Lúcia Veiga Moretti
A global pioneer in security, Allegion’s business centres on one thing: keeping people safe.
The world of safety and security has progressed leaps and bounds in the past century. Allegion has been a key driving force behind this evolution and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down soon. Allegion today has more than 25 brands under its banner. This wide portfolio allows it to deliver an array of highly advanced solutions, covering everything from residential and commercial locks to door closers and exit devices. The President of Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) is Lúcia Veiga Moretti, who says that an entrepreneurial spirit is one of the defining factors that has led to the long-term success of Allegion in the mechanical security sector and its high growth in electronics.
"Allegion is a company that came to make a difference in this industry, and we are in control of our own destiny," she says. "We have a specific culture: a sense of serving others and not ourselves. From the highest to the lowest level in the organisation, we have a servant leadership style. We try to empower our teams to do the right thing for the company, and we always say that this is their business, so they should run with it. Being in the security industry at this point in time is just the right place to be. There are always risks to safety, so we are working to keep people’s peace of mind in check. We are trying to give them access, control, visibility and connectivity, while bringing new technologies to them. There are transformations happening in every industry, and Allegion is providing the necessary solutions to combat the inherent risks."
"There are transformations happening in every industry, and Allegion is providing the necessary solutions to combat the inherent risks." – Lúcia Vegia Moretti
Prior to joining Allegion, Lúcia spent more than two decades working in the automotive business where she held executive roles in the regions of South America, North America and EMEIA. Most recently, she was Senior Vice-President of Delphi Automotive Systems and President of Delphi Product and Service Solutions in the worldwide after-market business. When Lúcia first accepted the role with Allegion, she saw exciting opportunities to learn about a new industry and to apply her outside knowledge to make improvements.
"The biggest opportunity I saw was the chance to use the experience I had learned over the years, especially from the transformation that happened in the automotive business with the introduction of electronics," she notes. "When I started considering a career
at Allegion, there was also a great transformation going on in the security industry. That’s what attracted me because I could see that it would be exciting and challenging. There were a lot of great opportunities to help the industry move forward.
"The other reason I joined Allegion was the fact that it became an independent company in 2013, when it spun off from Ingersoll Rand and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. From one day to the next, it became a leader in its segment. As an independent company, you have the ability and the opportunity to create your own destiny, and I think that was one of the things that attracted me to the role.
"My mission for Europe is to transform the business, to support the foundations for the future, and to improve the overall performance." As the President of EMEIA, Lúcia’s role encompasses a significant amount of travel. There are 11 operations in Europe alone, with offices in countries such as Italy, Germany, France, Turkey, Poland and the Netherlands, and commercial offices across EMEIA. Her role is to understand and implement the global vision in the region, which is to keep people safe and secure wherever they live, work or visit. "We are a US$2 billion global safety and security solutions provider and we are headquartered in Dublin, Ireland," Lúcia shares.
"The company has a long tradition: a heritage of innovation in mechanical installations all over the world."– Lúcia Vegia Moretti
"My office is in Faenza, Italy, our EMEIA regional headquarters. We have the Americas regional headquarters in Carmel, Indiana, and Asia–Pacific regional headquarters in Shanghai, China. We are present in all continents, and we have more than 25 brands that are sold in 130 countries. The company has a long tradition: a heritage of innovation in mechanical installations all over the world. The company is poised to grow through five key strategies."
The first one is innovation, Lúcia continues. "This is absolutely a must for Allegion. We are focused on innovating existing and new categories. The convergence of mechanical and electronics is a strong part of that, and there are a lot of solutions that we are putting in place. This is one thing we have been investing in. We have more than 550 global active patents, so it’s in our DNA to be innovative and entrepreneurial. Another is the company’s purpose to create peace of mind by pioneering safety and security. That is the statement that we live and breathe every single day."
The third strategic priority is to expand in its core markets. "We are very well positioned in the Americas. We have a strong presence in Europe thanks to a phenomenal heritage from brands like CISA, Bricard, Briton, ITO and Normbau that are now enhanced by the recent acquisitions of SimonsVoss, AXA and Trelock. There is a lot of opportunity to expand in our core markets, and that is one of the areas we are extremely focused on. As part of that, we are also driving growth in emerging markets with opportunities in Latin America, South East Asia, and the Middle East." The fourth area is to continue making complementary acquisitions that support the Allegion portfolio of companies and improve its value, while the fifth is to ensure enterprise excellence. "This is important in all levels of the company," Lúcia explains. "It is something we have established around Allegion and it always guides the way we do business. In other words, enterprise excellence allows us to focus on value stream activities to enhance the customer experience."
With these five strategic initiatives in mind, Allegion is well positioned to continue on a positive growth trajectory well into the future. However, it knows it can’t achieve the greatest degree of success without a supportive and reliable supply-chain network. "Our suppliers are a key stakeholder in the success of the company," Lúcia says. "They are an extension of Allegion. Increasingly, the relationships we have with them are less tactical and more strategic; in certain cases, we are sharing our portfolio plans with them and the solutions for each of the specific verticals we serve. We count on them to develop solutions together with us. We have a solid base of suppliers in Asia–Pacific, as well as in Europe and the US. We continue to focus on developing these relationships because we want to be mutually beneficial partners for the future."
Lúcia is leading Allegion in EMEIA with the brand’s global vision in mind and setting it up with the foundations it needs to prosper. "Allegion is a team of experts with a unique span of expertise, as well as an innovative mindset. We bring fresh thinking on how security can be managed and how technology can be made simple; we help customers adhere to codes and security standards," she shares.