ALARM Conference Report
Alarm’s Annual Conference in Southport at the end of June was well attended with some 400 delegates drawn from across the Public Sector.
Chairman Paul Dudley welcomed the delegates on the first day before introducing an impressive array of speakers. Colonel Bob Stewart led off with a fascinating and poignant presentation about his decision-making process. Bob was the first British United Nations Commander in Bosnia, and was awarded the DSO for ‘cool courage and inspirational leadership’. Following senior posts at NATO, and several key directorships, he is now a partner of The Leadership Backbone, a consultancy which specialises in business leadership, security, risk, crisis management, motivation, and negotiation. Bob’s own experiences and skills help companies and individuals develop their decision-making skills and own leadership style, and to learn military techniques that can be applied in today’s challenging corporate environment.
The AGM was next, after which delegates headed off into their chosen topics within the first of 5 sessions. Sessions were well organised into ‘tracks’ including General, Local Government, Police, Fire, Housing, and Insurance.
Monday’s night’s Gala Dinner was sold out with guests celebrating the success of the conference and congratulating the award winners. Hosted by Gyles Brandreth, with his trademark wit and humour, the evening rolled along and was enjoyed by all. The award category winners:
People Risk:
Winner: Bolton Council
Highly commended: Woodleigh Outreach Support Service (North Yorkshire County Council), and Sunderland City Council
Asset Risk:
Winner: Liverpool City Council
Highly commended: Aberdeenshire Council and London Borough of Hackney
Strategic Risk:
Winner: Sunderland City Council
Highly commended: South East and Eastern Region Police Insurance Consortium (SEERPIC)
Operational Risk:
Winner: London Borough of Lambeth
Highly commended: Sunderland City Council
Risk Management Young Achiever of the Year:
Winner: Stacy Hodgkinson of Sunderland City Council
Risk Manager Achiever of the Year:
Winner: Angela Beechey of Shropshire County Council
Highly commended: Simon Davis of Dyfed-Powes Police
Alarm Lifetime Members:
Carolyn Halpin and Dave Francis
Day 2 kicked off with the second keynote speaker Casper Berry. Back by popular demand after his session at last year’s conference. Casper started his career in the TV series Byker Grove, then went on to read Economics and Anthropology at Cambridge. After a brief career as a professional screen writer, he moved to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player.
Drawing from his diverse range of experiences in poker, business and life, Casper delivered his powerful and pertinent messages about how we think when it comes to risk taking, communicating, decision-making and innovating.