Integrators '20 under 40' 2017—Breck Ellison

Breck Ellison, 35

COO, Gallaher & Associates

Alcoa, Tenn.

Breck Ellison joined Gallaher & Associates in late 2015 as its director of operations and was promoted to his current role as COO in July 2016.

“As chief operating officer, everything basically non-accounting falls under me. So, our director of sales, director of operations, other branch managers, all report to me,” Ellison said. “A large part of my job is developing strategy, plans, tactics, and � where are we going, what are we doing, how do we want to go to market, where do we want to reinvest in the company—those types of things.”

Gallaher, started in 1973, is focused solely on commercial business. Tom Gallaher, the company's CEO, is the second-generation family owner. The company has two branches—one in Alcoa, Tenn., and one in Rossville, Ga.—and is in the process of opening a third branch in Nashville, Tenn.

“My background and my degree is actually in law enforcement,” Ellison said. “I wanted to find a safer, more stable career path.”

Ellison started his career in the security industry working at Fleenor Security Systems. “I started out as a central station operator. I actually left Fleenor and went back to school to finish my degree, and then I came back as a customer service rep. I then worked in sales as a project coordinator, a project manager, a service and installation manager, and then as an operations manager for Fleenor.” Ellison also worked with ASG as an operations manager before joining Gallaher.

When asked about interesting technologies in the industry, Ellison pointed to cloud solutions and the Internet of Things. “As things become more and more interconnected, and as we can continue to provide solutions that are cloud-based and give our customers more options to integrate with those, I really see that being the direction that the industry is going in,” he said.