News

Having an open door policy with one of New Zealand’s leading entrepreneurs is a coup for any manager and extremely valuable when you’re responsible for the growth of their global brand.

Curtis Edgecombe, General Manager of Gallagher Security, has that strategic advantage. His boss is Sir William Gallagher, Chief Executive of Gallagher Group, the highly successful exporter of animal management, access control and perimeter security and fuel systems.

Established in 1936, Gallagher Group is one of the largest and most successful private companies in the Waikato, employing 650 people in New Zealand, another 400 globally and annual sales of NZ $180 million.

Curtis has been with the Gallagher Group for six years and he knows he is fortunate to be working with, and ultimately learning from, Sir William who he describes as a pragmatic, approachable CEO.

“Sir William is acknowledged as one of New Zealand’s most astute businessmen. He’s an enterprising leader who maintains regular contact with customers in the 130 countries Gallagher Group sells products to and yet he has a down to earth manner which inspires and motivates everyone in the company.”

“He is very involved with the day to day business operations – attending and presenting at seminars, training sessions and field days.”

It’s no surprise then that Sir William inspires full participation from all members of his company from the senior executive team to manufacturing staff on the workshop floor.

“We are a collaborative company. Sir William’s theory is, we may live in a democracy but decisions don’t have to be made that way. Of course the trick for a successful company is to understand when that rule should be applied.”

Curtis is adamant Sir William’s desire to create a successful company culture eventually translates into positive business results and recent sales figures for the security division support that. Last November, Gallagher's security business had a record month in global access and perimeter security sales but the success didn’t stop there – February 2011 also saw record numbers.

So how does the general manager work with his CEO to encourage such growth during an economic downturn?

“Our company has a philosophy of creating strong relationships with business partners which assist them in achieving their business goals. That concept, guided by Sir William, has been the success of Gallagher Group for over 70 years and it’s how we will continue to build strong partnerships with our global partners.”