Our regular contributor Una Riley, pictured, meets Sue Seaby, the Regional Security Director for Aon Hewitt, part of risk management and insurance company Aon Corporation.
Aon’s HQ is in Chicago. In fact the last time I met with Sue at her London City office she had recently arrived back from an event in Chicago. She had attended a City Security and Resilience Networks (CSARN) and Terrorist Information New York Group (TINYg) organised conference entitled – USA/UK – Transatlantic Resilience Exchange (TRE). I wanted to know more. I asked how it had gone. Sue said: “We had a great conference with some very impressive speakers talking about the challenges from natural disasters, terrorism and political violence. The thrust of the event is to unite the existing strong fraternity between US and UK cities. In this period of heightened awareness of organisational vulnerability, and reputational risk, it is the time for respective business communities, first responders and city politicians to co-ordinate shared lessons, mutual aid and crisis planning. Aon were hosting the conference and we had some very good speakers. Richard Bingley – CEO of CSARN and author of ‘Terrorism: Just the Facts’ was the chairman of the event. One of the first speakers was Kirstjen Nielsen – Managing Director of Civitas Group and former Special Assistant to President George W Bush. Kirstjen spoke about homeland security and business preparedness. The agenda for the day was full of thought-provoking items pertaining to security resilience, continuity, and security planning and crisis response in international environments. Another of the speakers was Robert Chatterton Dickson, HM Consul General, British Consulate-General. It was a fascinating time with plenty of networking opportunities. I was able to meet with global players and leaders in their field.” We had spoken about the portfolio of services that Aon provide and their positioning in each of the strategic divisions of service. Sue had explained that Aon Hewitt was the world’s outstanding human resources consulting and outsourcing firm with the ability, resource, expertise, and global reach to solve the most pressing and complex people challenges that organisations face today. Sue went on: “We employ the strongest team of professionals in the industry, who have access to the widest breadth and depth of research, platforms, and services in more locations and for more industry segments than any other human capital firm. Our singular focus is on our clients: We deliver distinctive value, top-rated customer service, and measurable business impact … which ultimately fulfill our client’s needs.” Sue also talked enthusiastically about the other business segments such as Consulting Services and the importance of people to the global economy. Sue also went on to explain how Aon Hewitt consultants are helping companies to solve some of their most complex people challenges and how probably no team is better equipped with industry-leading talent, proactive thought leadership and innovative solutions than Aon Hewitt. She then talked about her own department. “As security professionals we take what we do out to other businesses, not outside into the market place, but inside the organisational network." I asked Sue to explain further. She said: “Internally we are doing very well. The way we are set up, is that we take our services, which include security, risk and assurance, business continuity and business relationship management roles. Basically we take what we do out into the business. We can measure our value by client focus and we have a measure in that historically Aon outsourced these types of in-house services but it no longer does that due to the integration of the corporation.” Sue and I continued to talk for some time about the complex service that this huge organisation offers to clients to indeed make their business life easier. Sue expressed her admiration for the internal support for security as a profession that is offered within Aon … unlike in most companies, security is highly regarded and is seen to have an important role to play in the overall business. Sue explained that. “Some of our core business revolves around the wider world of security. For instance we offer kidnap and ransom insurance. From a security perspective this is a very real threat in many parts of the world today. Global corporations have a duty of care to their local, travelling and expatriate staff. We help organisations who may face potential loss from ransom payments, business interruption, litigation, adverse publicity and long-term damage to its reputation deal with this type of incident. For global business there are risk factors that are increasingly complex, for instance the world Terrorism risk management has never been more important for organisations to protect their interests. Global extremists aim for sensational destruction and loss of life, and give no warnings. Domestic groups in many countries are becoming more sophisticated.” As a security professional Sue has a great job that she really loves. Sue added: “The world of security envelops business and we identify risk on behalf of clients worldwide. We offer ‘political risk management’ to companies with cross-border interests in unstable or emerging markets who face a volatile risk milieu that requires careful planning and management. We work in partnership with some of the world’s leading financial institutions, global corporations, traders and exporters, to help our clients mitigate and manage their risk exposures. We are on hand to offer our expertise where necessary anywhere in the world.” There is no doubt that Sue is on top of her game when it comes to the business of security but having talked with her about her background it was quite interesting to see the mergence of perhaps a new type of security professional being considered for top roles in business in the future. Sue said: “I am not ex-police or military. In the industry I am known as a ‘security general’ basically I have built my skills along the way via experience. My last role with Barclays Bank was very much about management skills within the context of security. What we have here at Aon is very much the same ethos. I have been able to transfer my skills in a seamless fashion to enable me to perform my new role which as we have discussed is very exciting and rewarding.” We had talked for ages about the industry and the changes that we had seen over the years and being women in security we could not help but remark on the mergence of women into the profession. Sue had explained that there was a good mix at board level with women playing major roles and also at regional level within Aon. We were both in agreement that it was good to see women coming into the security profession as a career of choice. There are now prominent role models that already exist as an incentive to encourage women to choose to become security professionals. Before we concluded I wanted to know what ambitions Sue had still to fulfil. She threw her head back and laughed and said that she had been talking about the very same subject the day before! Sue replied: “I have done a lot of what I had wanted to achieve. At Barclays I was global group head; here I am a security director…I suppose the natural step after that would be global group security officer but that is an ambition … at the moment I am happy where I am. I have the privilege of working with a great team; within a great company and I am enjoying my current role.” I have no doubt that Sue will achieve her ambition. <br><br>Company background: Aon is a Gaelic word meaning ‘oneness’. Visit www.aon.com to register for a ‘2011 terrorism and political violence map’. They’re the shirt sponsor of Manchester United FC. <br><br>About Sue Seaby: Director Security EMEA Aon Corporate Services since last year. Previously, most recent first: MD of the UK operation of consultancy Global Aware International; Global Group Head of Security for Barclays Bank plc; Regional Head Security Risk Management Europe, Middle East and Africa at UBS bank; Regional Security and Global Protection Manager – Europe, Middle East and Africa for Motorola; 11 years at DHL UK in management, including four as UK security manager; 15 years at Marks & Spencer. <br><br>She’s a Freeman and Liveryman, Worshipful Company of Security Professionals. <br><br>What to ask her about, if you’re stuck in a lift with her: ballroom dancing.
