Happy Easter everyone. Yes, I know I said that last month, but I was a bit premature! Now those chocolate eggs are not good for you, you know, so if you find yourself struggling then send them my way as I’m no “Proud Mary”.
I had the pleasure of attending the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals (WCoSP) Spring ball the other Saturday night where we were entertained by “ Re J” as always and ‘Tina Turner’. Now Tina decided that she would sit on my lap and sing me ‘Private Dancer’! Not quite what I was expecting from the spring ball but Tim Molden did rush over to video it; trust me, you don’t want to see it! She left her lipstick on my forehead (that sounds like a song) so that made me think that I would set myself a challenge and get as many Tina Turner song titles into this month’s gossip as I can, and yes, as you can see I’ve already started.
I have to say I thought the night went really well and was “Simply the Best”. The organisers (see page 21 of the April print edition of the magazine) ran a silent auction during the evening and had various other ways of raising money. My wife was with me and said I had “Better be good”. Peter French who put it all together managed to raise £35,000. Keep doing it Peter, because “We don’t need another hero”.
The Worshipful Company also support the Hackney Carriages to Disney. This is some 450 taxis that go in convoy to Disneyland Paris and take seriously ill children for a trip of a lifetime; they also have to take parents, and medical staff to look after the children. They have an escort from both the English and French police all the way from London to Paris and back again. They stay in the Toy Story hotel and Mickey and Mini “Two people” (no mice!) join them along the way. It is amazing how this event has become such a major fund-raiser. I can tell you that next year has been rebooked, for March 2 at the Leonardo Hotel once again. Who will Peter book next year? I don’t know but “Whats love got to do with it”.
Moving on … which is probably a song title, but who by?! Were you aware that Colin Muirhead has left DVS and joined Dynamic? I understand that Gavin at DVS did say to Colin “I don’t want to lose you” after he had been there for five and a half years. You may know that Colin has spent most of his career working for distributors, namely Norbain, EZCCTV, now Fortus of course. Anyway we wish you luck. Talking of Dynamic, were you aware that the mighty M as he is known or maybe even as a “Typical Male”; that’s Richard Mazurkiewicz has also joined them as Marketing Director. Now I first met Richard when he was at ADI, in 2019; so it looks like Dynamic are stepping it up.
The National Security Inspectorate (NSI) has announced Richard Fogelman as their new Chief Executive, as of March 1. Richard Jenkins leaves the inspectorate “On silent wings”, after leading it for nine years; although we did see him at the event for International Women’s Day at Tate Modern a week after that date (see page 30 of the April print edition). Richard Fogelman has more than 15 years management experience. Richard has a law degree and experience in London’s financial markets, having worked at numerous banks and financial firms, before embarking in the commercial world of property operations and management. Most recently, he was CEO of Grief Encounter, a national charity supporting bereaved young people. During his time there, he restructured the business, set up a national helpline serving over 10,000 callers annually and has driven revenue growth from £480k in 2013 to £3.01m in 2021. Welcome Richard.
Some news from Chubb about the launch of its new video showcasing the service customers can expect to receive from its Blackburn ‘Customer Experience Centre’, which is not an obvious song title. Is the place as good as “GoldenEye?” No it’s better, the video marks a momentous occasion according to Chubb as the firm has just recorded industry-breaking contact centre response rates. Last year, the centre answered 335,221 calls, an average of 94 per cent of those in 20 seconds. A call centre industry standard is typically 80 per cent of calls being answered in 20 seconds, which cannot include HMRC surely?!
We and by that I mean the Security TWENTY events crew are about to head to the north! Not to “Nutbush city limits” but to Glasgow for ST23. We are at our usual Glasgow venue, the Hilton Hotel, a month earlier than usual, as the month of April seems to be a bit busy with events and we did not want to clash with anyone else. We moved ST, being the professionals that we are. Same as usual we will have an exhibition which is open to you all to attend and of course it’s free, just come along or register via our website. Lunch is on me as always. As Tina sang “What you get is what you see” and to do that you need to come along and see for yourself. Ok no more Tina songs as I am getting “Steamy windows” and “I don’t want to fight”.
