John Saunders, Chief Executive of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is leaving.
He is moving, the authority said in a statement on October 11 to pursue unspecified ‘new opportunities’. The statement sought to put the best slant on the manner and timing of John Saunders’ exit. Arguably there is no good time for a chief exec to leave an organisation – as John Saunders said: “There is, of course, much still to do and an exciting and demanding future agenda.” His annoucement did come at a crunch time for the authority, as its inspectors struggle to enforce licences for contract guarding, public space CCTV operators, and close protection officers, the law since March 20. In a ‘letter to the private security industry’, John Saunders’ farewell message had warm words, such as: “I have developed an enormous understanding and respect for the private security industry and have thoroughly enjoyed working with some wonderful and stimulating people. I feel confident that the industry will fulfil its unquestionable potential.” The announcement neither said when John Saunders is leaving – “I will be around for some months to come,” his statement said – nor did it give any detail about leadership meanwhile or next. The statement did promise it would be ‘business as usual’. To read John Saunders’ statement in full, visit the SIA or Professional Security websites.
Chair
John Saunders’ news came as the other side of the SIA leadership – the chair – neared resolution, after an uncertain year. October 9 was the deadline for applications to be SIA chairman. The chair – ‘responsible for providing clear strategic leadership for the authority’, to quote the job application website www.siafutures.co.uk – has lately been held by Peter Hermitage, who resigned halfway into his four-year term in November 2005, then Robin Dahlberg, acting chairman since January.
About the man
John Saunders came from outside the security industry – with a background in commercial and corporate banking, he was awarded the OBE in 1998 for work for the national Business Link Network. He became chief exec of the then embryo SIA in March 2002.
Legacy
What is John Saunders’ legacy? It has been evident, and significant, that since the early days he has spoken less often in public, and left his deputy Andy Drane to be more the public face of the regulator. At a speech on day one of IFSEC in May, reported in the June issue of Professional Security (So far so good, says SIA chief’), John Saunders spoke of making things happen since the ‘flip-chart’ days of regulation as only a concept. On one hand, then, he has been the doer, the man of business, as opposed to the Home Office, civil service committee man. On the other hand however, there is doubt as to whether, for one thing, the SIA can be self-financing from licence fees, as the SIA’s political masters at the Home Office expect it to be. According to a written answer by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker in May, in 2004-05 the SIA’s deficit was £13m, and the estimated deficit for 2005-06 is about £3.5m. The SIA’s latest annual report, featured in the July issue of Professional Security, put the deficit down to the regulator having over-estimated the number of door staff applying for licences. If – to return to a May written Commons answer by Mr Coaker – some door staff have avoided paying for a licence by working ‘in the informal economy’, that may set a worrying precedent. In his statement John Saunders spoke of ‘the past four and a half years building and developing the SIA and implementing the regulation’ as ‘incredibly demanding and difficult’.
Style
As for John Saunders’ and his authority’s style, privately there has been criticism from the industry, not only of call centre and other service delays, but a ‘we know best’ attitude from the SIA. In his statement John Saunders did say: “From the outset the strategic direction of the SIA has been based upon the regulation being a catalyst to stimulate productive change – constantly balancing the public purpose with the commercial implications on the industry. I very much hope we have achieved that and have fulfilled the promise to ‘do it with the industry, not to the industry’.”
l Molly Meacher, appointed as SIA chairman at the same time as John Saunders, and who resigned in December 2003, was introduced to the House of Lords last month as Baroness Meacher, a non-party political peer, at the same time as Lord Dear, the former West Midlands Chief Constable and former non-executive director of Reliance Security, whose private security work includes chairing Action Against Business Crime.
