We Are A Force To Be Reckoned With.

Independently Owned Australian Electrical Wholesalers Are Not Going Anywhere, Says Gemcell Electrical Group Chairman Bernie O’neill, Who Believes That Strength Lies in Unity.

- Jennifer Sijnja

Passionate about Australian rules football, Gemcell Electrical Group Chairman Bernie O’Neill played 300 games of AFL for the Wollongong Lions in Sydney’s Premier League competition. Having gained experience in the coach’s box, too, Bernie is evidently in possession of the kind of team mentality that sees a group come together when their backs are to the wall, refusing to give up no matter how long the odds of victory are.

A self-described “down-to-earth bloke”, Bernie began an electrical apprenticeship in Wollongong, New South Wales, when he was 15, before starting his own electrical contracting business at 22, and running it for the next 19 years. During this time, he developed a close relationship with the management at Gordon Macdonald Electrical, a wholesaler from whom he purchased his equipment, and was eventually asked to come on board with the company. He joined the Gordon team in 1999, becoming General Manager in 2005, and he still runs the company today.

Gordon Macs was one of six independent electrical wholesalers from New South Wales that came together in 1991 to establish a buying group, hoping to remain competitive in the face of the increasing purchasing power of multinational electrical wholesalers. Initially named Gemcell Australia, the organisation became the Gemcell Electrical Group in 2013. Bernie was voted onto the Gemcell Board in 2006, and has been Chairman since 2012.