Paul Hunter Executive Director of Business Affairs ICTS UK & Ireland


I joined ICTS UK in 1994 as a Security Agent at London Gatwick Airport. Having


previously served in the military, I was naturally drawn to the security industry and, in particular, the unique challenges presented by aviation security. I became Recruitment and Training Manager at Gatwick. I was additionally asked to act as an Instructor across ICTS Europe, training future Supervisors at the different European subsidiaries.


In 1997, ICTS UK received ISO accreditation for the first time. This was a project I headed. It took 4-5 months to bring the company to the required standards and it was this project that paved the way to be becoming Quality Manager, responsible for all ISO systems within the Company.


It was at this point that I resumed my law studies, backed by ICTS, who sponsored me to complete a part-time, specialist course in Employment Law, which was later followed by a further specialisation in Business and Commercial Law. My qualifications allowed me to become Legal and Compliance Manager, eventually assuming responsibility for all legal matters for the UK subsidiaries in the role of Legal and Compliance Manager.


Further career milestones were: in 2007 when I was appointed Company Secretary (ICTS sponsored my studies with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators); in 2009, I was appointed Group Company Secretary and Head of Legal and Corporate Services; in 2015 I was appointed to my current position of Executive Director of Business Affairs.


The constant pressures of working in a security environment inevitably place stresses on you and I find that key to dealing with this is creating space where work is, even for a brief period of time, completely ignored. For me that is when I travel and I use this time to read and switch my mind away from work and recharge my mental batteries.


My 5 tips for success are: Be decisive – indecision paralyses business


Encourage collaborative working between teams Delegate – you can’t do it all yourself Learn from your mistakes


Believe that no problem is unsolvable – challenge yourself to find the solution.


> © CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – AUTUMN 2017 www.citysecuritymagazine.com 7


Debbie Bruwer


Security Services Manager VSG


When I left school, I had no clear career plans and after travelling for a while, I arrived in the UK sixteen


years ago. I took on various jobs, then the opportunity arose to attend security bootcamp training. This taught me physical restraint techniques, together with other counter terrorism related areas, all quite exciting at the time!


I decided to stay in the UK and further my career in security within the corporate sector, eventually rising to assistant manager. I had a fantastic manager who gave me many opportunities to take on projects, attend client meetings and further my management experience.


There was one obstacle I needed to overcome: the fact that English is my second language. I decided to enrol on a BSc in Risk and Security Management at the University of Portsmouth. This allowed me to improve both my language skills and my security knowledge. I find the knowledge I gained useful every day in my current role.


I studied part-time for six years while continuing to work and progressed into more senior roles. After graduating, I moved organisation into a role where I was able to gain an extensive range of HR experience and a year later moved into my current account manager role. I am now fortunate to have continued mentoring from my line manager, tremendous support from my client and a great team that supports me to reach our daily objectives.


In my current role, I provide tactical direction and operational support with the aim of delivering exemplary customer services on site. I include my team on all daily tasks and use any opportunity to actively train the next generation of security managers.


I love being able to use my experience to teach others who wish to progress. The more work you put into developing your deputies and supervisors, the more benefit you will get from knowing that you can trust them to make the right decision in your absence.


Always be there for them when they need you, but give them the knowledge and the power to make their own decisions.


You are only as strong as your team – use every opportunity available to teach and develop them.


Exploring careers in security


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