AI is central to the product redevelopment push and the shaping of Gallagher’s entire business, but not for slimming down staff, Betham says.
“We see AI as an ‘and’, not an ‘or’,” he told the Herald earlier this week.
“We’re investing heavily in both – bringing in great talent to apply these tools to real-world customer problems and increase the impact of every person we hire.”
Perhaps more than some chief executives, Betham knows what it’s like to be at the coalface of coding.
After completing an information systems degree in 1997, his first job was a software engineering role with Gallagher’s research and development team.
Rapid recent growth
“In tough times, what do we need for the country? A lot more exports, and a lot more exports in addition to food, fibre and tourism,” Betham says.
Gallagher Group’s revenue has more than doubled over the past five years.
The Technology Investment Network estimated Gallagher Group had revenue of $441 million for the year to March 31, 2025, placing it at number eight on TIN’s list of our 200 largest high-tech exporters.
Revenue increased to around $600m for FY26, Betham says.
“After 88 years, one-third of our growth came from that one year.
“We’re targeting over $700m this year [FY27] and we’re on the way to be a privately-owned, billion-dollar revenue tech exporter in the next few years.”
Expansion in the Tron
The iconic firm, founded in 1938, is best known for the agricultural electric fencing system developed by its founder, Bill Gallagher, in the same decade.
Today it sells a wide range of high-tech solutions for wrangling both animals and people.
“The wonderful thing about being an entrepreneurial business is you have one invention and then you see what adjacencies you can take it to,” Betham says.
“So the agricultural electric fence led to the prison and military electric fence and then we acquired access control software and then created a platform for enterprise and military-grade software management systems for security.”
The still family-owned company today employs 1700 across two divisions: Gallagher Animal and Gallagher Security.
Around 900 staff are based locally, with about 500 in the security division. All manufacturing is in New Zealand.
The hiring drive coincides with Gallagher Security’s recent move of more than 200 team members into Innovation Park in Hamilton.
Betham says the spillover reflects his firm’s rapid growth – its headquarters had started to burst at the seams – and Hamilton’s emergence as a hub for software development and technology (the Herald will have more on a couple of “Tron” start-ups next week.)
Gallagher Security provides unified, cyber‑secure solutions for access control, perimeter security, and intruder detection, “protecting some of the world’s most sensitive environments, including governments, defence forces, and critical infrastructure”.
“This year, we’ll be investing heavily in scaling our product development and solution delivery capabilities as we transform our flagship security platform, Command Centre, to meet the evolving needs of customers around the world,” Gallagher Security chief executive Mark Junge says.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
