When I began my journalistic career back in 1992, my first boss (Roderic Bunn, the Editor of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers’ official monthly journal) always delighted in regaling me with anecdotes about his love of fast cars. Not surprisingly, Rod’s company car was a Subaru Imprezza (Turbo edition, no less) and he used to be an official photographer at the Swedish Rally, his excellent snaps often ending up in the pages of AutoSport.
Mr Bunn’s passion for almost anything on four wheels extended to hosting all of his Editorial Board meetings at The Royal Automobile Club on London’s Pall Mall. I remember being invited to one of these gatherings (circa 1994), before which Rod gave me a guided tour of the reading rooms, the restaurant, the magnificent paintings of Stirling Moss and Co adorning the ornate walls and the swimming pool (yes, there’s even a private pool on site). The place was stunning, charming and welcoming all at the same time.
Fourteen years on, I found myself returning for yesterday’s Axis Security Christmas Luncheon, which was held in the opulent Mountbatten Room on the First Floor (complete with a magnificent bust of the great man himself). Host for the day was, of course, Jonathan Levine, the hugely respected former managing director at First Security (Guards) who – along with fellow First colleagues David Mundell, John Fitzpatrick, Neil Ames and Edward Holmes – moved across the City to relaunch and rebrand Axis with the aim of attracting blue chip clients. Judging by the calibre of the people in attendance, it’s a move that has worked a treat.
Meet and greet with The Feastmeister
On arrival, I was greeted by the ever-jovial and sharp-suited professional Sean Feast, the prime mover at AGA Public Relations who handles all press and PR materials on behalf of Axis. Sean and I have developed a great working relationship and, indeed, a good friendship over the years, to the extent that he calls me Simmo and I refer to him as The Feastmeister. Not a lot of people knew that. Now they do!
We chatted about IFSEC and SMT Online in those moments when the Blueberry (sorry, Blackberry) wasn’t in need of Sean’s undivided attention. It’s tough at the top in PR, you know, particularly when the mobile air conditioning unit in your office is on the blink or the silver sports car needs new boots, eh The Feastmeister?
Jonathan popped over to say ‘Hello’, as did Dave Mundell and Sue Seaby, the former head of Group security with Barclays Bank who’s now managing director of Canary Wharf-based consultancy Global Aware International. Turns out Sue would be dining next to me on Table 9, so we were able to carry on our conversations in respect of this year’s Security Excellence Awards (for which Sue kindly acted as a Judge on our illustrious panel of experts).
Before we all ‘broke bread’, Jonathan gave another of his seamless and engaging addresses. “It has been an incredible year for the company,” he said, with not a little pride. “Indeed, its been an incredible year all round, what with the Olympics in Beijing, the economic meltdown and John Sergeant quitting Strictly Come Dancing!” Never one to miss the opportunity for a wee joke is our Mr Levine!
“I’m delighted to see so many friends and colleagues here today. We know times are tough, and many companies are cutting back on their Christmas entertainment, but we wanted to say Thank You to all of you, our customers, for your valued support, which is why we’re here today.”
Axis has been busy, relocating (as I said) to new offices and rebranding with an all-new logo. A revised and improved benefits package has been put in place for staff to include sick pay, life assurance cover, private healthcare provision and performance-related rewards. “Links with site-based staff are vital,” said Jonathan. Too true they are. “That’s why we’ve introduced a regular company Newsletter and built-in regular visits from area managers.” That’s the way to go.
Positive growth and ISO 9001
Good growth has been achieved in a 12-month span, alongside the attainment of ISO 9001 and a doubling of the company’s Approved Contractor Scheme score. Clearly, there’s a firm commitment to quality service delivery under Jonathan’s watch.
What does the immediate future hold? “There’s little doubt that 2009 will be a challenging year for the guarding market,” said Levine. “There’s an ever-present threat of terrorist activity, while the credit crunch is inevitably going to have a negative impact on levels of criminality. What we’ll be doing is combining high quality manpower with the best systems solutions to combat the threat.” Judging by the nods of approval from Axis clients dotted around the room, this service provider is on message.
Luncheon itself was sumptuous. To begin, everyone tucked into Shetland smoked salmon charlotte with Devon crab, quails eggs and a dusting of caviar. This was followed by pheasant and truffle consomme ‘en croute’ (which reminded me of soup masquerading as a Pukka Pie). The main course comprised of the most succulent roasted fillets of ‘Mey Selections’ beef with horseradish rosti, braised chestnuts (much better than having them roasted on an open fire), winter vegetables, shallots and, of course, the now-obligatory port jus.
The meal was nicely rounded off by Amedei bitter chocolate ‘Buche de Noel’ (accompanied by a rather bizarre caramel and tea-infused sauce) and, last but definitely not least, delicious mince pies, stollen and whisky truffles and much strong filter coffee.
In addition to talking with Sue about her new venture (which is going really well), I also had the genuine pleasure of sitting next to Steve Davidson, director of enterprise security and risk at London-based recruitment consultancy Nicholson, a specialist in hiring mid-to-senior level professionals in the areas of security, risk, anti-fraud or threat.
I wondered why I’d never heard of this company, as there’s never been any editorial contributions or advertising (or indeed any kind of promotion) over the years. Steve doesn’t need to advertise, though. He places senior people in very senior security and risk roles. Roles that command a bare minimum salary of around GB pound 60 K and rise to GB pound 120 K plus. Serious stuff, and the fact that Nicholson’s is doing very well in what has been (by Steve’s own admission) “a testing year” after four-and-a-half years of steady growth pretty much speaks for itself.
Steve’s approach to the recruitment equation is pleasantly refreshing. “If a client needs a security position filled, I’m not going to start sending him CV after CV after CV. I’ll ask my client what they’re looking for, when and where they want an individual from, understand the culture of the company and the department and then target specific individuals [who will be met and interviewed by Nicholson] and only then supply the client with three or four suitable CVs of people who can undertake the role. That’s the real value add. Recruitment consultancies are supposed to make life easier for their clients, not confuse them with a dozen CVs of individuals who they haven’t even met!”
Predictions for in-house during 2009
Interestingly, Steve predicts that the more senior in-house security positions will remain safe in 2009, some growth in the areas of Intelligence and Anti-Fraud/Counterfeit but he fully expects Security Departments to be trimmed (particularly around UK Domestic Security in middle management) in size as companies attempt to cut back on overheads. That is indeed likely, but I wouldn’t agree with companies doing this. It’s short-termism of the worst kind that could lead to a whole heap of trouble if anything should go awry.
Every year, Axis Security is committed to donating a percentage of its revenue to a nominated charity. The size of the charity fund is determined by turnover and, thus, will hopefully increase pretty significantly year-on-year. This year, half of the monies were received by Don Randall, the JP Morgan security guru who accepted a cheque in his capacity as vice-chairman of the City of London Crime Prevention Association (Axis’ chosen recipient for 2008).
Don was introduced by the aforementioned Dave Mundell, who professed to being a Tottenham fan (I’m sorry to hear that, Dave, as that club is – as you rightly said – a “charity in itself”) and a major supporter of England’s rugby team. Good job no-one mentioned the South Africa hiding the other week, David. I’ll certainly be ready with the calculator on Saturday to tot up the All Blacks’ tries!
Don told us all that the Association supports taxi marshalling schemes in the City as it boldly tries to make the Square Mile a safer place for those who wish to enjoy the night-time economy. The Association wants to hit 400 members as a near-term goal. Let’s hope plenty of people fall into line behind this most worthy organisation.
Inaugural Axis Security Awards
John Fitzpatrick – Axis’ operations director and yet another Tottenham supporter (you need to do something about this situation, Jonathan!) – then introduced the company’ inaugural in-house awards. There were two up for grabs… Security Team of the Year and Security Officer of the Year. The former accolade was deservedly won by the Discovery Networks Team. Seven operatives dedicated to looking after remote alarm, access control and CCTV monitoring in locations as diverse as Madrid, Amsterdam and Bucharest. The award was collected on behalf of all those involved by security manager Steve Kendall. Congratulations to everyone working on this contract from us all at SMT Online and the UBM Live Security Portfolio.
Officer of the Year was won by Bill Hall, who is seconded to look after the Refugee Council in Brixton (a centre that exists mainly to assist asylum seekers). Those who attend are from Somalia, Albania, Eritrea, the Congo. All sorts of countries and backgrounds, in fact, with a total of 32,000 individuals paying a visit to the centre in the past 12 months alone.
Many speak no English at all and, of course, are fleeing persecution. There have been 93 security incidents at the centre this year, with 17 incidents of self-harming (wrist slittings among them). As John rightly said: “This is security work at the sharp end, and for his tremendous efforts Bill deserves the utmost praise.”
And so say all of us!
From Chester Tories to Countdown
In what can only be described as a masterstroke, Jonathan had brought in former Conservative Member of Parliament for Chester and Countdown boffin Gyles Brandreth – a man every bit as famous for his multi-coloured and, some would say, outrageous jumpers as his razor-sharp wit – to act as post-luncheon speaker. Whatever Mr Brandreth commanded in terms of a fee it was worth every penny in this Editor’s view!
“Everyone talks about the Axis of Evil these days,” opined the New College, Oxford graduate, “but what we are celebrating today is an Axis of Good!” That set everyone off with a smile, and then the gags were relentless. “I recently went to Northern Ireland to finish my novel. I’m a very slow reader, you see…” For all you fact fans, Brandreth is also the European Monopoly Champion and president of the Association of British Scrabble Players. I’ll bet those Countdown Conundrums are easy for him.
In his customarily beautiful Queen’s English, Brandreth recalled a time – in 1973, in fact – when he first visited The Royal Automobile Club. “It was in this very room that I joined a Committee run by Lord Longford. A crusade against pornography. I was definitely involved. I still have the raincoat to prove it!” Cue howls of laughter.
“Of course, the real reason we’re all here today is to salute Jonathan and his team, and particularly to say well done to him for giving us all the impression that things are still going swimmingly at Axis!”
Brandreth then recounted a story or two focusing on the House of Commons Restaurant overlooking the Thames. “Occasionally, you’d look out of the window and see the odd dead whale. Still, it was always reassuring to know what John Prescott was up to at any given moment”. Cutting, Gyles, so cutting.
Benn, Heath, Powell… The Real Deal
Young Brandreth namechecked Tony Benn, Ted Heath and Enoch Powell as politicians of yesteryear who would always command a full and attentive audience in the House. They spoke without notes. “Without any advice from the young pups in red braces who seem to dominate today’s ministers”.
Of course, Brandreth was speaking on the day of the State Opening of Parliament (which meant that all the main roads were blocked off by police cordons, and caused me no end of grief in travelling to Pall Mall by cab, I can tell you). “Do you know there have been 38 Criminal Justice Acts in the past four years?” Yes, I did actually. “To what purpose?” Good point, Sir. Quantity of legislation should be replaced by quality, surely?
In closing, the ebullient Brandreth stated: “Jonathan is a friend. A good friend. He’s a people person. That is evidenced by the fact so many of you are here today to break bread with him. With that thought in mind, I wish Jonathan, Axis Security and all of this fine company’s clients the very best for a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.”
A sentiment echoed wholeheartedly by your Editor.
Many, many thanks indeed to Jonathan and everyone at Axis for inviting me to a splendid luncheon and an event that, for so many positive reasons, will live long in the memory.