field. “I am strongly motivated to do a good job and to keep people safe. It’s in the DNA of any service member or anyone working in security to protect people. Also, I am driven by working with other people with a similar passion for improving the situation and making things safer. You have to contribute otherwise you know everything will stay the same and we will not improve.”
An opportunity to give back
New chair of The Security Institute
Getting to know Peter Lavery FSyI W
e met with Peter Lavery FSyI– the new Chair of the Security Institute and City of London Crime Prevention Association committee member – to find out what makes him tick, his background, experience and his views on security, the Institute and his plans for taking it forward in the next three years.
Background and experience
Peter has an extensive background in security- related roles including 22 years in the British Army with the Royal Military Police and 11 years in corporate security.
His original aim at 16 was to join the police, but at the time, they were asking for more life experience than he had. He was a member of army cadets so decided to join the Royal Military Police and sign up for the regular police later. As it turned out, the diversity of opportunities within the RMP led him to stay for 22 years.
“The roles and responsibilities within the RMP are very similar to those of a normal police officer: community policing, intelligence, counter terrorism. You have the same legal training, follow the same laws of the land.
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Policing a garrison is very similar to policing a small town.”
His service included numerous roles including executive protection, CT security advisor and investigations. He deployed to many locations including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Croatia, Beirut in Lebanon, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and three tours of Afghanistan.
Peter can also draw upon extensive corporate experience: After leaving the military, he joined De La Rue, who are responsible for the production of UK Sterling currency inside the Bank of England. He has held a number of senior risk and security roles including Director of Country Risk & Governance at Colt Technology Services, a multi-national telecommunications company and Regional Security Manager at Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group – a global markets company. His current role is EMEA Security & Business Continuity Manager at Cushman & Wakefield (a global commercial real estate services company).
Motivation
These roles have given Peter a deep understanding of risk and security management and, in particular, an interest in counter terrorism and this remains a key focus for him. He has also developed an understanding of why he works within this
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This strong drive to improve the situation has led to a long involvement in voluntary roles within the security sector. This began at De La Rue who asked Peter to represent them on a number of security and resilience related committees. He began by contributing to security standards around CVIT (cash and valuables in transit). He says: “The volunteering piece is where there's an opportunity to give back.”
He is a board trustee on the CSSC (Cross- Sector Safety & Security Communications): “It is an amazing initiative that provides a free security communication service to business.” He is a committee member of the City of London Crime Prevention Association “a highly regarded organisation which for many years has held monthly meetings to share police updates and crime prevention information, has supported important crime- related initiatives and been pivotal in CSSC, Project Griffin and City Security magazine.” He is also a member of the Continuity & Resilience Committee (CAR/1) of the British Standards Institute (BSI) and a member of the London Resilience Forum. As well, of course, as his long term support of the Security Institute and recent appointment as Chair.
Benefits for business
Peter believes his involvement in these roles outside of his day job enables him to have a wider perspective on issues and this is a direct benefit back to his employer.
“When you are involved with groups like the London Resilience Forum and their role in a co- ordinated multi-agency response to major incidents, be it terrorism, extreme weather, flooding or COVID-19 or Brexit, then you can take the experience back to your organisation, where that diversity of thought provides a lot of benefit back to the business.”
In particular, he outlined his reasons for his support of the Security Institute: “It’s an organisation that wants to effect change for the better; it wants to help further professionalise those in security and wants to contribute to standards.”
Approach
It’s clear from talking to Peter that he is a highly collaborative leader: “I have benefited from working with high performing teams throughout most of my career: military and corporate. Where this has not been the case and I've been in a position to influence or lead,
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