Exclusive Profile: Alistair Hogg, CEO Aotea Security

Alistair Hogg, CEO at Aotea Security, is one of the unsung heroes of the New Zealand security industry. With a career spanning decades, he’s worked throughout the industry, and although his company specialises in electronic security, considers himself a “generalist”. Hogg keeps a low profile (and he’s modest about his achievements), but his story is worth telling and likely to offer inspiration to anyone at a crossroads of their career.

“Considering Aotea Security’s reach, it’s beginnings were much more humble and as Hogg explains, that humility supports the company and its people still. Perhaps not surprising having spoken with the man himself, who explains that a mix of core work ethic, focus, hunger for experience and learning, combined with the approach of never wasting an opportunity or taking anything for granted, has supported him through the ups and downs of his career and helped him and his team build the company that Aotea has become.”

The beginnings

It was a mark of his early promise that Hogg was given the job of operations manager for Armourguard, Dunedin, in 1987, with no private security or general management experience. He was just a month short of his 21st birthday.

“I had wanted a career step change, and took the role on the basis that it allowed me to gain some general experience and would help prepare me with a planned further career change within the following two years,” he explains.

Alistair Hogg, CEO at Aotea Security.

These two years would become six: his own growth within the industry mirroring the growth that was occurring in the company.

“For all of the positive experiences gained during my time with Armourguard, my initial reaction to onboarding, training, expectations and accepted behaviours were less favourable,” he says.

“It’s obvious that Armourguard is a significantly more evolved company now than it was then, and I salute the vision and drive of the company’s leadership over the years in creating the benchmark that the company has become.”

Nevertheless, the Armourguard years would see Hogg growing professionally and engage in extensive training in varied roles, and professional development opportunities external to the Armourguard environment”. He explains that these opportunities helped him to create a variety of networks (alongside developing new work skills) and satisfied his hunger for learning and personal and professional challenges.

“I believe this has made me a better person overall, and without question, has helped me to be a genuine generalist in an industry totally reliant on specialists,” he says.

“Having by now developed an interest in Electronic Security, Hogg then then joined local Dunedin business, Southern Alarms Ltd. “It offered practical solutions for clients, at a time when technology in our space had not really caught up with our customers’ needs and wants”. Working as part of a small team, Hogg enjoyed the environment and learnt a lot, particularly around delivering service and giving value. “There was a real family culture within that business and like all families, we enjoyed some good, some not so good, but definitely some interesting times together”.

With the unexpected demise of Southern Alarms in early 1997, and having by then enjoyed almost 10 years of continuous and varied experience within the broader security industry, He found himself out of a job for the first time in his life.

As he explains, “many people have experienced the anxiety of job uncertainty and/or loss of income, and its confronting and sobering in a very real way”. Calling on his varied background and experiences, Hogg secured work as an industry trainer for a fixed period while he embarked on the next stage of his journey.

“With no business experience and no money to speak of, we turned adversity into opportunity, backed ourselves and took a risk.”

Aotea Security Ltd was formed out of a mix of necessity and opportunity and they had a clear plan of what they wanted to be, what they wanted to do, and how they wanted to do it.”

“Because our ‘why’ was very straightforward (we needed jobs and income), we really focused on the ‘how’ and the ‘who’,” he says.

The fresh start was invigorating, but it also carried significant risk. Starting a business is a steep learning curve, and Hogg says there was a “fast-track” period of upskilling and building, both at a company and personal development level.

“There were some challenging times to navigate, but as we pushed through the challenges, achieved our goals, enjoyed growth, built our team and of those around us, we could watch the plan coming together in real time as we learnt from our mistakes as much as our successes. There were plenty of both!” he shares.

Since the early days, the company has gone from strength to strength. From a team of three based in Dunedin, to a team of 160 people over 18 locations in New Zealand, Aotea Security has come a long way. The company offers a range of services–from CCTV and VMS to bespoke security solutions designed by the company’s innovative design team.

Industry insights

Over 30 years of experience has given Hogg unique insights into the electronic security sector. He says that the biggest challenge is balancing technology promises and options with the fundamentals that underpin overall security risk management plans and strategies.

“Technology offers us a range of tools to treat security risk, but often distract from the core issues and the basics that create the risk in the first place,” he says. “[These issues] might be better managed by attention to the physical environment, improved processes, awareness training, communication, and ultimately the relationship between technology itself and the people it is there to serve as one part of the overall security plan.”

He says that better and broader education and training, which bridges the gaps between the various sector specialists, would enable the industry to offer better advice and deliver better outcomes.

New technologies are appearing all the time and Hogg says that they are driven by their customers when it comes to making decisions around the their needs in this space.

“We listen to our customers and ask open questions to understand their wants and needs, and simply have the conversation. Then we do something about it.

We build a team of capable, talented clever passionate people who want to make a difference and who see technology as a tool to help make that difference, and empower them to explore options and opportunities.”

Hogg says that the they have good critical relationships with their primary manufacturers and suppliers, and share information about needs, wants, barriers, and opportunities.

“We essentially have input into product and feature development at the front end, more so than trying to play catch up after the event. I guess it’s a combination of being proactive and empowering people throughout the entire chain to push hard for continuous improvements.”

People first

Hogg has always put people at the heart of his work vision; and says that as the company has grown, so have the people.

“Our mantra is simple: One Company, One Team, One Vision, One Plan,” he shares. “There is no question that our people are our biggest asset and we operate as one team, everywhere we go, wherever we are, and every time.”

He believes in a 100% accountability culture, which enables his team to work and build futures together.

Aotea Security is an intrinsic part of Hogg’s life. He believes in the balance of work and family, but says that he gets a huge amount of satisfaction from the company he’s helped create.

“The amazing people inside of our business create balance both for me and for the company and for that I am immensely grateful.”

Innovation and hard work underpin Hogg’s success. He believes that opportunities are created, and tries to be an exemplar for excellence, while helping others along the way.

“I created my own opportunities based on the circumstances of the time, as I now try to create opportunities for others. There are many great leaders in our business and there are even more that aren’t yet in our business but may be some day.”

Secrets to success

• I sought out education and professional development and again. I try to encourage others to do the same. Knowledge, experience and talent, supported by a relentless work ethic, support success and growth.

• I worked hard and I trained hard and I studied hard because that’s what it takes to succeed and to achieve. I am surrounded by younger, smarter people who understand that good things come with hard work and focus.

• Personal/professional development opportunities come from a variety of sources, but they don’t get handed on a plate. My advice is to get involved, don’t be a spectator, take some risks, make some mistakes and put yourself out there. Learn from everything you do and never waste an opportunity.

• I have had the benefit of a very long list of wise old mentors both inside and outside of our industry and for that I will always be grateful.

I freely admit that I’m now old, I don’t claim to be wise, but I love encouraging our people to take risks and developing confidence.

• Perhaps what I’m most grateful for, is that someone took a chance on me, and in return, I didn’t waste it, and I never took it for granted.