Brad Gannon recently took on the role of Group Chief Executive Officer for the Capricorn Society, taking the next step in a 16-year career with the cooperative

The new year brings us a new Capricorn Group Chief Executive Officer, the Perth born and bred, Brad Gannon.
Brad has progressed to the leadership role after 16 years with the organisation, with the last five spent as Automotive Chief Executive Officer.
“I’m thrilled to be leading Capricorn as we start our 51st year of supporting our community of Members, Preferred Suppliers and our hard-working team members,” Brad said.
“Capricorn is an amazing purpose-led organisation that is genuinely committed to making a difference. Our purpose is not just written on the walls, it is lived each and every day.”
Brad’s first job provided a subtle hint that cars would become a part of his entire professional career.
He started out as a central Perth Car Park Attendant working the 5:00pm to midnight shift. After a number of years, he progressed to the prime-time Saturday afternoon shift.
“My first job involved interacting with a great mix of customers from the tenants in the building, to the shoppers, theatre goers, and everyone in between. I became very good at dealing with flat batteries and executing the old push start, something young people today would have less of an idea about!” Brad said.
While working as a Car Park Attendant, Brad studied at University and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in General Management along with a Bachelor of Laws.
Brad then worked in a law firm for ten years, progressing through various roles to Senior Associate and ultimately becoming a Partner.
This exposed the talented young lawyer to a broad range of corporate, commercial and litigation work.
“After a decade in a law firm, I had reached the point where I was looking for something different and Capricorn was looking to appoint its very first in-house General Counsel. I applied for the role and was successful and it was the start of a wonderful journey at the organisation,” Brad said.
“Most recently I led Capricorn’s automotive division across Australia and New Zealand. This role included managing the field sales team who look after our Members face to face, the customer service team who provide phone assistance, and managing our preferred supplier relationships, product development and sales operations.
“This role also included responsibility for all of our products outside of Capricorn Mutual, including our Trade Accounts, the Capricorn Rewards program, Capricorn Travel and our extended lending / financial services products to name a few.
“My 16 plus years of experience at Capricorn has given me a clear understanding of the needs of both our Members and our suppliers. I am always looking for ways for us to help them grow stronger, so as Group CEO I look forward to helping their businesses thrive.”
Brad is passionate about mentoring and promoting from within. His advice for people starting a new career:
“believe in yourself and be adaptable.”
“Having that growth mindset where you are open to learning and new opportunities will mean that anything you perceive as setbacks along the way are just the fuel you need to achieve your ultimate success,” Brad said.
“Work hard and seek feedback. Build strong relationships with others – you will be amazed how generous and supportive people are with their time for those trying to make a difference to themselves and those around them.
“A good attitude is more important than a large range of skills. Skills can be learned by those with a good attitude, but if you don’t have the right attitude, this limits the individual as well as having a negative impact on those around them.
“Finally, look after yourself both physically and mentally so you can take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves during the formative years of your career and beyond.
“I have truly loved making a difference to people’s lives in terms of the work I have done or how I have helped individuals realise their potential. I have found that so many people talk themselves down when the reality is they are capable of so much more than they ever knew or thought.”
Brad is philosophical about the lessons learned from decisions that may not have been the best for whatever reason.
“There are always those hiring decisions which you have not got quite right, but probably the bad decisions that stick in my mind are where we may have underestimated the amount of change required to achieve a specific goal,” Brad said.
“On the flip side, going too slow on change that needs to be made is never good, it is imperative to bring everyone on board when hard decisions need to be made and action taken.”
On the personal side, Brad – who is married with two teenage children – likes getting out and about.
“I enjoy exercising, getting outdoors, going for a walk or a swim and spending time with family and friends. Exercising also helps me with my other passion of eating too much or my habit of eating more of the wrong things than I should. I enjoy a good movie or TV show and I am partial to some sport,” he said.
“My family means everything to me. Like every father, you want to support, nurture and provide your children with great opportunities to grow and be themselves. All you want is for them to be good people and to help those around them. I truly believe that when your family is happy, so are you.”

Capricorn was formed back in 1974, when a group of Golden Fleece Service Station owners met at a training session on how to run a business. Over the next four days, these twelve strangers got to know one another and while discussing the topic ‘How to improve your business,’ they discussed buying better.
Taking matters into their own hands, the owners formed a joint buying group to pool their resources and increase their buying power. The strategy worked, and their numbers grew to 17, when they decided to officially register as a cooperative.
Frank O’Connor was appointed General Manager and remained in this position until 2000, growing the strength of the company while always maintaining its original purpose and vision.
The early years were tough and the fledgling cooperative nearly didn’t make it on several occasions. But under Frank’s stewardship, Capricorn grew until Membership passed the 500 mark in 1988.
In 2004, Capricorn celebrated reaching 9,000 Members and today Capricorn has more than 30,000 Members and 2,000 Preferred Suppliers who make up its community across Australia and New Zealand. Capricorn Members include mechanics, collision repairers, auto electricians and those from other related fields.
The Capricorn product range includes a trade account, fuel card, a generous reward program, a travel agency along with extended lending products. Capricorn Members also have the option to take out risk protection through Capricorn Mutual which was launched in 2003.
The success of Capricorn was never guaranteed. But Brad says where it is today is a testament not just to the vision of the original founders and the hard work of all those who have followed, but to the value Members continue to see in the power of working together.
Brad says Capricorn has survived and thrived because the organisation has spent half a century listening to and meeting the needs of its Members.
In explaining Capricorn’s long-term success, Brad outlines the very straight forward key strategies.
“Capricorn has always been driven by cooperative principles. Our Members and the broader Community including our Preferred Suppliers and team always come first in every decision that we make,” Brad said.
“It is this spirit of cooperation that makes us unique because we are making decisions that are sustainable for all of our community across the long term. It is also important to note that our Members are not just our customers; they are also our owners.”
The Capricorn community and the connection that exists between its Members, Preferred Suppliers and the Capricorn team is identified by Brad as the company’s key competitive advantage.
“We clearly understand that running a workshop can be isolating and challenging, so having Capricorn’s support, whether by attending industry events or utilising our industry tailored training products and business services, we hope to make the running of an automotive aftermarket business less isolating and much easier,” he said.
Like all business owners across the industry, Capricorn Members are presently facing a number of challenges, with many continuing to be impacted by the skills shortage along with feeling the pinch of the ever-increasing cost of living.
“Capricorn remains committed to helping our Members’ businesses and we will be focusing on continually improving our services to support our Community. We will also be introducing new ways for our Members to reconcile their statements, to make online purchases from our Preferred Suppliers along with new opportunities to save on energy costs,” Brad stated.
By introducing initiatives such as the Capricorn Rising Stars Apprentice of the Year Award to encourage and recognise apprentices in the industry, to promoting the industry and the opportunities that it provides, Brad says Capricorn is committed to working with its Members to look for solutions to ease the pressure of these and future challenges ahead.
“We have created a very strong and successful community within the automotive aftermarket industry that extends beyond business relationships and this continues to be our focus moving forward,” he said.
“It is our goal to help all members of the Capricorn community through every step of their business journey, as ultimately their success is our success.”
Capricorn proudly works alongside the AAAA to champion change and to help resolve issues faced by our industry, collaborating on the issues that directly affect its Members.
“Capricorn and the AAAA form a powerful voice for the industry, complementing rather than competing with each other in an industry that we are all passionate about,” Brad said.
“We also share the main reason why both of our organisations were originally formed – to support and deliver value back to its members in the automotive aftermarket industry.”

To learn more about Capricorn, visit www.capricorn.coop