Peter Lavery will become the next Chair of the Security Institute from January. He’ll take over from Professor Alison Wakefield, when her three-year term ends at the end of December.
Peter, a Fellow of the Institute, was voted onto the Board of Directors in April 2017 by the Institute membership, having served on the Institute’s Validation Board for several years. Peter has been Deputy Chairman since 2018. He’s also chair of the Board’s Audit Committee and has been leading on a number of external engagement initiatives to help promote the Institute and its values to government and others.
Outside the Institute, he serves as a trustee of the Cross-Sector Safety and Communications (CSSC) charity and is also a member of the London Resilience Forum (a business panel), looking to mitigate the impacts of Brexit, terrorist attacks and most recently COVID-19.
After 22 years in the Royal Military Police including 14 years doing close protection operations for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and elsewhere in Government, Peter has worked in corporate security, across the manufacturing, finance, telecommunications and real estate sectors.
Peter, pictured, said: “I am extremely honoured to be appointed by the Board of Directors to be the next chair of the Security Institute, the UK’s largest professional membership body of security practitioners and increasingly the pre-eminent voice of the protective security profession. Today’s continuingly uncertain political and economic landscape together with the ever-present threat of terrorism present significant challenges and opportunities for our essential workers and organisations, who look to the Institute to help them manage their skills and development during a time of protracted uncertainty. We will continue to champion the professional development of our members and the wider sector and continued awareness of the important role that is played by the security sector in protecting society, whilst supporting changes like Martyn’s Law through a partnership approach with the security community, industry and government.”
And Alison Wakefield said: “I was delighted to see Peter Lavery unanimously elected as the next Institute Chair at our final Board meeting for this year. Having served as Deputy Chair for the last three years and supported the Validation Board for much longer, Peter has already made a considerable contribution to the Institute’s success. He has an intimate knowledge of the workings of the Institute and the wider security sector, and is very well-respected and liked by many Institute members, fellow directors and the HQ team as well as by key external stakeholders. The Institute will appreciate and benefit from a new Chair in 2021 with new energy and ideas to maintain the momentum of our continuing growth in size and influence.”
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