Contributors

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Host

Philip Grindell MSc CSyP

Philip is the founder & CEO of Defuse®

Philip has become one of the UK’s most trusted leaders & advisors when it comes to fixated persons & threats to prominent people. 

Philip served as a senior Scotland Yard Detective for the Metropolitan Police for almost 30 years in specialist roles, including time spent seconded to British Intelligence on counter-terrorist investigations. 

Philip set & ran the Parliamentary Liaison & Investigation Team (PLaIT). The team responsible for the protection of politicians in the UK Parliament.

Philip has a MSc in Security Management and is a Chartered Security Professional

https://www.linkedin.com/in/specialists-in-protecting-prominent-people-and-brands-from-targeted-threats/

Guests

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Ailsa Anderson

Ailsa Anderson is the person the most high profile in the world goes to when they require a composite professional to manage their communications.


Ailsa Anderson was Communications and Press Secretary to the Late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 2001 to 2013.

A former newspaper Journalist, Ailsa moved into public relations and worked as a press officer for the British Government.

During her time in the Royal Household she worked on two Jubilees, the wedding of the current Prince and Princess of Wales, and the birth of Prince George.

She was awarded the Royal Victorian Order in 2011 for her services to the Royal Household.

She now is a Royal commentator for the US broadcaster ABC News and reported extensively during the death and funeral of The Queen.


 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ailsa-anderson-cole-8ab6a48/
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Benjamin Barrontine

Benjamin Barrontine spent 15 years in the US military. 

He initially served in the infantry soldier before moving into the Special Forces specialising in intelligence, social engineering, digital exploitation and cyber targeting. 

He's has also worked with the NSA National Security Agency, the US Marshals Service, and NASA.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminbarrontine/
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Bizz Zimmerman

Bill Zimmerman was assigned to the Threat Assessment Section  of the U.S. Capitol Police.  As a TAS Investigator for over 25 years, he conducted thousands of investigations into individuals concerned with the Congressional community. He collaborated with other Government agencies, local law enforcement, private security, and members of the private sector, who were integral parts of the investigations.

As the senior investigator, his responsibilities included traveling regularly to conduct security awareness seminars for the Senate and House staff throughout the United States and protective intelligence teams for congressional leadership and other congressional events. 

Today, he incorporates that knowledge and experience to help conduct violent risk assessments and assist in creating threat assessment and threat management teams.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-zimmerman/
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Bryan Flannery

Bryan is the Founder and President of Foresight. His passion for keeping people safe inspired the development of Foresight’s robust, holistic approach to security and safety. 


Bryan’s experience with personal and executive protection, risk mitigation, security vulnerability assessments, and behavioral threat assessment and management underpin Foresight’s collective subject matter expertise and client services. 

  • Twenty-two years of military and law enforcement experience, specializing in Behavioral Threat Assessment, Physical Security, and the Protection of elected officials.
  • Seventeen-year member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, and currently  serves as President of the NW Chapter Board of Directors.
  • Dynamic speaker having presented to international audiences in Personal Safety and Security, Threat Assessment, and Targeted Violence detection and response. 


https://www.foresight-sc.com/
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Corina Goetz

Corina Goetz is a Middle East Strategist and Keynote Speaker who helps companies and professionals to succeed in the Gulf region. 

Corrina's company have been trusted advisors to many HNW clients from the Gulf and we now teach others how to build these relationships.

Corina founded Star-CaT Ltd in 2015 which stands for five-star service and consulting and training.

Corina, and her team help companies and professionals to succeed in the Gulf region. We have been trusted advisors to many HNW clients from the Gulf and we now teach others how to build these relationships.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinagoetz/
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Dan Schilling

New York Times bestselling author Dan Schilling, Lt. Col., USAF (ret.) spent more than 30 years in special operations, primarily as a Combat Controller and Special Tactics Officer, but began military service as an infantry paratrooper.  
His combat, clandestine, rescue, and humanitarian missions have taken him worldwide. He includes Operation Gothic Serpent, popularly known as Black Hawk Down, where he is credited with saving the lives of a Ranger and Team Six SEAL while under heavy enemy fire. He later conceived, founded, and then served as the first commander of two special operations squadrons, one of whose name and purpose remain classified. His military certifications include HALO and static line master parachutist, Special Forces combat diver, parachute rigger, and Combat Control pipeline instructor. His final military assignment was the Joint Special Operations Command Weapons of Mass Destruction U.S. interagency and intelligence community director.


https://www.danschillingbooks.com/
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Dr Lorraine Sheridan

Dr Lorraine Sheridan is a Chartered Forensic Psychologist, completing Europe’s first PhD on stalking. She is a police accredited offender profiler and compiles psychological reports related to offenders, highlighting the risks posed by known or unknown suspects. Lorraine was formerly a senior academic in Perth, Western Australia.

Dr. Sheridan is the former President of the Asia Pacific Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

https://scholar.google.com.au/citationsuser=oTK9ffAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao


http://www.defuseglobal.com
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Dr Reid Meloy

 

Dr. Reid Meloy is a board-certified forensic psychologist (ABPP) and consults on criminal and civil cases throughout the U.S. and Europe. He is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, and a faculty member of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center.
 
 
Dr. Stephen White and he created the WAVR-21 V3 (www.wavr21.com), a structured professional judgment instrument for targeted workplace and campus violence. 

Dr. Meloy has been a consultant on criminal, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism cases for the Behavioral Analysis Units, FBI, Quantico, for the past twenty years. 


 

 

https://drreidmeloy.com/
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Dr Russell Palarea

Dr. Palarea is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Operational Psychology Services (OPS). 

He is an internationally recognized expert on threat assessment, insider threat, protective intelligence, and counterterrorism, providing consultation in these areas to Fortune 500 corporations, global security firms, law enforcement, U.S. Government agencies, and universities.  

Dr. Palarea has been an active participant with the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) since 1996 and served as ATAP’s President from 2017-2021.

https://oppsych.com/meet-the-team/
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Dr Stephen White

Dr. Stephen G. White, Ph.D., is a psychologist and the President of Work Trauma Services Inc., a consulting group he originally founded in 1982 to assist employers with serious workplace crises. 

His extensive work in organizational trauma reduction led to his specializing, since 1989, in the assessment and management of workplace and campus violence risk. 

Dr. White has consulted nationally and internationally on over 4,500 threat cases for numerous Fortune 500 companies, private and public organizations, law firms and their clientele, colleges and universities, and law enforcement, military and governmental entities. 

In 2022 he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. 

https://www.specializedtraining.com/Presenter.aspx?ID=22
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Dr. Caroline Logan

Dr. Caroline Logan is a Consultant Specialist Clinical Psychologist in Risk Assessment and Management in the NHS and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. 

Presently, she is based in a high secure forensic psychiatric service although she consults widely across mental health services in her trust and beyond on issues to do with clinical risk assessment and management.

 

She is a chartered clinical and a chartered forensic psychologist and she has a D.Phil in experimental psychology and is the President of the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services.

 

She is a co-author of the recent Best Practice in Managing Risk guidance and of the British Psychological Society  paper Understanding Personality Disorder.

She maintains her research and clinical interests in personality disorder more generally and in gender issues in offending more specifically.

 

 

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Dr. Gene Deisinger

 Dr Gene Deisinger is President of Deisinger Consulting, LLC, specializing in operational psychology, protective intelligence, and behavioural threat assessment & management for an international base of clients in business, education, healthcare, government, military, law enforcement, non-profit organizations, and security & protective operations. Dr. Deisinger helps clients develop, implement, and operate comprehensive, holistic & collaborative programs to prevent & mitigate harm, sustain continuity of operations, and enhance the safety & well-being of the organization and its members. 

Dr. Deisinger earned his doctorate in psychology from Iowa State University. He is a licensed psychologist, a certified health service provider in psychology, and, until his retirement, a certified law enforcement officer. 


https://deisingerconsulting.com/
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Dr. Marc McElhaney

Dr. Marc McElhaney is CEO of Critical Response Associates (CRA) , a national team of experienced psychologists and behavioural specialists specialising in identifying and resolving high-risk threats and violence in the workplace.

He is a licensed consulting psychologist and registered mediator known for his work in threat assessment, critical incident management, and conflict resolution.

Since 1977, he has consulted with corporations, government agencies and large organizations on assessing, managing, and resolving high-risk incidents. He has also helped develop workplace violence policies and crisis response programs.

He is the author of “Aggression in the Workplace: Preventing and Managing High-Risk Behaviour” 2004 as well as

CRA’s core training program, “Preventing Workplace Violence,” is one of the most detailed and effective educational guides.


https://craorg.com/
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Edward V Marshall

Edward V. Marshall is the Global Head of the Dentons Family Office and High Net
Worth (DFO) sector. Edward is a family office insider and a renowned family office
researcher, advisor, and author. He is regarded as a thought leader in the family office space, distinguished by his service to complex families worldwide.  He is also a risk and threat management specialist, working with families to reduce their cyber, physical, financial, operational, and reputational risk profiles.

Edward earned his MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a BS in human biology from Michigan State University. He is also a guest lecturer on family office and wealth management at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-v-marshall/
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Figen Murray

On the 22nd May 2017, Figen Murray’s life as she knew it changed forever. Her son, Martyn Hett, was one of the 22 people killed in the devastating Manchester Arena terrorist attack. The acts of kindness and support that followed the tragic loss of Martyn Hett in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing highlight the strength of the community in times of grief.

Figen's advocacy for peace and positive change rather than succumbing to anger is truly inspiring. In memory of Martyn, Figen led the call for Martyn's Law, which aims to enhance security measures at public venues and prevent future tragedies.



https://www.figenmurray.co.uk/
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Fred Burton

Fred Burton is a former police officer, special agent and New York Times best-selling author. 
Fred Burton is a pioneer and one of the original members of the State Department's Protective Intelligence Division.

He's served on the front lines of high-profile investigations like the hunt for and arrest of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind the first World Trade Center bombing; the 1988 plane crash of PAK-1 that killed U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel and Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq; and the search for Americans kidnapped by Hezbollah in Beirut, Lebanon.

Burton also consults with Fortune 500 companies on security developments and how to keep their personnel and business safe as the Executive Director of Ontic.

 Fred Burton was selected by Security Magazine as one of the Most Influential People in Security in 2021.

https://ontic.co/
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Frederick Calhoun

Frederick S. Calhoun, PhD, oversaw a national workplace violence prevention program for a large federal agency. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago. He was the lead researcher and principal architect in developing the threat assessment process used by the United States Marshals Service for analyzing risks to federal judicial officials. He also developed the service’s policies and procedures for conducting protective investigations and wrote the curriculum and led the training of deputy US Marshals Service threat investigators and their supervisors. He is the author of 12 books and teaches a periodic two-day seminar, "Managing Threats: Reducing the Risk of Violence," designed to train law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, and private security officials to identify, assess, and manage individuals of violent intent.

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Gabrielle Thompson

During her time with GDBA,  Gabby acted as the firm's subject matter expert on threat assessment by handling high-risk and critical cases, including inappropriate pursuit, stalking, threats, and harassment, and overseeing threat assessment programs for at-risk individuals. She also led the firm's threat assessment training, influencing thousands of others' careers. 

Gabby's career was in part initiated by her own experience of being a victim of stalking.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thompsongabrielle/
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Giles Keningham MBE

Giles Kenningham MBE is a former Head of Press at Number 10 Downing Street and spokesman to the Prime Minister. He was the Director of Communications for the Conservative Party’s general election win in 2015 leading a team of 40 people. 

He started his career as a journalist in national radio reporting on business and consumer issues for a variety of stations including Classic and Magic FM. He is a former ITV News producer. 

Few people entering the sector have his level of experience and insight of dealing with every crisis imaginable. From political scandals to sex scandals, to privacy issues, he has dealt day in day out for 6 years with the issues that have led the TV news bulletins and dominated the newspaper front pages.

Giles regularly appears as a political and media commentator on BBC, Sky & CNN. He also writes for a variety of national publications including the Times and Spectator.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/giles-kenningham-mbe-96515a2/
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Guy Batchelor

Guy Batchelor is a risk and physical security expert. Guy’s knowledge is formed from 26 years' service with the British Army where he progressed from private soldier to commissioned officer spending the majority of that service with United Kingdom Special Forces (22nd Special Air Service Regiment) & 10 years’ experience in the corporate security sector. 

 

He has vast operational experience from multiple deployments worldwide with a specialist skill set and approach.  He is comfortable consulting and advising at all levels of an organization and during his military and commercial careers he has operated in several multi-national high-level command / management environments. 


 Guy has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and several other business and security focused qualifications. 

 

https://minervaelite.com/
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Jameson Ritter, CTM, CPP, PSP, PCI

Jameson is an experienced security consultant who specializes in workplace violence prevention, behavioral threat assessment and management, physical security and training and awareness programs. 

 

Jameson is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and is one of just over 210 professionals certified as a Certified Threat Manager (CTM) within ATAP. He also holds the "triple crown" of ASIS International certifications: the Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Professional (PSP), and Professional Certified Investigator (PCI).

Jameson is the author of the book “This Book Saves Lives: 10 Steps to Building a Threat Management Program in Your Organization, Prevent Workplace Violence, and Take Care of Your People”  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameson-ritter-ctm-cpp-psp-pci/
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Kim Leadbeater MP MBE

Kim is the Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen. She is the sister of Jo Cox MP who was assassinated in 2016. 

 In 2018 Kim was awarded the Prime Minister’s 1000th Points of Light Award in recognition of our work to build a positive legacy for Jo, and a Northern Power Women Award for being a ‘Person with Purpose’. In the 2021 New Year’s Honours List she received an MBE for services to social cohesion and combatting loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kim never thought about these awards being for her but for the fantastic team working together to make a difference locally and nationally.

 Kim has always been a very driven and determined person and she is determined to make a difference that prompted her – after much soul-searching – to put herself forward for election as her local MP in the 2021 by-election. Kim took her sister’s former seat in Westminster on July 5th 2021.

https://www.kim4batleyandspen.com/
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Melissa Muir

Melissa Muir has been an HR professional in the U.S. courts for 25 years. She is currently the HR Director for her hometown of Shoreline, just north of Seattle. 


Melissa has been thinking about ways to “go upstream” and prevent the harm of problematic personalities in the workplace by not hiring them in the first place. And managing problematic personalities better when we do find them in our organizations.

Melissa is the Past President of the Northwest Chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and serves on the national sponsorship committee. Melissa holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a law degree with a focus on employment law and mediation from Seattle University School of Law. Melissa is an Instructor at Gavin de Becker’s world-renowned Advanced Threat Assessment Academy, a four-day course on advanced threat assessment concepts held twice a year.


https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamuir/
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Miles Manning

Miles is a director of FLS Global, who in the event of a death or serious injury abroad, support organisations to ensure harm is minimised and trauma is managed. https://www.fls-global.co.uk/


Miles is the Family Liaison advisor to The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Deaths Abroad, as well as providing practical support and his extensive experience to advise corporate clients, dealing with families who are affected by the death or serious injury of a loved one abroad.

https://www.fls-global.co.uk/
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Paul Blanchard

Paul is a hugely successful Media consigliere, and he shares some of the secrets behind that success including why he never tenders or prepares proposals. 

Paul Blanchard is one of the founders of the personal PR industry having been in the reputation game for nearly twenty years.  

Based in the UK, he is a serial entrepreneur and investor, he started his first business aged 17 and has never looked back. 

With his award-winning media and reputation consigliere Right Angles, he works exclusively with global CEOs, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, and global investors delivering discreet, high-intensity strategic support. 

With a full-time team of over a dozen experts on his team… Paul has offices in London, New York and Los Angeles


https://www.right-angles.global/
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Richard Levick (RIP)

Richard Levick, Esq. is Chairman & CEO of LEVICK, a crisis communications and public affairs firm, representing countries and companies in the highest-stakes global matters – the Venezuelan crisis; Qatar; the Chinese trade war; the Gulf oil spill; Guantanamo Bay, the Catholic Church and many others.

He and his firm have represented more than 300 of the world’s largest law firms, hundreds of companies and over 30 countries, providing heads of state with communications, access and insight into Washington. 

Mr. Levick has been honored multiple times on the prestigious list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the Boardroom” and has been named to several professional Halls of Fame for lifetime achievement.

He is the co-author of four books including two on litigation communications, hosts daily podcasts for a variety of publications and is a regular commentator on television and in print.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardlevick/?sh=1569ec702a3f
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Rory Steyn

Rory is recognized as a highly experienced and independent leader, with extensive experience in security and personal protection.

 Prior to establishing NSA Global Security Consultants as CEO of Africa Operations, Rory served as a served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the South African Police Service where he specialised in various fields of expertise. Including investigations. Intelligence. VIP protection and bomb disposal.

In 1996, Rory was appointed as a Team Leader for former President Mandela's personal protection team, looking after operations on both a national and international level. Rory is an internationally recognised security specialist, speaker, commentator and regularly presents papers at conferences around the world.


https://nsa-global.com/
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Suky Bhaker

uky has been with the Trust for over seven years, holding the positions of Head of Policy and Development, and more recently CEO. 

During her time with the Trust, Suky has overseen the growth and development of its helpline and advocacy services, led its policy and campaigns team, and designed and delivered a number of complex national projects. 

Notably she has been the Programme Director for the world’s first multi-agency stalking intervention programme (MASIP) and overseen the ongoing campaign for national minimum standards for taxis and private hire vehicles.


https://www.suzylamplugh.org/chief-executive-officer
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Totti Karpela CTM

Mr Karpela, a graduate of the Finland’s Police University College, has a 20-year career in the National Police of Finland where he worked as a unit supervisor and subject matter expert.

Mr. Karpela is a graduate of U.S. Secret Service Threat Management Program, Gavin De Becker threat management academy and he has done numerous other professional training programs with the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. Before joining the National police of Finland, Mr. Karpela served in the Military Police SRT-team. 

 

Mr. Karpela has also authored three books on police operations with organized crime (1995), personal security (1998) and case management guide for stalking cases (2001). He has also authored a chapter on the use of social psychology in counter terrorism operations (2017). In 2022 his book a management of vexatious complainants comes out.  

 


 

https://www.peaceofmind.hk/
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Tracey Jones

Tracey has been a mind management coach for about nine years. She began her career as an educator, giving a solid foundation to this part of her chapter. In 2013/2014, she went through a challenging period and sought support. She quickly recognised that this support was compelling and decided not only to build herself back up but also to transfer the skills to others. Since then, she has worked around the clock on mastering various skills and techniques and now dedicates her time to teaching others the language of their unique life. Being known for her discretion and privacy makes her clients feel safe while working through their problems.


 https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-jones-212a8248/

 https://www.instagram.com/thelanguagealchemist/

https://tjlife.net/