Directors & Senior Operational Management
Group Directors and Senior Management
Roger Rawlings – Group Chairman
Roger has worked in the fire and security industry since 1973 when he joined the Chloride Group. He left Chloride to take up the post of sales & marketing director with the specialist emergency lighting company, Secundalux. In 1980 he formed a new fire protection company with a former business colleague, very soon after which Swift Alarms was acquired. Swift became an independent business in 1987 and has been headed by Roger since that time.
Paul Grist FRSA – Group Managing Director
Paul has been involved in the UK security industry since leaving school in 1977. During that time he has worked at a senior level in many of the country’s most well known fire & security companies including; Group 4 Securicor & ADT. Paul was head of both special projects & marketing for Secom and sales and marketing director of Argus Fire & Security Group PLC. Latterly, he was the commercial director of a + £50M Contracting & FM services business.
Peter Thompson FCA – Group Finance Director
Peter qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1974. Since then, apart from three years when he was a finance director of a thriving electronics company, he has been a partner in a number of accountancy practices. The last of these was D.F. Puttock & Co., our previous accountants; when he retired in 2008 Peter accepted the invitation to join our group as finance director.
Baron Paul Waterman BSc – Group Director of Corporate Compliance
Paul holds a BSc in Computer Science and has been employed in the private security sector since 1979, when he worked for the Security & Safety Group. He Joined Swift as a sales engineer in 1987 and went on to develop the companies IT systems, which made Swift the first UK based company to employ remote diagnostics within its security systems. He was appointed Technical Director in 1991 and promoted to Director of Corporate Compliance in 2011. Paul is also Chairman and Regional Chairman of the NSI/NACOSS Gold Scheme.
Lynn Cooke – Group Accounts Manager
Lynn has worked in accounts since leaving school and chose to specialise in reconciliation and incomplete records in the mid 1980s whilst working for a Tunbridge Wells based accountancy practice. This was followed by 12 years with Lamberts, a £30M mail order healthcare business where she had overall responsibility for managing their accounts department. Lynn joined Swift as accounts manager in 2001.
Andrew McDonnell – Group Personnel Manager
Andrew has worked in customer services since 1995, firstly in his native New Zealand, then in the Channel Islands after completing his studies at Canterbury University. Prior to joining Swift Alarms, Andrew worked as a key trainer and call centre manager for the then newly combined AMP/NPI Insurance business and later as call centre manager for a major division of Lehman Brothers. He joined Swift Alarms to head-up the company’s enlarged administration department in 2005. He was promoted to Personnel Manager in October 2010.
Jenny Apps – Customer Service Manager
Jenny Started her career working in a clerical capacity at a city accountants and immediately afterwards at a city barristers chambers. Following this, she spent the next ten years working as the Export Administration Manager for the UK arm of an international manufacturing business. In 1997, she moved into customer services; firstly as a Supervisor and ultimately as the Manager of the customer services department of a major soft drinks manufacturer. Jenny subsequently joined us to head our Customer Service Team in 2012.
SAFYRE – DIRECTORS AND SENIOR STAFF
Alan Neenan – Managing Director
Alan started his career in 1966 in the field of mechanical and electrical building services design and contracting. After successfully moving into a management role with Pillinger-Air and later, Diffusion, in 1982 he decided upon a change of career. He moved into the fire suppression industry, where he was employed as managing director of Surefire Systems Ltd. Today, Alan sits on a number of influential fire industry standards committees where his considerable knowledge of mechanical, electrical & fire suppression systems engineering makes him an influential advisor.
Colin Preston – General Manager
Colin has been employed within the private security and service support industries since 1980. He has worked at a senior managerial level for Securicor Alarms, Group 4 Total Security and Beach Communications, where he headed their CCTV & integrated systems operation. Colin’s last position prior to Joining the Swift Alarms Group was with the Metropolitan Police Service, where he was responsible for the delivery of the CCTV solutions project for the 2012 Olympic Games. Colin joined the Swift Alarms Group in 2010.
Jamie Joyce – Key Accounts Operations Manager
Jamie undertook a formal electrical apprenticeship with MJN immediately after leaving school in 1987. Following qualification, he was responsible for overseeing their larger fire alarm installation projects, including networked systems. In 1995 Jamie was approached by Safyre’s managing director and joined soon afterwards. He undertook a number of engineering roles for the company, ultimately being promoted to fire projects engineer immediately prior to assuming overall responsibility for the management of our major fire systems projects and key accounts.
Michael Bourke – National Sales Manager
Michael started his working career in the building services industry in 1981 with Cardiff based McCann & Partners. He joined Thorn Security as a fire sales engineer in 1994 and was promoted to sale manager in 2000 after ADT acquired the business. Michael assumed the role of general manager for Kidde Fire Protection in 2003 where he successfully developed the business over the following three years. In 2006 he joined a specialist fire control panel manufacturer specialising in the production of bespoke products for the oil & gas industry. Michael joined us as national sales manager in 2008, a role that he has successfully developed since.
David Slocombe – National Accounts Manager
David commenced his working life in the mechanical services industry in 1979 and moved into the electrical services industry in 1984 where he continued to work in a variety of technical roles until 1996. David joined Kidde Fire Protection in 1996 where he was employed as the UK business development manager. In 1999 he transferred to Chubb Electronic Security where he was employed as senior fire sales engineer until he joined Alpha Peerless Fire Systems as their Sales Manager. David joined Safyre’s national accounts fire sales team in 2011.
Allan Stoddon – National Accounts Manager
Allan started his career as a trainee within the mechanical services industry in 1989. He moved into electrical & fire alarm systems engineering in 1991 when he joined Setwest. Allan was offered a sales role at TVF, joining them as a business development manager in 1999. In 2005 he accepted a new business development position with MLB Fire & Security with the aim of further strengthening his knowledge of the fire & security industry. In 2008 TVF asked him to return to them as their M & E sales manager, where he remained until joining Safyre’s national accounts sales team in 2011.
Ben Park – Service Manager
Following school, Ben joined the National Health Service where he undertook his electrical apprenticeship, qualifying as an electrical technician. After leaving the health service, Ben Joined Kidde Fire Protection where he spent eight years in a variety of engineering positions, including senior engineer and engineering supervisor. He was ultimately promoted to service manager and retained that position until joining Safyre as fire service manager in 2007.
Lee Bressington – Project Manager
Lee has been involved in the fire protection industry since 1996 when he joined SPI Kidde as a trainee fire suppression systems engineer. After qualifying as an installation engineer he worked on his own projects. He was promoted to a project engineer with Kidde Products in 2005 where he continued to work until joining Surefire systems in 2008. Immediately prior to Joining Safyre, Lee worked as a contracts manager for Pipetek Services where he oversaw the installation of a wide range of fire suppression systems.
Larry Clift – Project Manager
Larry originally joined the LEB as an apprentice electrician in 1968, progressing to a grade 1 electrical engineer in 1986. Larry first entered the fire systems industry in 1988, joining Modern Fire as an area sales engineer; he was promoted to senior sales consultant after the company’s acquisition by ADT in 1989. Larry gained further experience at a senior level with Chubb Fire, Argus Fire & Security, Siemens Fire Systems & Initial Fire Systems. Larry joined us as a highly experienced project manager in 2010.
Eric James – Project Manager
Eric started his career as an apprentice electrician at Haden Young in 1971 and qualified as approved electrician during his career there. He subsequently moved to Gratte Brothers in 1977 and later to Andrews Weatherfoil. From 1985 to 1995 Eric worked as a foreman for Rosser and Russell, where he managed 150 electrical installation staff. In 1995 Eric joined Waitrose PLC as the assistant to the electrical services manager. In 2006 Eric was promoted to electrical services manager, a position he held until joining us in 2011.
Tim Hudson – Fire Systems Engineering Manager
Tim first joined the fire alarm industry in 1980 working for Macanda’s engineering department. He joined Safyre in 1987 where he gained significant experience in both workshop and field based engineering positions, including; workshop manager and general manager. Today Tim heads-up the fire engineering department primarily providing support and direction for his field based colleagues.
SWIFT ALARMS DIRECTORS & SENIOR STAFF
Paul Grist FRSA – Managing Director
Paul has been involved in the UK security industry since leaving school in 1977. During that time he has worked at a senior level in many of the country’s best known security companies including, Group 4 Securicor & ADT. Paul was head of both special projects & marketing for Secom and sales and marketing director of Argus Fire & Security Group PLC. Latterly he was the commercial director of a + £50M Contracting & FM business.
Justin Hammond – National Accounts Director
Justin worked as a serving police officer for fifteen years before retiring to set-up Crimewave Solutions in 2002. His experience was invaluable in enabling him to establish and develop the security management & investigatory side of the business and ultimately, the CCTV led electronic security systems installation & maintenance operation. His specialist experience and reputation for a high level of integrity has led to Justin working with many of the UK and Europe’s leading national retail and leisure companies, many of whom still retain him as their key security and risk management advisor through Crimewave.
Andrew McDonnell – General Manager
Andrew has worked in customer services since 1995, firstly in his native New Zealand, then in the Channel Islands after completing his studies at Canterbury University. Prior to joining Swift Alarms, Andrew worked as a key trainer and call centre manager for the then newly combined AMP/NPI Insurance business and later as call centre manager for a major division of Lehman Brothers. He joined Swift Alarms to head-up the company’s enlarged administration department in 2005. He was promoted to Personnel Manager in October 2010 and General Manager of Swift Alarms in April 2012.
Matthew Hitchcock – General Manager – Swift Auto-Gates
Matthew has a wide range of experience in the domestic, commercial and vehicular security systems sectors and has worked for Swift Alarms since 2001. Matthew joined us as an engineer and gained experience in all of our engineering departments prior to becoming senior installation engineer. Matthew’s was promoted to security operations manager in 2007. He was promoted again in 2010 and now has overall management responsibility for our gate automation business.
Adam Johnson – Security Operations Manager
Adam commenced his working career as the workshop & customer service assistant for Levick Jorgensen in 2004. In 2006 he joined a specialist window blind design & fitting company, where he managed their Eastbourne store together with the installation team. In 2009, Adam took the decision to establish his own business specialising in the refurbishment of rental properties, which he successfully developed until he was offered the opportunity to take a management role with Jempson Supermarkets. Adam was promoted to his current role in March 2012.
Chris Hawkes – Key Accounts Sales Manager
Following school, Chris qualified as an electrical technician, entering the private security industry immediately afterwards, joining HPS as a trainee engineer in 1980. In 1982 he joined Carroll Security as an installation engineer. He subsequently joined Modern Alarms as a service engineer and was promoted to the systems design & sales department. In 2002 Chris founded Southern Intruder Systems with a former colleague, a business he continued to develop until its acquisition by the Swift Alarms Group in 2011.
Paul Rainbow – Regional Business Manager
Paul first entered the security industry in 1997 when he joined London based CAI Vision where he developed his now extensive knowledge in the design and application of CCTV and electronic security systems; he was ultimately promoted to sales manager. He left to develop his own CCTV supply and installation company; during this time, Paul was offered the position of sales manager for Y3K, a well known manufacturer and distributor of CCTV and electronic security products. Paul joined us as our Sales Manager in 2007.
Leigh Bragg – Installation Manager
Leigh joined Swift Alarms as a security systems service and installation engineer in 2002. He subsequently transferred to our fire alarms operation where he worked as a service and installation engineer. Following the acquisition of Safyre, Leigh worked directly for our Field Operations Manager where he assisted in the planning of system installations. He was promoted to his current position in 2010.
David English – Service Manager
David has been involved in the security systems industry since 1985. He has worked as a service and installation engineer for a number of major companies including Chubb Alarms, during which time he has gained a comprehensive knowledge of the service and installation of intruder alarms, CCTV & access control systems. David Joined Swift Alarms as a service and installation engineer in 2009 and was promoted to his current position in 2010.
Geoff Windeatt – Field Technical Support
Following school, Geoff gained a Btec National in electrical and electronic engineering. He joined Romec as an apprentice engineer in 1996 where he won the ‘apprentice of the year’ award. He subsequently gained an NVQ3 in intruder alarm principles and also an NVQ2 in CCTV theory. Geoff progressed to become senior engineer and then design estimator. In 2007 He joined the Swift Alarms Group and has since provided technical support services to our security engineering team and he has also been responsible for overseeing the installation works for a number of our major customers including LIDL.
Tom Sutton – Field Technical Support
Following college, Tom joined Swift Alarms in 2006 as a trainee engineer. Upon completion of his initial training, Tom worked for us as an alarm installer, initially working on domestic and small commercial projects. As his experience developed, he undertook the installation of more complex projects. Ultimately, we was planning and installing complex projects that included Intruder alarms, CCTV and access control. He has also worked extensively within our service department, providing both daytime and out-of-hours service and technical support to our many customers. Tom was promoted to work within our technical support department in 2011.
CRIMEWAVE DIRECTORS AND SENIOR STAFF
Justin Hammond – Managing Director
Justin worked as a serving police officer for fifteen years before retiring to set-up Crimewave Solutions in 2002. His experience was invaluable in enabling him to establish and develop the security management & investigatory side of the business and ultimately, the CCTV led electronic security systems installation & maintenance operation. His specialist experience and reputation for a high level of integrity has led to Justin working with many of the UK and Europe’s leading national retail and leisure companies, many of whom still retain him as their key security and risk management advisor through Crimewave.
Andrew McDonnell – General Manager
Andrew has worked in customer services since 1995, firstly in his native New Zealand, then in the Channel Islands after completing his studies at Canterbury University. Prior to joining Swift Alarms, Andrew worked as a key trainer and call centre manager for the then newly combined AMP/NPI Insurance business and later as call centre manager for a major division of Lehman Brothers. He joined Swift Alarms to head-up the company’s enlarged administration department in 2005. He was promoted to Personnel Manager in October 2010 and General Manager of Swift Alarms & Crimewave Solutions Ltd in April 2012.
Luke Denton – Operations Manager
Luke has worked within the electronic security industry since 2002. Initially, Luke gained his experience within an independent, family owned business, ultimately moving on to work for one of the UK’s major national alarm installers. Luke joined Crimewave as their senior engineer in 2011. His excellent work-ethics, attention to detail and ‘can-do’ attitude led to his promotion to Operations Manager in December 2011.
Charlie Taylor – Investigations Manager
Charlie Joined the Thames Valley Police as a serving police officer in 1998. His specialist experience includes considerable work within the intelligence and drug fields, as an informant handler and a member of the CBRN (chemical, biological radiological & nuclear) incident team. Charlie also worked within the police support team, dealing with serious civil disorder and riot situations. Before leaving the police service, he worked within the drugs proactive team, tackling drug supply & dealing at all levels. Charlie Joined Crimewave Solutions in 2011 as lead investigator. Today he heads a team of investigators working to assist the company’s customers in investigating and preventing criminal acts at all levels, from staff fraud, incidents of theft and acts of vandalism.
Paul Westbrook – Service Coordinator
Prior to Joining Swift Alarms Group’s Safyre business as a service coordinator in 2011, Paul ran his own company for seven years. Immediately prior to this, he worked for the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service both as a fire-fighter and within the fire prevention education team. Paul also has extensive experience within the electronic service industry, having managed the technical sales team for an international telecommunications company. Paul now heads-up the office based service administration team for Crimewave.
