'From €200m to €24bn - How I built a global glass empire'

'From €200m to €24bn - How I built a global glass empire'

From Business Leader by Business Leader

March 24, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

Gary Lubner shares his experience of scaling Belron from €200 million to €24 billion and discusses his leadership philosophy shaped by his upbringing in South Africa.

Gary Lubner, the former CEO of Belron, discusses his journey scaling the vehicle glass giant from a value of €200 million to €24 billion over 23 years. Lubner explains to Richard Harpin how the company achieved global dominance through strategic acquisitions, a standardised operational model known as 'The Belron Way', and the iconic "Autoglass repair, Autoglass replace" jingle – which Richard sings along with him! Lubner reflects on his upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa, which instilled a deep sense of social responsibility and influenced his people-centric leadership style.  Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Join the Business Leader community here and sign up for our newsletter here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Richard Harpin

Guest: Gary Lubner

Topics covered

  • business growth
  • leadership
  • entrepreneurship
  • strategic acquisitions
  • social responsibility

Keywords

  • Belron
  • Gary Lubner
  • business growth
  • leadership style
  • strategic acquisitions
  • Autoglass
  • social responsibility

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Belron

Places: South Africa

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