Jonathan Moore is a Director of Operations in our Security Solutions business. He shares his fascinating career journey, lessons from his international experience, and his vision for security in the post-pandemic world.
What was your path into the security industry?
I started my career in the British Army, where I served for 7 years in a variety of environments. The Army helped me develop a resilient mindset, discipline, loyalty, and a passion for problem-solving. I learned many lessons in the Army, particularly about myself which I feel helped me mature quickly and shaped who I am today.
I joined the private Security sector over 15 years ago. I worked in the world of consultancy before moving into Security Management, in which I settled. My first role was as the Head of Security for a large steel manufacturing company. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work in senior leadership roles for a variety of large multinationals and take on security challenges in diverse regions such as The Americas, EMEA, and APAC. I was very fortunate to spend some time living in Singapore and India where I gained memories and experiences I will cherish for life.
What lessons did you learn from your international experience?
I have had exposure to a wide range of regional and country-specific challenges which gave me the opportunity to develop solutions to unique problems. I have also been privileged to work with extremely talented people of all cultures and backgrounds. This was invaluable, and I have made many great friends along the way. Professionally, it broadened my perspectives and deepened my expertise in the fundamentals of Security and Leadership. Most importantly, it reinforced my long-held belief that in the security industry, as in so many other areas, the ability to build strong relationships and communicate well is critical.
What attracted you to Bidvest Noonan?
Throughout most of my career, I have been an end-user of security services. I was frequently frustrated and disappointed by the quality of the product I received. I believed that a service provider that put people first, was client-centric, and delivered a quality product could be highly successful. I identified Bidvest Noonan as a business that puts its people and client needs at the centre of its decisions and delivers great service. After meeting with members of Bidvest Noonan leadership, I was convinced that this business shared my values and ambitions, and I wanted to be a part of it.
How has the pandemic impacted your role?
I am proud to say the pandemic has not detracted from our ability to support our teams and clients. We have been able to tailor our service according to demand and helped many of our clients navigate through what has been difficult commercially. In many ways, we have become stronger as a business and forged much deeper relationships with our people and clients.
I believe this pandemic has made us more resilient as an organisation. At Bidvest Noonan, we immediately got a good handle on the developing situation and were adaptive and agile in our decision making at every point. Of course, not every decision was correct, and we learned from our mistakes as well as our successes.
Our people who have been affected in so many ways by the pandemic. For me, personally, demonstrating visible and transparent leadership through the period has been fundamentally important. The first consideration of any decision I have made has been to our people.
How has the pandemic impacted the role of security?
It has been demonstrated that the role that our operational teams is more important now than ever before. Where many premises have been unoccupied or have had reduced members of staff on-site, our teams have remained present to ensure the buildings remain functional and people kept safe.
We have needed to be adaptive and agile to ensure the well-being of our teams and clients we look after. We have developed and implemented new security procedures required to maintain Covid Secure environments. Our work gives people confidence that they are safe when they return to the workplace.
We accelerated our innovation programmes to respond to the pandemic. We have employed new subject matter experts, invested in technologies, improved how communicated, and reimagined our solutions. With vaccines in distribution and growing optimism, we are ready to deliver even more value to the market. I am excited about our industry’s role in the post-pandemic world and especially about the bright future of our business.
