It is with the deepest regret and sadness that I heard Sue Seaby, Head of Client Relationships at Securitas UK died on August 5. By now I am sure that most security professionals will have been informed by the various channels and organisations that Sue was involved with.
As sad as this news is Sue would like her life celebrated and requested with her husband that no black be worn at her funeral … only bright colours. That just about sums up this dynamic woman as those who know her would attest. All her colleagues from each of the companies where she has worked over the years, and for those who simply crossed paths with her along the way, will have their own personal recollection of Sue. This is mine.
Sue first came to my attention in 2010 and having always advocated ‘Women in Security’ I was always on the look-out for female security professionals to profile them and publicise their contribution to our profession. Sue was an obvious candidate. Having not met Sue before, my impression was that she was a larger than life character who seemed to combine professionalism with a mischievous sense of fun. She was a dynamic woman who had originally entered the security profession as a store detective with Marks and Spencer. But her ambition knew no bounds and she did not let the usual obstacles get in her way. At the time I met her she was Director of Security EMEA at Aon Corporate Services in London.
I recall she felt strongly about prospective security professionals entering the sector from all walks of life and not just former military and blue light public sectors. In the interview in September 2011, Sue said: “I am not ex-police or military. In the industry I am known as a ‘security general’; basically I have built my skills along the way via experience. My last role with Barclays Bank was very much about management skills within the context of security. What we have here at Aon is very much the same ethos. I have been able to transfer my skills in a seamless fashion to enable me to perform my new role which as we have discussed is very exciting and rewarding.” We had talked for ages about the industry and the changes that we had seen over the years, and being women in security we could not help but remark on the emergence of women into the profession.
We were both in agreement that it was good to see women coming into the security profession as a career of choice. There are now prominent role models that exist as an incentive to encourage women to choose to become security professionals. Before we concluded I wanted to know what ambitions Sue had still to fulfil. She threw her head back and laughed and said that she had been talking about the very same subject the day before! Sue said: “I have done a lot of what I had wanted to achieve.” At that meeting we talked about the upcoming Professional Security Magazine-Women in Security (WiS) Awards that I was intending to launch in 2012 and told Sue that she was an ideal nominee.
WiS Awards
Malcolm Norman, Global Chief Security Officer Aon nominated Sue for the inaugural WiS Awards in 2012. It was a great nomination and outlined all the work that Sue had been involved with. Here is an excerpt of what he said. “Sue is an enormously well respected senior corporate security professional with a wide-ranging background in international security across a number of Fortune 500 organisations. Having held global, regional and national roles she has extensive experience of multinational issues having worked across multiple geographies and multiple security and safety functions. She is a Liveryman and Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, a member of ASIS and is a founder member of the International Women’s Day celebrations that bring together 600 ladies from all walks of life, including security, to celebrate the achievement of women at all levels in both the public and private sector.
“Sue is a member of various committees, boards and liaison groups within the security industry that shape the standards and development of the industry whilst also being a member of multiple charity committees. She gives her time, knowledge, and experience freely to promote women and the security industry in general. Sue is a well-recognised leading light within the corporate security sector – not just within the UK but also internationally.”
Like Sue I had been championing WiS since 1985 and finally I was able to launch the WiS Awards in 2012 and I am happy to say that Sue was the winner of the end-user category at the inaugural event with ASIS as the host in London. James Brokenshaw MP read out the message from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, and that was the start of Women in Security being recognised for their contribution to the wider world of security by the major SILBs (Security Industry Lead Bodies) within the sector.
Sue and I had a lot in common regarding security back then as we chatted at length about the changes over the years. Especially the introduction of the WCoSP. Sue was already a Liveryman and I encouraged her to become involved and work towards eventually becoming Master. Sue was Middle Warden (elect) and was on route to becoming Master in 2020. We need women like Sue to join the WCoSP and like Sue progress through the Court to become Master. There is nothing to stop women shaping the profession, but they have to become involved and contribute to the same level as Sue did.
Sue was a ball of energy and would have become Master if not for her untimely demise, but I know she would want to encourage other women to become involved and pursue the same ambition. Sue will not be forgotten by the company. The Immediate Past Master (IPM) Air Commodore Stephen Anderton of the WCoSP said: “Sue was our current trail blazer in re- establishing women into the senior ranks of this Company. She was destined to be the Master in June 2020, some 17 years after our only other Lady Master, Una Riley, in 2003-04. As part of this process she was making great strides to establish herself in this senior role by heading up the innovative and quite dynamic Marketing and Fundraising Communication Working Group.
“The splendid results she achieved in her time in charge were: the review and re-launch of our great web site, with full professional support to run it, the addition of a Company Twitter feed, a new dedicated and official Company LinkedIn site and the re-launch of a quarterly e-news letter, with all the potential that has for improving our internal communications. That was all substantive work, led by Sue. She was also making a difference with our Company ladies by encouraging many of them to join the Court and take up responsibility for leading the Company. Unfortunately, that has all been so suddenly cut short by her untimely death. However, the Master, IPM and other Wardens hope that her message to have more women involved at a senior level will spread ever more widely and deliver the results she tried to achieve herself.”
The IPM went on to say: “Every message that encourages more of our female members to get involved with running the Company the better.” We now have more women members in the WCoSP, but I think Sue would like us to encourage even more to get involved from the wider world of security. I think that Sue is a great role model to enable us to reach out to all women in security. The current Master, Phillip Hagon QPM said: “Sue Seaby was our Middle Warden (Elect) and was so looking forward to becoming Master of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals. Those that knew Sue will remember her for her kindness, ready humour, and sound work ethic. It is so sad that we have lost such a great colleague, friend and lovely woman to this wretched disease and we all send our deepest sympathy to her husband Mike and the family.”
Sue will be missed by all that have known her but will not be forgotten.
Sue Seaby’s background: Head of Client Relationships at Securitas. UK Director Security EMEA Aon Corporate Service. MD of the UK operation of consultancy Global Aware International; Global Group Head of Security for Barclays Bank plc; Regional Head Security Risk Management Europe, Middle East, and Africa at UBS bank; Regional Security and Global Protection Manager – Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Motorola; 11 years at DHL UK in management, including four as UK security manager; 15 years at Marks & Spencer.
Sue Seaby’s funeral is at Woking Crematorium, Surrey, GU21 8TJ on Wednesday, August 29 at 1015am. It was Sue’s wish for people to wear colour, not black. Flowers; only immediate family.
