The Shield Group has three new senior people to deliver what the company calls its total security solutions model, featured in the April print issue of Professional Security. Stephen Hollings will take over as Commercial Director. Peter Aaronson has become Managing Director of Shield Consults. He was a 30-year career policeman, who joined in Manchester in 1975. Russell Sharp leads the company’s monitoring services as MD of Shield Monitoring & Systems. After a career in the Royal Air Force Police Russell entered the security industry with Glaxo Group Research and Shell International. He joined Shield as a Site Security Manager in 1997 and after two years joined the headquarters operation, first as a Contracts Manager. He designed the company’s London control centre and more recently the Shield Monitoring Centre, in Preston.
This follows The Shield Group’s acquisition by Indian security conglomerate, TOPSGRUP in 2012. The company has a new brand identity and name; formerly known as The Shield Guarding Company Ltd, The Shield Guarding Company is now one of the four business verticals that form The Shield Group. The Shield Group’s business verticals will cover the following areas:
The Shield Guarding Company: Manned Guarding, Event Management,, Police Support Services, Mobile Patrols, Alarm Response, Keyholding, Concierge & Reception Services, Executive Protection
Shield Systems Limited: CCTV, Access Control Design and Installation
Shield Monitoring Services: CAT 2 NSI Gold standards monitoring of Customer premises including lone worker management
and Shield Consults: Security Consultancy, Investigations Risk & Threat analysis, Corporate Screening.
The firm describes it as a profound effort to transform the provision of security services away from a bundle, commoditised approach.
John Roddy, CEO of The Shield Group, said: “The launch of The Shield Groups’ Total Security Solutions business model, marks an exciting time in the company’s trajectory. Our business approach has traditionally been market focused and we always place the customer’s needs first so that we can ensure their business runs smoothly. This we feel has been the key to our success.
At a time when security and safety in the business place is pivotal and customization of services key to client satisfaction, in listening to our customers’ security requirements, we understand there has been an increasing requirement to extract security services from facilities managed bundled contracts and to adopt innovation at every step of the supply chain.
Whilst our competitors have attempted to do this, more work is still needed. For instance, having operated in the facilities management sector in both a sales and an operations capacity during the last 10 years, I have personally seen the growth of security contracts, both manned and electronic, forming part of wider facility management contracts where services are bundled together. There is clear evidence to suggest that cuts are being introduced into the market to extract security services away from its dedicated purpose which has led to the dilution of skills.”
He added: “Businesses instead require a single, dedicated and experienced supply of security services led by experts, a trend I feel will continue, hence we at Shield have developed four distinct yet complimentary security verticals to offer customers a total solution package bespoke to individual requirements.”
“We are so passionate and committed to this that we have put our name to it, re-branding the company to The Shield Group. Shield Guarding now operates under the Total Security Solutions model as a separate specialist division, and we are investing more into Security Personnel and Contract Management training focusing on customer care and management by objective programmes.”
Speaking about the company’s new direction, Dr Richie Nanda, Global Chairman of TOPSGRUP said: “The Shield Group is a key strategic business within TOPSGRUP. We strive to remain top of the league in the UK as well as globally and with the re-structure of the brand, this reflects the ongoing development within the company. The rebrand reflects TOPSGRUP’s and The Shield Group’s joint journey since the acquisition. We as an industry need to recognise that security requirements are altering and the advances not only in technology but also in our customer’s business means we cannot afford to stand still. Over the last six months, the company has focused on making revolutionary technological investments to support the company’s strategic development and expansion, to ensure all services are market leading. To support the new structure, we are focusing more on compliance management within the contract and increasing field management to fully meet our customer and contractual requirements, in addition to hiring three very senior members to our team to bring our new structure to life. Furthermore, with The Shield Group nationalising its footprint, the application of a unique structure was essential. We have mapped out our vision and we are ready to set sail.”
The Shield Group reports a national footprint in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Belfast. The company installed two regional head quarters based in the City of London at Austin Friars covering the south of England and in Preston covering the north and Northern Ireland. Recently The Shield Group activated the Shield Monitoring System in Preston, which has full Category II status and compliant with BS5979.
