Curtis Gibson wins “Rising Star Award”
We are so delighted to announce that our General Manager Curtis Gibson won the “Rising Star of 2023” award at the Hunter Manufacturing Awards (HMA) on Fri 20th Oct. This major industry award is designed to recognise the next “Rising Star” who has made significant achievements within their business.
HMA awards is designed to recognise various elements of leadership, teamwork and continuous improvements through an extensive judging criteria, along with a highly detailed application and interview process.
The judges were impressed with the ability of Curtis to accept the stewardship of the family business from a long line of predecessors, being the 5th generation to take on the family business. Curtis readily took up the challenge, steering the business to the next level and introducing new business units. He successfully grew them, migrating from a paper-based organisation to being digitally systemised. Learning from some mistakes along the way, Curtis was able to grow the business both in revenue and the number of staff. This also include successfully receiving a NSW Government Regional Job Creation Grant in 2022 with plans to grow the business and employ staff from the local community.
Some of the AE Gibson & Sons team were able to attend the event in support of Curtis after learning that he was a finalist in the HMA awards. The team enjoyed a night of networking, along with some delicious food and entertainment before celebrating with Curtis over a few drinks after winning the award.
As an interesting side note, Curtis also received recognition from HMA back in 2014 where he was a finalist for the “Apprentice of the Year” when he was an Apprentice Fitter & Machinist at Downer Rail.
The team at AE Gibson & Sons are very proud of Curtis for winning the HMA 2023 Rising Star Award. In accepting the award, Curtis acknowledged the great teamwork and commitment to customer success exhibited by everyone in the AE Gibson business.
Following from the award presentation, Curtis has been invited to be part of the 2024 HMA award committee and a judge in the next HMA awards. The networking opportunities and support from HMA and the Hunter Manufacturing Industry are a credit to all involved.
Read more about the HMA Awards 2023 here.