February 17, 2011

Graham Handyside, Vice President of Global Operations, WG Security Products Inc.

The British are coming and they're changing the game

Executives are molded and inspired in a number of ways and while some read Sun Tzu's Art of War for successful strategies, many find their inspiration and establish their core values towards leadership and teamwork in the world of sports.  Graham is a perfect example of how a lifetime of involvement in organized sports, even at the professional level, has defined his approach to adding value, understanding how teamwork can increase overall performance, and the importance of putting together winning teams.

Before emigrating from England in 1990, Graham both played and coached soccer for the majority of his life and was very involved with coaching at the Charlton Athletic School of Excellence, a subsidiary affiliated with the Charlton Athletic Soccer Club, then an English Premier League team (the most elite soccer league in the world).  As most of us here in the states were playing baseball and football, Graham had that same passion for England's number 1 sport and he made an impact which helped mold him to be who he is today.

Once here in the states, Graham's love of his sport continued as he coached both youth and adult soccer teams and he played an instrumental role in helping to establish one of the original ten charter Major League Soccer (MLS) teams in the U.S., the San Jose Earthquakes, originally known as the Clash.  Learning the importance of teamwork at an early age and understanding the dynamics of what it takes to win, Graham learned that "Being part of a team is no less important in the business world than it is on the soccer field with both having the goal to be the best. And that it can't be accomplished without absolute cohesion between every team member."

Joining WG Security Products in 1997, Graham brought his team-building philosophies and, in quick order resembling almost the speed of a soccer game, focused on expanding WG overseas.  A decade later, WG's large presence in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the ever-growing African marketplace has now established WG as one of the "big three" in the international EAS industry.  

Supported by WG's well-established manufacturing and strong engineering group, Graham has had the unique opportunity of overseeing WG's technological revolution and, working hand in hand with engineers and creative executives, has developed some of the most innovated EAS products in the industry today, from Ad Guard, an EAS pedestal with customizable advertising space on either side, to the Wave, the world's first 4-alarm self-alarming IR hard tags, to the upcoming Sentinel, an intelligent asset tracking system combining both EAS and RFID. 

In keeping with his coaching background, Graham was instrumental in developing the 58 KHz ferrite technology, an EAS industry standard, and he currently owns one of the patents on WG's signature products, the Microshell with ink hard tag which is currently being used in WG's source tagging Green Tag recycling program.  

Over the years, Graham and WG's engineers and manufacturing group have worked with a number of other solution providers throughout the world and in the U.S. in developing and bringing to market a number of well-known security products that have been extremely successful.  And while they've been focused on the international business development, from a sales prospective they've become an unquestionable leader in design and manufacturing worldwide.  And having realized his vision of a successful international company, Graham is now focused on bringing the overseas success of WG to the United States, a quite different challenge. "In Europe and Asia, the name WG is instantly recognizable by people in the loss prevention industry. In the United States, we're working on branding WG as the go-to company for EAS solutions by showing them we can be strong team members that understand how to add value, deliver the absolute best product and service, and do it cost effectively."

The British are here and they're a "global force in the EAS industry."