A driving force behind one of Ottawa’s fastest-growing software companies is stepping away from the business he helped launch more than a decade ago.
Martello Technologies co-founder Niall Gallagher said this week he was officially retiring from the company’s board of directors after 11 years with the organization.
Gallagher’s departure marks the end of a highly successful era for the Kanata-based software company, which makes software that helps customers detect and troubleshoot problems in their high-speed communications networks.
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“Niall played a pivotal role in Martello’s early growth, and the entire Martello team is grateful to him for his vision, hard work and dedication to the company’s success,” president and CEO John Proctor said in a statement. “We wish him the very best as he begins a well-deserved retirement, and we will continue to work hard to grow the business that he co-founded 11 years ago.”
Gallagher launched Martello in 2009 along with Emilio DiLorenzo after a distinguished career as a senior executive with two other Ottawa-born tech giants, Nortel and Mitel. He served as the new firm’s chief executive for the first two years before moving into the role of vice-president of product management, a job he held until retiring in late 2018.
Strong revenue growth
Thanks in large part to Gallagher’s veteran leadership, Martello became a fixture on lists of the capital’s fastest-growing companies. Two years ago, the firm went public on the TSX Venture Exchange in a reverse takeover, and it has made several acquisitions in an effort to expand its geographic footprint and market share.
Now at 120 employees, Martello has seen demand for its services skyrocket during the COVID-19 pandemic as the shift to a remote workforce sparked a surge in traffic on high-speed networks. The firm reported revenues of $3.3 million in its most recent quarter, up 21 per cent from a year earlier.
“I’m extremely proud of what the team at Martello has accomplished over the last 11 years, including four acquisitions, a public listing and solid year-over-year revenue growth,” Gallagher said.
“Today, the company has a compelling market opportunity in digital experience monitoring, and though the time is right for me to retire from the board, I remain an engaged shareholder.”
An electrical engineering graduate of University College Dublin, Gallagher also holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa. He began his career in the industry with Nortel in 1981, working with the telecom giant in senior leadership positions across Canada and Hong Kong before joining Mitel in 2005.
In a statement, Mitel co-founder Terry Matthews praised his former colleague for his lasting contributions to Ottawa’s tech scene.
“Niall had a vision for Martello back in 2009, to develop performance-monitoring software for the emerging world of unified communications,” Matthews said.
“That vision remains core to the digital experience monitoring strategy the company embraces today, and it continues to drive the long-held partnership the company enjoys with Mitel. I thank Niall for his vision and years of dedication to the success of Martello, and I do wish him well in the future.”
