James Humphreys, Editor, sat down with SJUK Leaders in Security Conference Chair and Director of Optimal Risk Group, Rick Mounfield, to reflect on the event’s highly successful debut in Manchester.

Can you tell me about yourself and your background in the security industry?  

I’ve been in the private security industry for 12 years now. I left the Royal Military Police after 22 years in 2011, in fact, my last paid day in the Army was the 11/11/11 (a Palindrome); which I spent in London at the Armistice Day commemoration ceremony with many of my friends. It was a memorable day. 

Over the last 12 years, I’ve been a consultant, initially advising the ultra-high net worth sector, before joining The Security Institute in 2017 as the Chief Executive.

I had been a member for 5 years at that point and when the opportunity arose to help build it into something greater, I had to apply.

That role was supposed to be a 3 year sabbatical from consulting but the pandemic happened and stability for the staff and membership became the priority.

It forced digital transformation and became a catalyst for positive change at the Institute. In 2022 after 5 years, the itch to return to consulting became too great and I had to move on.

For the last two-and a-bit years, I’ve been consulting to the Corporate, Utilities and Tech sectors whilst helping to develop Optimal Risk Group’s strategic development.  

What was your role in the preparations for the conference and on the day?  

During my five years at the Security Institute, I met a lot of very professional people and participated in a lot of national and international events.

You get to contribute and collaborate with a vast number of different sectors and other specialists.   

Making friends with people is crucial, so the Advisory Board and panels that we had were full of influencers, that each had a black book of their own.

Collectively, there was nobody we could not reach to speak at the conference.

As Conference Chair, it was really important that we heard new voices, because there is a lot of expertise out there that does not get the opportunity to be shared.   

Our industry is full of people that are happy to contribute to the benefit of others.

We recruit from the military, the Police, from sectors which are service driven, so our community of security professionals just want to help others.

The preparation for me was easy because the aim was to get true expertise, to find fresh voices that weren’t the people that just do the circuit, giving us a presentation that’s been delivered somewhere else.   

The concept of 20-minute slots didn’t come from me, that came from Ian Stokes, from the ISJ conference in Dubai.

Whilst I was sceptical at the beginning, I think it worked really well. The panel debates got more specialists and professionals onto the stage at any one time, giving brilliant nuggets of information.   

Can you explain what attracted you to take on the responsibility of Conference Chair?   

The same reason I took on the job at the Security Institute and the same reason I’m on the board of the Association of Security Consultants.

Our industry is important, but it’s unappreciated. We must become a profession that is continuously improving, testing, adjusting and one that comes through learning opportunities.

Not everybody has the time or the financial resource to do diplomas, degrees, masters and PhDs, but it doesn’t need to be that way.

Conferences are a great way of downloading a lot of contemporary information in one day that’s CPD that everybody benefits from.  

The more that the public and clients see better service, the more they respect what they are receiving. Continuing professional development is an important aspect and conferences like Leaders in Security are the best way.

The conference was specifically geared at the people that I consult to, the leaders in security, the people that are often in the loneliest position with reluctance to ask for help, or they feel that they’re failing in some way because they seek guidance from others.   

But everybody feels that way at some point. Everybody I’ve come across as a consultant, who is a head of security, has some doubts.

We all have doubts about our capability, and nobody knows everything in security. You can be a specialist in some areas, but nobody is a specialist in all areas.  

With such a diverse agenda, what were your main takeaways from the presentations and panel discussions?   

With it being the inaugural conference, we needed to make an impact, and it needed to touch as many people as possible.

So, on the first one we wanted to make it multi-dimensional to show people this is a new conference that you should come to. And we did.   

I think in future, we will start to drill down into specific areas and we’re already thinking about the most valuable considerations for the people that attend.

We can’t be too narrow, because Chief Security Officers and Heads of Security have a smorgasbord of security problems they must address, every day, every week.

And if we just nail down into one topic, then we won’t tick the box for a lot of people.   

Was there anything which you learned on the day which you will be taking with you into your role as Director at Optimal Risk Group?   

I learned so many things. I’ve embedded a lot of different ideas into my operations now.

I think if there was one overarching takeaway it was seeing the community interact with each other.

These events are great for learning, but if you are learning in isolation, you don’t get to talk and debate the topics you have just heard about, whether you agree or disagree with them.   

There’s no right or wrong answer, because security is not a discipline you can quantify.

It is qualitative.

You have to problem solve.

You must think from lots of different angles.

I think the community, in the chats that took place, in the margins, in the networking breaks and lunchtime, that is what made me think this is really worth it.  

How do you see the SJUK Leaders in Security Conference evolving in the years to come? 

In the conference we consciously did not cover equality, diversity and inclusion.

However, we ensured that we were inclusive in the speakers and experts we chose from all different minority groups.

We picked from different sectors of security, from different disciplines of security, men, women and minority groups in equal measure, we demonstrated it.   

We were leading by example in the conference and lots of people picked up on that. We didn’t cover trendy topics, but we did what we knew was right.

We covered aspects of wellness, mental health, well-being and ED&I, but we did it within the presentations.  

I think that is a strong thread that will continue to identify speakers and leaders, so that the younger generations see somebody that they can identify as a leader, which inspires them to take on more or become a leader themselves in the future.   

With this conference being so full of leaders in their own right, they take that back, either subliminally or consciously.

It gets relayed in the workplace and they are no longer looking for a middle aged, white ex police or a military veteran as a man.

They are looking for expertise and now recognise that it comes in all shapes and colours, from different groups and areas.

We need to break those walls down, but in the correct manner.   

Is there anything else you would like to add?  

The conference was completely unique.

The Association conferences are really important, but they specifically support  their members, that’s the benefit of being a member.

This conference is hitting time strapped heads of security that maybe are not involved in all these types of events. It is a standalone conference; one of a kind.   

I also think the people that exhibited and sponsored, got lots of business from being exposed to such a powerful group of people, but making it free for the delegates is really important.

The sponsors and the partners in the conference should be applauded, because I know that a lot of them are as passionate about raising the standards of the industry as they are about the marketing aspect.

They were there because they wanted to contribute to a professional development event and that’s why I think it was a good decision by SJUK to be quite selective about who their partners were.  

We have an amazing Community of true and altruistic professionals. We aim to capitalise on that every year.  

This article was originally published in the October Edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.