Leading by example

Ben is co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of the Ward Group. His role includes setting the strategic direction of the business, overseeing daily support operations, investment appraisal and implementation of the core long term objectives, both financial and non-financial, of the Ward Group. Ben is ACA qualified, a member of the IOD, having NED roles in both charitable and commercial organisations.

Paul is an Executive Director and shareholder at Ward, a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP), UK Chairman of the TINYg global counterterrorism network, a Fellow of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (F.ISRM), a member of the City Security Council executive leadership team and a member of the Security Institute (SyI). Paul has 30 years board experience in publicly listed, private equity funded and privately owned businesses in the risk management, security, counterterrorism and facilities management sector.

Nick is a Business Advisor who specialises in advising businesses in the property services sector on a wide range of commercial and strategic matters. Nick is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience and holds a senior leadership role with a Top 10 Accountancy business.

Kevin is the Group CEO and majority shareholder at Ward. He is an experienced, driven and compassionate leader who puts people first. This is the same foundation that Ward has been built on – a culture of excellence, that invests in its people – not because we have to, but because we want to.

Kevin is also a Trustee and Director of Ellies Angels, a charity whose aim is to introduce mental health awareness and support into day-to-day life, remove the stigma surrounding the subject and make mental health a ‘normal’ topic for young people to engage and discuss.

For the last four years, Kevin has been an ‘Independent Visitor’ – an adult volunteer who befriends and develops a long-term friendship with a young person in care. Called ‘Independent Visitors’ because we are a truly ‘independent’ person outside the care system giving them continuity, which unfortunately is something that is a real rarity for too many young people.

Mark has over 15 years’ experience in the industry, and joined Ward in 2021 as Risk Director. Mark assists colleagues and clients nationwide with security related projects. These projects include; Business Continuity Planning, Risk Management, Security Reviews, Testing & Exercising, Contract Mobilisations and Security Reviews.

From site plans to supporting our clients achieving ISO22301 certification, Mark’s extensive experience in managing the audit process for standard accreditations such as IS09001, ISO14001, ISO45001 and others. He is also a member of BCI, ISRM and Crisis Ready Community Member, which means our clients benefit from best practices, compliance and quality on documents and procedures.

With over 37 years’ experience within the Security industry, Debbie has worked in various roles from business support to front line management. Debbie joined Ward in 2016 and is our Director of Customer Experience ensuring service excellence, training and development and mystery visits across all our sites.

Debbie is a member of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals and a keen promoter of Women in Security – supporting Woman Security Society and Women in Security. Debbie was selected as a finalist under the Business Manager category at the 2022 WIS Awards and at the 2023 WIS Awards, Debbie received the Business Manager award. As an industry lead for CSSC, Debbie played an active role in the Project Team working to support the communication platform during the Olympics.

Debbie is a trained Mental Health First Aider and part of Ward’s Mental Health MIND team, leading on menopause in the workplace – supporting Debbie’s’ passion for diversity and inclusion.

As a previous mentor for the EY Foundation, Debbie has supported young people who want to begin a career within the security industry, as well as ensuing a pathway for success at all levels through succession planning and career growth within Ward.

Dan has been in the Security Industry for 25 years’, with experience in many areas including close protection, canine, National Nuclear infrastructure, and maritime security. With over 10 years’ experience in Senior Management roles, leading Operational teams across different sectors and businesses.

Dan joined Ward in 2016 as the UK Operations Director and now heads up the role of Managing Director of our Regions and Canine, overseeing our regional operations and growth, and developing and implementing strategies to enhance our canine division.

Steve started his career in accountancy where he became an ACA chartered accountant while developing his knowledge supporting clients from a variety of industries before making the move to Ward.

Since joining in 2015 Steve now heads up our Finance team as Finance Director while overseeing the I.T. and Fleet workstreams. His primary responsibilities include overseeing and improving financial performance through timely and effective reporting while maintaining good cash flow to support company objectives.

Julian’s career within the industry spans over 30 years, and he has garnered a wealth of experience through varied roles within the industry covering Integrated Service solutions, on-site Operations such as The Shard and The Olympic Village, as well as a focus on Major Accounts and Multi Site Operations. He has also covered aspects of Business Development working with both existing and new service partners.

Julian heads up our Strategic Accounts workstream and as part of this role, he maintains a relationship with any new key business proposals as well as monitoring the mobilisation of these Strategic Accounts. He has been with Ward since April 2018, working predominantly in  London covering the both the Operational and Commercial aspects of the business. The focus being to drive forward our growth as well as meeting our business objectives and does so combining theory with practical knowledge to offer a targeted services for each of our clients.

Charlotte joined Ward in 2022 as the Regional Director looking after the UK operation, barring London. Charlotte brings a wealth of Operations Management experience built from a long-standing career within Security.

From working in Advertising Sales through to Business Development management, Charlotte has experience with both new and existing clients and a strong skillset right across the Commercial realm. Charlottes leadership has been shaped by her exposure to various roles and departments, giving it a unique, individual flare!

Brian joined Ward in 2009. With a service delivery background and experience gained across a number of departments including Commercial, Mobile, Operations, Health & Safety and Compliance, Brian has always been an advocate of continuous improvement, collaborative working and understanding the bigger picture. Now leading our Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) team, he is Chair of our Sustainability Steering Group and monitors our standards, overseeing both the internal auditing and external accreditation processes.

Ali is our Canine Director and has overall responsibility for running the Ward Canine Team. Ali is a qualified Dog Training Instructor with over 28 years’ experience in all aspects of Police Dog work. Ali’s team is supported by a Canine Trainer, Operations Manager and Canine Handlers, as well as the furry members of the team, our dogs!

During his Police Service he handled two General Purpose Dogs, both Firearms Support trained, and two Explosive Search Dogs. He competed at both Regional and National Police Dog Trials with both of his General Purpose Dogs, with his first dog achieving 3rd place at the National Police Dog Trials on 2 occasions, before becoming National Champion with his second dog. He went on to judge the competition for a further 5 years.

Ali initially served in the City of London Police, becoming a fully Accredited ACPO General Purpose Police Dog Instructor in 1998. He went on to become an ACPO Explosive Search Dog Instructor in 2000.

In 2001 Ali transferred to the Metropolitan Police where he took up a full time instructional role. Over the next 8 years Ali became an ACPO Drugs Detection Dog Instructor, instructed numerous initial courses in all disciplines of Police Dog work, ran multiple ACPO Instructors courses in all disciplines of Police Dog work and deployed as an attack advisor on Public Order events. In addition Ali ran the Metropolitan Service Dog Breeding Programme which is the largest programme of its type in Europe.

Ali is a retired Metropolitan and City of London Police Officer, he is a NASDU instructor in all aspects of Security dog training and currently sits on the NASDU committee which works collaboratively to raise standards across the industry.