GMS Group of Companies CEO Neil Male was announced as Transformational Leader at the 2019 West Midlands Leadership Awards.
Male who once played football professionally for Torquay United FC, first joined GMS in 2000 as admin manager after a back injury forced him into sporting retirement. Since being made a shareholder in 2005, Male has been behind the expansion of GMS, which now employs 500 people around the UK and turns over £13m a year.
Set up as a manned guarding business in 1997, GMS has grown and evolved to include complementary services over the past 20 years and is now solely owned by the Male family. Neil said: “In September 2005, one year after getting married and having our baby boy Jack, my wife and I re-mortgaged our house to buy into the business (GMS). I initially thought, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ But when I looked at Jack, my son, who at the time was 12 months old, I knew what I had to do. Failure wasn’t an option, I had to make this opportunity work.
“I’m very proud to have won the Transformational Leader award at this years’ West Midlands Leadership Awards. It is an honour to be recognised amongst some of the brightest and best leaders in the West Midlands. The award means so much, not only to me, but to the whole of the GMS team who all contribute to the success of the business.”
The awards were created last year to recognise the importance of leadership in helping to drive the region’s businesses and economy forward and to celebrate the best exponents of modern leadership. Neil was shortlisted for two categories this year, Transformational Leader; and Company Leader (100-plus employees). The competition was from the likes of National Express, NEC Group, Pertemps and Wilmott Dixon.
Neil’s acceptance speech video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFqcUMhUesw.
