“We’ve gone from ‘Gallagher who’ to ‘Gallagher, that’s who"

From New Zealand to the United States. What started with a role as Technical Support Engineer in Hamilton for Security's Paul Wilson has progressed to a leadership role as Director of Technical Services for North America based in Canton. He never quite expected to be living and working overseas, but when a great opportunity presented itself, he jumped at it.

Having studied Computer Science at Massey University, then going on to be an IT Manager at a small computer services firm serving the Waikato, Paul’s journey with #TeamGallagher started in 2013. Over his time with Gallagher he’s also been Solutions Engineer, National Technical Manager, and Shared Services (Technical Support & Operations) Manager. 

“My family’s eventual relocation to the United States actually started with a trip to the country to support a specific piece of work,” Paul explains. “Then when a secondment was on offer I jumped at the opportunity because my family situation was one where we could entertain the idea. That’s such a perk of working for a truly global company like Gallagher, the ability to work overseas can be an option.” 

That was the start of the first five years in the United States, and Paul and his family have recently extended the visa by a further five. He’s loved getting involved in cultural traditions like Independence Day (Fourth of July), and exploring the national parks, lakes, and walking trails throughout the country. 

“I was massively grateful to have been offered the chance to live and work overseas,” Paul says. “There aren’t many companies in the world that enable you to make a massive jump like this.”

Reflecting on the move, Paul’s especially thankful for what he says was a “significant amount” of trust and confidence placed in him by Gallagher, explaining the idea of relocation was quite intimidating at the start, but that the support from the whole team was amazing. His time in the United States started with living and working in Kansas City, and most recently in Georgia with Security’s establishment of the Canton office. 

“The whole experience has been better than I could have imagined. Yes it was challenging during the peak of the pandemic with future uncertainty around international travel and a feeling of separation from loved ones back home in New Zealand, but we’ve made great friends over here and feel a great sense of community.” 

Paul now thinks of the United States as a “home away from home” – also welcoming two English Cream Golden Retrievers, named Bella and Bailey, to the family. He enjoys the different perspective that he gets working in the United States and is excited by the opportunities ahead. 

“I stepped into my current role in April this year and we continue to have strong growth forecasted,” he says. “Our focus is on supporting our channel and ensuring customers are well supported with technical queries. Most recently we’ve established a support team for the country which enables us to provide timely service with local context, and the ability for team members to travel to customer sites when we need to provide support on the ground.” 

North America is a significant growth market for Gallagher. Over Paul’s time as part of the team, it has grown from around 10 people to almost 60, of which Paul’s immediate team is made up of 10 people. In the relatively short time we’ve provided technical support from the United States, the team is at four people with plans to increase this by a further two in just a few months. 

When asked about learning opportunities that support career progression, Paul talked about the value of peer-to-peer learning from teammates. 

“It’s been massively important. I’ve being engaged in various forms of peer-to-peer learning since the outset as a Technical Support Engineer. Over the years I’ve learnt so much from the people I work with – be it technical learning, right through to strategic planning. If someone’s willing to provide you with a learning opportunity, I recommend taking it with both hands. And learning doesn’t have to be formal – look out for those small but valuable learning opportunities that crop up along the way.” 

Paul explains living and working in the United States has been a great decision, and has loved not only his own journey of progression and learning, but being part of the growth of the North American business too. 

“In the time I’ve been here our brand has gone from strength to strength,” Paul says. “We’ve gone from ‘Gallagher who’ to ‘Gallagher, that’s who’ and the logos [companies] we’re providing security for are simply outstanding.” 

He’s been with the company for quite some time, citing the unique culture and people – and opportunities for learning and progression – that have kept him around so long. The final words go to Paul: “Don’t be scared to be ambitious. Always be learning. Life can take you to all sorts of unexpected places. Feel the fear and do it anyway.”