Meet some of the team
Beyond an outstanding level of skill and experience each has a commitment to building long term relationships founded on effectiveness and trust:
Paul Cardew
Director
Paul has been active in forging close relationships and Joint Ventures between PGS and leading training providers and innovative technology companies.
Working with Dr Mariyam Hasham he has managed projects to assess the future collaboration of the commercial sector and policing agencies to improve counter terrorism effectiveness - Project Unicorn. At the request of the police in London he went to Madrid following the bomb attack in March 2004. Paul's recommendations have informed recent CT policy changes in London and formed the basis for an article in "Homeland Security - Protecting America's Infrastructure".
As a Director of Intelligence, with the British Transport Police he completed major projects involving investigating major rail accidents, international terrorist threat and intelligence review, and subsequently was hired as a consultant to SAIC.
Paul was a senior ranking Police officer with a wide range of counter terrorist and investigative experience gained from service in PSNI, Metropolitan and British Transport Police. An excellent trainer and consultant he has had responsibility for leading Criminal Investigation, counter terrorism, intelligence and serious crime projects.
He is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and postgraduate of Harvard University, USA and was deputy director of Homeland Security and Resilience Programme at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
John Douglas
Director
John is currently in the Middle East playing a crucial role as a Training Director in the development of an extensive training programme. John is an expert in blended training techniques, agency inter-operability, risk assessment, HR, security technologies, and as a specialist in managing information and intelligence. In his current project he has developed an innovative leadership programme, been instrumental in providing computer based training, mobile platforms and core safety trainers.
Before this John provided the focal point for a £200 million change management programme orchestrating the resettlement and retraining of 3000 personnel as part of the Northern Ireland peace process. His experience enabled him to manage the delicate negotiations within such a political and media-sensitive arena.
He is an accomplished trainer having established the core of the 15,000 soldiers required for the embryonic FADM (Mozambique Army), repeating that successful process later in Sierra Leone. Using his knowledge of the intelligence process he has also developed innovative techniques that have become the bedrock nationally of managing information to assist in threat assessment and emergency response.
When leaving public service John set up PGS as a specialist security, training, investigative and technology brokerage company with Paul Cardew - developing relationships with individuals and organisations to create teams utilising best practice in these areas.
John was educated in Belfast and had a public service career spanning 26 years, including service in Kenya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also an expert on Sub Saharan Africa.
Mariyam Hasham
Strategist
Mariyam is an acknowledged expert on terrorism and asymmetric security threats. Her doctorate focused on identity politics and terrorism in Northern Ireland. She was instrumental in the initial development of the Homeland Security and Resilience Programme at Royal United Services Institute in London’s Whitehall – the world’s oldest military ‘think-tank’. She has worked at the world renowned ‘Chatham House’ on projects dealing with international peacekeeping, asymmetric threats against national infrastructures, and methods of assessing risk.
She has also worked for the United Nations, and while working for the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, she led in-depth studies on death squads and identity-based forms of violence. In addition to her studies on political violence, she is a specialist in war zone economies, privatisation of security and intelligence, and emerging security threats.
Mariyam was one of three members of Project Unicorn which assessed the role of the commercial sector in counter terrorism and policing for London. The 26 Unicorn recommendations have proved highly influential in informing UK government counter-terrorist policy. Her commercial work now focuses on the protection of strategic and military assets, the development of in-house intelligence strategies, diamond economies, and brokerage in the defence sector. She has published over thirty articles in the fields of terrorism, defence, and public-private security issues, including a highly influential treatise on ‘Suicide Bombers’.
Guy French
Legal Advisor
Guy joined PGS in 2007 and advises in all aspects of company law, ‘Joint Ventures’ and consultancies. He was born in and attended primary and secondary schools in Dublin. He graduated with a BA from Trinity College, Dublin in 1970 having read Economics, Philosophy and English. Guy was admitted as a solicitor in Ireland in 1973 and has been a practising solicitor since that time. He became a partner in the law firm McCann FitzGerald - the largest law firm in Ireland in 1980, and was a senior partner in the firm’s Corporate Department from 1980 to 2007.
His specialties are mergers & acquisitions and general corporate matters. During his time as a partner he acted for some of Ireland’s largest corporate clients. He is now a consultant to McCann FitzGerald. He is married with four children.
Ken Harper
Emergency Management
Ken has 35 years experience in the Fire Service. He was Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Northern Ireland until 1999 when he was appointed National Commander for the New Zealand Fire Service. He has extensive experience in Media Relations and as a Winston Churchill Fellow studied, ‘How to Influence Human Behaviour in Fire in the U.S.A.’
Ken has spoken at Conferences and Work Shops around the world and was a keynote Speaker at The First International Conference on Terrorism held in Washington in 1995. As an international Spokesman, he has lectured, advised and trained Personnel and Agencies in North America and Australasia over a 12 year period. As an Incident Commander for many years he has extensive hands-on experience of major events caused by Terrorism in Northern Ireland, and has advised internationally on Emergency Management and Dynamic Risk Assessment for First Responders.
He has directed courses to students throughout the Middle East on the management of fire command, at the International Fire Engineering College in Oman. Ken currently sits on Government Departmental Boards in Northern Ireland, and co-ordinates all aspects of International Training, Inter-operability and Multi Agency Training for PGS.
George Durazzo
Consultant, Global Markets
George Durazzo is an American businessman based in London with operations in the US and Europe. He specialises in connecting people and organisations in the business, governmental and political realms with an eye toward long term relationships. He grew up an expatriate with the American military in Europe, was educated in Colorado and worked professionally in the foodservice and hospitality industry; and then in governmental affairs for the National Restaurant Association.He is active in US electoral politics (Democrat) and has had numerous clients serve in the federal government, most notably the US Congress. He has a strong background in energy, foreign policy, international relations and deal making. He is a current member of British American Business Inc., the American Association of Political Consultants, and he is the founder of Warhorse Consulting, USA and London Ventures, International.
David Porter
Investigations/Special Projects
David has spent the last 12 months with PGS teaching an Investigation Methodology and carrying out investigations in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar as well as the UK.
An expert in investigations, complex project management and security intelligence, David can assist organisations to improve their existing security plans for both their assets and employees.
He has senior management experience in a challenging and dynamic environment, where he honed his skills in prioritisation, risk management, strategy and planning, consistently working to the highest ethical standards.
During his time in the public service he oversaw numerous operations involving national security and tackling serious organized crime, which resulted in the disruption of large numbers of criminal enterprises.
He speaks Mandarin.
John Paul Sawyer
Consultant, US Markets
John Sawyer is a dual national (US and UK) based in the Washington, DCMetropolitan Area. He specialises in market research, oral and
written communications, and business networking, with a focus on the
security field. He has worked as a contractor with the US federal
government and a number of small start-up companies. He also works
for London Ventures International and Warhorse Consulting, a UK
international business firm and a DC public affairs firm,
respectively. He has a Masters in Security Studies and is a
doctoral candidate in International Relations at Georgetown
University.