Una's blog

WiS Awards

by Mark Rowe

It is that time again in the wider world of security when the entire private security profession is unified with one voice at the Women in Security Awards (WiS), unlike any other award in this industry, or any other.

The message is loud and clear that security is no longer a male-dominated industry. The ILBs (Industry Lead Bodies) are represented by their respective judges who include, Joe Connell – ASC, Dave Clark – ASIS, James Kelly – BSIA, Steve Martin FSA, Justin Bentley – IPSA, Jerry Woods – Security Institute, Elizabeth France CB – SIA, Alex Carmichael SSAIB and this year’s host Richard Jenkins, CEO of the National Security Inspectorate (NSI). In 2011 when I approached all the CEOs and heads of the ILBs each one without hesitation came on board. Our first meeting was at the SIA and Baroness Ruth Henig, then Chairman remains a founder judges and is is now our honorary judge. In the event of a tie she is called upon to make that deciding judgment. How this extraordinary award works is that it travels around the industry via the ILBs. This not only sends out the message to women already within the profession but also to young women considering security as a career of choice that this is a diverse and welcoming market place. As the patron and creator of the award it was easy for me to approach all the relevant organisations because over the years I have been involved with each one of them in one way or another. When I established my company Euro Alarms Ltd in 1985, the security industry was very different then for a woman in business. I can’t express my pride regarding this award, as I have said on many occasions, it is a testimony to the positive changes, over the years.

What a great event on board the Harmony, it was the boat that rocked! Outside the river was choppy but the evening sailed smoothly on. We had a great dinner and Liz Lloyd had done a great job as always organising and co-ordinating this event. However, none of these events would ever happen without the generosity of the sponsors, and this event was no exception. In my short speech, I mentioned the sponsors, UBM (owners of IFSEC), Sodexo and the NSI. A huge thanks to all of them for their support.

This year the Professional Security magazine-WiS Awards introduced a new category – technical. The four categories now are: Security Manager, Contribution to Industry, Technical, and Front-Line. The nominations are based on two questions: ‘How does the Nominee contribute to the wider world of security, the profession or industry, over and above her job specification?’ and ‘Why, in your opinion, should the nominee win the award?’ The response continues to grow each year not only from UK nominations but also International. All the judges do an incredible job.

The unique aspect of this award is that many of the lead bodies recognise ‘women in security’ at their own, in-house awards but when they all collaborate in one unified voice it is a powerful message to everyone in the security industry and to government that this is a diverse and unified sector of industry. The WiS Awards were launched in 2012 at the ASIS European conference in London. ASIS have a recognition award for women in security and I have been a member both here and in Los Angeles. Therefore, I wanted ASIS to be the launch platform for this unified award. At the ASIS conference we had James Brokenshire MP, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Home Office read out a supportive message from Theresa May then Home Secretary and now Prime Minister. WiS got off to a great start and has continued to develop. Baroness Ruth Henig said at the inaugural awards: “These awards are the Oscars of the Security profession.” Her words were visionary and the WiS awards continue to grow and be emulated internationally. The reason Professional Security was chosen as the ultimate platform for this award is because since the first issue of the magazine in 1990, it has served the wider world of security. Prior to starting up my technical company in 1985 I had worked in Fleet Street and the first two years of running my company I also brought out the ‘Daily Mail Guide to Home Security’. When Professional Security hit the stands in 1990, I knew it was the publication for me. I have been associated with it ever since. John Cully the publisher and I collaborated on many security projects and committees over the years and in the 80s we contributed to the direction of the private security industry as we know it today … from the SILB (Security Industry Lead Body) days to the founding of the WCoSP. Therefore, when I created this unique award I knew exactly where the impartiality and independence of the award should be established and I already had the name … the WiS Awards. I guess as they say the rest is history!

And to 2017

This year, Thursday, September 14 on aboard the Harmony, Bateaux London it was the turn of the NSI to host; an extravaganza on the river. Richard Jenkins, CEO, NSI had invited all the other judges of the award and a great time was had by all. But most importantly it was the women nominated that were the stars of the show. From over 150 nominations only three in each category were chosen. Each year it gets harder and harder and the quality and entrants are growing. For me it is the realisation of a dream. When I was the only woman business-owner at many of the industry occasions it was a very lonely place and I knew that one-day things would be very different, and now they are.

This is a great industry for both women and men and you only had to look around the boat to see how diverse we are now as a profession compared to when I started in 1985. The calibre of women in security and the contribution they make has finally been recognised. This year there were three finalists in each of the categories. Each woman that was nominated was a winner. However, in all such things there must be a process which results in one of the finalists becoming the overall winner.

The finalists in the ‘security manager’ category were Siobhan Plunkett – GSLS, Hema Raval – Chelsea Football Club (ISS) and Anna Wardle of Swift Fire & Security. Winner of this category was Siobhan Plunkett, nominated by Denise McCarthy of GSLS who outlined Plunket’s commitment by explaining how when she started in the business she did so by driving a CIT truck herself, collecting cash at night. Plunkett grew and developed the business year on year until in 2017 when it became the largest privately-owned cash handling facility in Ireland. However, she almost didn’t make it on board. Having flown in from Dublin she missed the boat; as they say ‘time and tide wait for no man (or woman)’; but since she was the winner, after setting sail we actually turned back to pick her up. In life, it is little stories like that which make such an occasion even more special. What an achievement and what an honour to be recognised as the winner. We then moved onto the ‘contribution to industry’ category where Frances Banham of the Banham Group, Julie Reynolds of Steelforce Security UK Ltd, and Michelle Bailey of Active Response were finalists. It was Anne Wilson MBE, of Numill Tooling Solutions that nominated Michelle Bailey, the winner of this category, espousing Michelle’s expertise, team support and her commitment to the industry. Her introduction of initiatives such as ‘Safeguarding Women, Anti Bullying, Women in Business together with Cyber Crime and Counter Terrorism Awareness training delivery caught the judges’ eyes.

In the Technical Category, the three finalists were Carolyn Parsons of Maiden Voyage, Kirsty Sutherland of Norbain and Samantha Bamford of Pelco by Schneider. Jason Spielfogel of Pelco nominated the winner of this category. Spielfogel explained how not only was Bamford an invaluable resource to him and the organisation but to the entire security industry. He explained that regardless of gender Bamford was exceptional and gave examples of her passion for technology and her creative thinking ahead of the technologies to enable her to assist and influence her customers and colleagues alike. He explained how Bamford was solution driven and as a result has reaped the rewards of customer care. At a recent visit to IFSEC whilst accompanying Bamford he noticed her popularity with customers and other industry professionals was overwhelming. Spielfogel ended his nomination by saying: “This combination of passion, knowledge and vision is such a rarity, but it is what makes Samantha.” This popularity was evident when she stepped up to collect her award once again the boat rocked as the applause for the winner echoed down the Thames.

Our final category and the closest in points was the ‘front line’. There were two nominations that were almost neck and neck. However, when all the scores were in the winner emerged. The nominations in this category were Alison Ridge of Securitas, Anastasia (Susan) Markou of Sodexo, and Keeley Watson of Wilson James Limited. The winner was nominated by Colin Dann of Wilson James. He wrote: “Keeley joined the Francis Crick Institute in early 2016 and has been promoted twice in recognition of her capability. Her star quality was highlighted during the opening of The Crick by HRH the Queen, a proud moment for both the Institute and Keeley. She understood the importance of this special day and managed operations to ensure an enjoyable and safe event.” He then went on to explain that earlier this year Keeley assisted The Crick in the achievement of the City of London Police Building Security Accreditation. Keeley stepped forward to collect her award looking like a Hollywood star collecting her Oscar. I can’t express what these awards mean to me because instead of being in the past 32 years since I started Euro I am now part of the history of the private security industry and my experiences are not the experiences of young women today. I am so proud to see women being recognised for their contribution. When we all repaired to the entrance for the group picture, the photographer said: “Can I have all the ‘runners-up.” I blurted out: “There are no runners-up, only finalists “

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