DEL.ICIO.USUP CLOSE / ALEX GALLO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ALEXANDER GALLO HOLDINGS
Atlanta court reporting firm sees more acquisitions ahead
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Alex Gallo got the idea to become a court reporter during a career day at his high school. He went to court reporting school and worked as a court reporter for a decade.
In 1999, he struck out on his own. His court reporting firm, now known as Alexander Gallo Holdings and based in downtown Atlanta, has grown exponentially, largely through acquisition. Alexander Gallo Holdings bought its first company in 2003 and has since made 15 acquisitions across the country. More are expected.
Sean Drakes/Special
Atlanta-based Alexander Gallo Holdings, which Alex Gallo started in 1999, now has 50 offices across the nation. ‘From a geography standpoint, nobody else can really compete,’ Gallo says.
• Age: 39.
• Family: Married with four sons, ages 13, 11, 5 and 3.
• Home: Chastain Park area.
• On his iPod: James Blunt, Death Cab for Cutie, Andrea Bocelli.
• Favorite book: "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World" by John Wood.
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Gallo declined to discuss the firm’s revenue, though he said there are now 50 offices, with about 1,000 court reporters working at any given time, some as employees and some as independent contractors.
Gallo is particularly proud that his company has gotten involved with the nonprofit Room to Read, which is dedicated to educating children in the developing world. It was started by former Microsoft executive John Wood, who wrote about his experience in “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.”
Q: What have the challenges been of growing your company so quickly and integrating so many acquisitions?
A: Any time you are growing that fast, you are reinventing yourself, weekly, monthly. You are constantly, from an operational standpoint, focused on the integration of companies and redeveloping systems to handle larger capacity. It is a tremendous challenge, although I almost don’t even want to call it a challenge for us anymore. It is just a way of life for us as a company. Everyone is running constantly 100 miles an hour, integrating and keeping up with the growth.
Q: Will there be more acquisitions?
A: Absolutely. We have more in the pipeline. We will continue to do acquisitions where they make sense from a geography standpoint or from a product line standpoint. If it makes sense strategically, we will look at the acquisition.
Q: Speaking of product lines, can you talk a bit more about what services you guys offer and how you make money?
A: Sure, primarily it is court reporting. That is probably 70 percent of the business. We also have litigation support, which is electronic discovery, trial presentations and management of documents and electronic evidence. And then, probably 15 percent of our business is staffing, legal staffing and administrative staffing. That business is concentrated primarily in the Northeast.
Q: What’s the biggest growth opportunity for your company?
A: We will continue with the court reporting. There is a large movement, particularly in this economy, on the corporate side, pushing to consolidate vendors. So from the corporate side, a company … will want to consolidate their spending and look for better pricing from a national provider. That is a driving force in the industry. Everyone is looking to save.
Q: So the goal is to be big enough that you can be that one provider for a national company?
A: Yes. We are the largest in the industry. We are more than two times the size of the next competitor. So from a geography standpoint, nobody else can really compete. And I think we have one of the healthiest rosters of clients from a corporate standpoint.
Q: Has the economy affected your business, or is court reporting recession-proof?
A: We are fortunate. I would never say we are recession-proof, but I do think litigation weathers the storm a little better. I think this is an industry that will feel the effects of a recession later and recover more quickly.
Q: I know your company has gotten involved with the nonprofit Room to Read. Can you talk about that?
A: When you look at what we are doing as a business, a lot of it is to grow and be the leader in our industry. But a big piece of it also is to give back to the community and the world. We got involved with Room to Read in late ‘07, early ‘08. We have had tremendous buy-in throughout the company in terms of support of the organization. To date, we are having two schools built (in Laos and Vietnam) and 600 scholarships funded. We are also having some children’s books published in local languages.
Q: And why Room to Read? How did your company choose this particular nonprofit?
A: I was at Barnes and Noble, and I saw the book “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World.” I never really have an opportunity to read for pleasure because there is always something work-related to read. It looked like an interesting book, so I picked it up and read it on a flight or two. It is just a very moving story, a compelling path that this guy is on to effect change in parts of the world that are riddled with poverty and socioeconomic issues. I highly recommend reading the book.
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