Spotlight on Leadership: Ellen Dick's journey to Auror UK

As Auror expands further into the UK, it makes sense to send the "A team" to help connect our community. To our partners and friends in the UK, that’s what you’re getting with Ellen Dick.

With nearly a decade of experience in the Loss Prevention technology industry, Ellen knows how to build an effective community - fast - and at scale, having already achieved this in New Zealand, then with Australia as Auror launched in 2018, and she’ll be doing it again in the UK this spring.

Ellen was part of the team that saw Auror’s growth in New Zealand from one store to now 90%+ of the enterprise retail market. She invests her time and energy into understanding retailers, what their pain points are, how to remedy them, and how to gather the troops to ensure the power of collaboration for the best results. Together with the Auror team, she’s enabled one retailer to see a 50% reduction in their shrink in less than two years.

Results like this will ensure Ellen is greatly missed by her ANZ retail partners, but creating community in the UK is firmly in her sights.

Ellen, tell us about your experience launching Auror into Australia?

I had the ability to be the first boots on the ground in Australia and really develop that initial community. We started with one customer - but it was one customer with around 60 malls across Australia, so everything was bigger, faster, and more urgent. Ultimately, it came down to building relationships, understanding the people and their problems, and the solution we were offering. It was all about building the team and the capability in Australia, and ensuring we had the right people so that the market would succeed.

What does success look like to you then, Ellen?

It’s really simple for me - success to me and to Auror is the success of our retail partners. We create pathways for our retail partners to get the best results - connecting the dots and quickly seeing the impact they can have for their stores, their colleagues, customers and wider community.

Tell us about launching Auror in the UK last year

It was an absolute delight to be invested in the UK Loss Prevention community from the start with Auror. We’ve already rolled out with our first UK customers, but there’s that demand for pace and again, to really understand the retailers and their problems. We’ve seen a lot of the same problems as we’ve moved into other markets, and I’m really happy to be the safe pair of hands and work alongside our excellent team here in the UK.

What are you most excited about for Auror UK?

It’s a few things for me: building a community from the ground up, driving momentum for retailers, seeing the immediate financial impact on our retailers, and then - most importantly - helping to create safer communities.

And you’ve been able to do that before, across the globe?

In New Zealand when I started with Auror we were rolling out to our first fuel sites, and then ensuring we captured the rest of the NZ fuel market. For Australia, building that community from the ground up was a huge feat, and really establishing Auror beyond its first market was incredibly exciting.

Where it really starts to get comparable to the UK is launching into the US. I supported the initial pilot for the biggest retailers in the world, where you really start to dive into how to scale things that previously you thought couldn’t be. I’m looking forward to driving that kind of momentum in the UK and being part of the key team that brings that to life.

I’ve also been lucky enough to lead the deployment of debt recovery and licence-plate technology that helps retailers like Z Energy increase their recoveries by 50%, resulting in a 73% reduction in net loss from fuel drive-offs. While it’s incredibly valuable to deliver financial results like that, I’m hugely driven by helping to create safer communities, using technology for good, and working with frontline colleagues and associates who want to do great work, make good decisions, and do it free from violence and aggression.

What’s the best feedback you’ve ever had from a retail partner?

I’ve been told that the impact Auror has had on their company is immeasurable. "Our teams feel safer and are less stressed about dealing with potentially dangerous or aggressive people in-store, which means they are able to focus on delivering great customer service to other store visitors."

And it’s feedback like that which makes me excited to grow our UK presence, and partner for good. There’s so much to do and I’m excited to roll up my sleeves with retailers in the UK to really make a difference.

Meet another member of Auror UK's "A team," Mark Gleeson.