We’re really excited to have recently welcomed some fantastic new faces to the Sentinel Homes family!
This includes Harry Nichol, Director and new franchise owner in Queenstown; Adam Percy, our new General Manager in Christchurch; and Amy Harper & Paul Gillaly, Directors and General Managers of Sentinel Homes Manawatū & Horowhenua. Each brings a great mix of experience, knowledge, and skills to their new roles, along with some fresh ideas and loads of enthusiasm.
We sat down with each of them to get to know them a little better, find out what brought them to Sentinel Homes, and hear what they’re most excited about as they get started with their new roles and franchises.
Originally moving to Queenstown for the snow 13 years ago, Harry is no stranger to the Queenstown building scene. Having worked in the local industry for over a decade, with half of that running his own building companies, he knows a lot about the types of homes locals are after. “I started my own company about five years ago with an old business partner, and once he moved up to Tauranga, so I started my own thing about a year and a half ago,” he explains. “For the last five years, I've been buying and selling property and designing houses and figuring out what people want and like.”
When the opportunity to join the Sentinel Homes team popped up on his phone, owning a franchise wasn't on Harry’s radar. “I'd never really even thought about buying a group home franchise or anything,” he says. “But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It's a pretty natural progression for me to just sort of do, you know, 10 years on the tools and then be able to actually use those transferable skills to sort of do something new.”
Getting in touch with the Sentinel team only made him more excited by the opportunity. “They were super nice and just super upfront with everything. Also, a lot of other franchisees feel like they're in competition with each other, whereas I could tell Sentinel were more of a team and very supportive. It just felt like quite a cool thing to be a part of.”
Outside of work, Harry loves to enjoy everything Queenstown has to offer. “Queenstown's cool! Everybody's sort of on the same page as we're all quite outdoorsy sort of folk, especially the people I surround myself with. You're pretty much in the mecca for all of that.”
Harry says he’s most excited about the challenge of building Sentinel Homes Queenstown into one of the best in the region. “I've always been one to challenge myself,” he explains. “I personally am somebody who can't stagnate. I've got to be doing something new, pushing myself and expanding my horizons, and this franchise is something I can constantly keep developing which is really exciting.”
Couple Amy and Paul are a dream combination to help lead our Sentinel Homes Manawatū & Horowhenua franchise. Born and bred in Palmerston North, Amy has vast experience in sales and marketing both locally and overseas working for large global companies, whereas Paul has been in the building industry since he was 20, and brings a wealth of knowledge including project management, and managing teams across a wide variety of building projects.
So when the prospect of joining the Sentinel team came up, it seemed like the perfect fit from the start. “We were both really excited when we got the opportunity to join the Sentinel Homes franchise here,” Amy says. “We felt like the team really listened to what we talked about, and it felt like a nice fit just personality-wise. We just felt like they were the kind of people that we want to associate with and, you know, just have the same sort of morals and standards and ethics around the approach to building that we do.”
Amy and Paul have a clear vision of what they want to achieve with the franchise. “We want to build design-led homes that are really functional at the same time, and practical, building with people who are really passionate and enthusiastic about the design as well as the functionality,” Amy explains. “I am really excited to work with clients who are building their forever home. They are really passionate and excited, and we get to help choose beautiful things to put in their home, or make suggestions that’ll make their life easier.”
The couple are really pleased to be building a franchise in the area they love. “It’s a great place to raise a family. We have 3 energetic children who most certainly keep us busy,” Amy says. “We’re quite regularly chasing the kids around the sports field, and Paul likes to head off hunting as often as he can. We’re proud to call Palmerston North home.”
Amy also explains that she’s keen to provide a personal experience to those looking to build in the region. “We have a real people-based and relationship-based approach. It’s sort of come in and have a conversation, because while we have plans you can start from, we can do almost anything that you want. We can work to a budget or just to whatever your imagination comes up with. I also love feeling out people's preferences and really lean into what they like. Whether that's a view or a beautiful window or some curtains or the kitchen of their dreams. That's really cool."
When it comes to management and entrepreneurship, Adam has pretty much done it all, including having run his own energy company, print business, and digital marketing company. But his true passion was always in the building industry. “I did my first development at 21, which was a 10 home subdivision. I loved it and ever since then I've just sort of been in the building industry.”
After holding several Manager and General Manager positions with New Zealand home building companies, Adam was keen to combine his passion for the industry with his entrepreneurial mindset by starting his own construction company. “I didn't really, honestly, even think about joining a franchise. I thought they were just, you know, very cookie-cutter”, he explains. “But then, I had a chat with the Sentinel guys, and, you know, they definitely had a different feeling about their ethos around building. They were very community-focused in their building, their homes are beautifully crafted with a lot of thought put into them, and they just seemed like a very good bunch. That sort of made me think, oh, well, if there's such significant alignment with what I'm looking at doing, I could get ahead pretty quickly being a part of a group of like-minded people, rather than starting fresh. So, yeah, that's why I made the decision to jump in here, rather than do my own thing.”
Since taking that jump, Adam has already found the decision to line up perfectly with what he had envisioned. “ I've always had a huge passion for design and architecture, creating beautiful buildings and thinking about the people that live in them. Coming into Sentinel just really aligned well for me, and lets me really lean into my passions a bit more and express the way I think building in New Zealand should be.”
Having grown up in Nelson, Adam is really excited to be back in the South Island and is already making the most of his time back in Christchurch. “I've been in and out of Christchurch for many years. You've also got the great outdoors at your doorstep and access to the rest of the South Island. Anything that’s outdoors I quite enjoy. Ultras, trail running, mountaineering, getting up into the snow and doing alpine climbing, that kind of stuff. My partner's quite into all of that too, so we just get out there.”
And Adam has already identified what he thinks is missing in Christchurch that locals need. “There's a massive gap for a builder that can help people into, what you could possibly call affordable luxury,” he says. “I want to help people see they can actually have something that's exactly what they want for the same or not much extra. I think overall, homes help make a community, and I want to help ensure we’ve got more interested, more invested people in the homes and in the community.”
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Thinking of building in your part of the country? Get in touch with your local Sentinel Homes team to have a chat about how we can help build your dream home in your dream location.
Let’s get together for a free, no-pressure meeting with one of our team, at your place or ours.
We can't wait to hear your ideas!
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