30 April 2026
When you’re 87 years young, some might suggest your best years are behind you. Yet when the financial year closed on 31 March 2026, the team at Gallagher Group could point to not just a stellar year, but also an exciting future.
“We want to continue evolving to become an organisation that doesn’t just endure through generations, but makes each generation better than the last,” says Group CEO & Executive Director Kahl Betham.
And whichever measure you choose to look at, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest they’re well on track.
With 20% compound growth from organic growth and acquisitions across the Group for the past five years, Gallagher’s two business areas – Animal Management and Security – both saw strong growth in FY26 at 47% and 17% respectively.
So what’s the secret?
“We throw the ball to where the world’s going, not where it is,” Mr Betham says. “Our curiosity drives us to solve increasingly valuable problems, and to create solutions that customers genuinely love.”
One of those solutions is eShepherd, Gallagher’s virtual fencing system which gives farmers and ranchers a data-rich way of managing animals, land use, and environmental outcomes at scale. And customers love it. Last year eShepherd revenue tripled, and it’s now growing at scale across the globe.
“Over the next three years, we will continue to identify and develop technologies that anticipate where agriculture is heading, ensuring it remains productive and profitable as customer needs, regulations, and sustainability expectations evolve,” explains Mr Betham.
Gallagher is also ensuring its Animal Management products and solutions are available to more customers across the globe with two key investments in the last financial year: the acquisition of Gallagher Europe, and establishment of a new entity in Brazil to spearhead the company’s Latin American expansion.
By thinking intergenerationally, Gallagher made some big calls in the 1980s to diversify, which is now paying off. Big time.
“We’re a great analogy for New Zealand’s export sectors,” says Mr Betham, “from agri mechanical beginnings, evolving to ag high tech, and diversifying to high tech building security technology.
“We believe New Zealand’s high tech export sector will continue to grow and improve our country’s productivity, protect our primary industry productivity, and add new high-tech exports outside of food, fibre, and tourism.”
Gallagher Security is further proof of that growth story, recently announcing a nationwide recruitment drive for up to 100 new tech roles over the next year.
“We’re ramping up to deliver the next generation of innovation to our customers across the world – businesses, defence and intelligence agencies, and governments, many of whom operate at the highest levels of national security,” says Mr Betham.
In another example of creating solutions that customers love, last financial year Gallagher Security launched the Controller 7000, a next-generation access control and intrusion detection solution. Within its first year it beat all revenue targets and won international acclaim with awards in New Zealand, India and South Asia, Sweden, and Australia.
And the Security business continued to grow its international footprint in FY2026 – completing the acquisition of Gallagher South Africa, expanding into India and the Middle East, opening a new Stockholm office, and investing in Kenai (a SaaS smart visitor and workforce platform).
Staying true to its philosophy of making each generation better than the last, Gallagher’s ambition is not just financial. Profits largely remain in New Zealand, amplifying economic impact through local manufacturing, long‑standing suppliers, start‑up acceleration and investing tens of millions of dollars into sponsorships.
“Our technology enables safer communities, more resilient infrastructure and more sustainable global food production,” Betham says. “When critical services are protected, when farmers’ livelihoods are secured, when people go home safely to their families – those aren’t just outcomes. They’re transformational moments.”
At 87 years young, the Gallagher team is really hitting their straps, and laying the groundwork for an even brighter next generation.