Gallagher team member recognized for contribution to security industry

HAMILTON, New Zealand—Gallagher, a leading technology provider of integrated security, people protection, and site management solutions, announced that its Research Centre of Excellence Lead, Trish Thompson, took home the Outstanding Female Security Professional award at the inaugural New Zealand Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs).

Winners were announced at a ceremony at the Aotea Centre in Auckland on May 27, 2022.

The Outstanding Female Security Professional OSPA recognizes a female security professional who has consistently shown outstanding performance over an extended period of time and has had a substantial impact upon defining and driving standards in the security sector.

Thompson has been the driving force behind several of Gallagher’s major product innovations over her near 20 years in Gallagher’s security business across roles in research and development, business analysis, and product management.

“Trish is widely respected within Gallagher and her knowledge and skills have contributed invaluably to our product development success over many years,” said Mark Junge, Global General Manager – Security. “We’re thrilled to see her named Outstanding Female Security Professional – a deserving recipient.”

Thompson summed up what the award win meant to her, saying: “It’s always wonderful to feel that what you do makes a difference in the world and for those of us working in security, that it intrinsically makes the world a better and safer place. I feel very honored to have received this award and will certainly treasure it. 

“I’ve been very fortunate to have had many opportunities within Gallagher to work on exciting new security products and even new generations of technology that lift our ability to help people feel safe at work and help security professionals achieve outcomes with ease and feel confident in their decisions.”

Gallagher also celebrated its innovative My Vaccine Pass integration, winning Outstanding New Security Product. Judges said this product was a “game changer” for the New Zealand government’s nationwide response to managing COVID-19. Released in early 2022, the integration enables Gallagher access control customers to link a user’s My Vaccine Pass status and expiry to their access credential – improving site security by granting only fully vaccinated employees and visitors access to the site.

“It’s very exciting to see our My Vaccine Pass integration named Outstanding New Security Product,” noted Brad Small, Regional Sales Manager for New Zealand. “Our Development team acted quickly to bring this integration to life, supporting our customers to keep pace and streamline vaccine pass management during a time of ever-changing COVID-19 regulations.”

Gallagher’s security solutions are designed and manufactured on-site from its global headquarters in Hamilton, New Zealand, and distributed around the globe to over 130 countries.

This is the first time the international OSPAs program, which recognizes and rewards companies, people, and innovation across the security sector, has operated in New Zealand.

Gallagher’s Sherilyn Tasker and Pascale Howell were also named finalists in the Outstanding Female Security Professional and Outstanding Young Security Professional categories, respectively.