US General Services Administration (GSA) to conduct GSA certification courses. In April 2019 he was inducted into the SAVTA Hall of Fame and was named SAVTA Instructor of the Year for 2020.

Mr. Dennison is recognized as an authority on both mechanical and electro-mechanical locking devices with over 30 years of experience installing, servicing, and troubleshooting numerous common and obscure mechanical and electro-mechanical locking systems. He is also a recognized authority on GSA approved security containers and vault doors and is the author of the bestselling reference book, "GSA Container Identification". 

Prior to beginning his career in the industry, Phil earned a Bachelor of Arts double major in Decision Science and Marketing from the University of Kentucky. He is also a native, fluent speaker of both Spanish and English. Phil enjoys the challenges of customer service, technical support and business development. His extensive experience and broad product knowledge makes him an integral asset to the MBA USA team.

Kevin has been part of the lock industry for over 25 years, and in that time has filled a variety of roles including customer service, product assembly, technical support, product development, and purchasing.  He manages purchasing for MBA USA.  Kevin is also a Certified Kaba Mas X-10 Instructor.

Kevin is a native of Flemingsburg KY, and a graduate of Berea College in Berea KY, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Technology Management.  He resides in Jessamine County KY with his wife Laura and their children.  Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, and watching Cincinnati Reds baseball and all University of Kentucky athletics.

A native of Nicholasville, Kentucky, Jeremy Willoughby has spent many years in the lock and security industry, holding experience primarily in material control. Jeremy assists the MBA team not only as the primary controller of day-to-day warehouse and shipping operations, but also as an integral contributor in sales, product development and customer service.