About Us

Managing Director

Kate is from a military background that spanned 24 years and is the founder of Gryphon Safety and Security. The majority of her time in the Army was spent in the training environment carrying out instructor roles in various subjects and training students direct from basic training. Following her time as an instructor, Kate worked as a training analyst and was responsible for the training standards and evaluation of courses accessed by over 7000 military staff. Latterly, Kate was employed as the lead instructor and first Training Warrant Officer in her Corps, and responsible for the Continued Professional Development of over 50 instructors, specialising in coaching and mentoring, leadership and management, and equality and diversity.

Whilst serving in the Army, Kate embarked on a parallel career in the safety and security industry during which time she qualified as a Safety Officer. Over the last 18 years she has gained experience and knowledge working at large outdoor and indoor venues including Twickenham, Wembley and the Olympic Park in the role of Deputy Safety Officer and Security Manager. Her experiences have been gleaned from a miriad of events including rugby, football, road running events, concerts and festivals. Kate is currently working with Fulham Football Club as the Corporate Safety and Security Manager for the clubs modernised Riverside Stand that will sit within the new venue ‘Fulham Pier’. When not at Fulham, she will be working at Wembley National Stadium as a Crowd Safety Manager.

Away from the world of events, Kate is busy delivering and assessing safety and security training both in and outside of the industry, along with providing staff for coprorate security roles, Close Protection tasks, Surveillance and Investigation.

Kate is an associate consultant for IWI who are commissioned to carry out independent safety and security audits of operational procedures at stadiums and other large venues of mass gatherings. Kate is also a member of the British Security Industry Authority (BSIA), and sits on the Board of the Training Providers Section. With the remainder of her time, Kate works with UEFA providing Spectator Safety training to approved UEFA stadiums around Europe.

Kate’s interests include Kickboxing, golf, photography and reading.

Director of Finance

Jo is also from a military background.  She has worked in all areas of HR Management for over 30 years, and has often been responsible for the administrative management of over 1000 personnel at a time.  She has a broad spectrum of experience which ranges from duties as an Internal Auditor, External Auditor and Quality Assurance Inspector.

She has been responsible for developing policy and governance that is used on a daily basis by as many as 7000 personnel.  She has extensive experience in the instructional environment including assessing, course development and preparing for Ofsted inspections.

Within the event industry, Jo’s main focus has continued with Quality Assurance amongst the staffing element of events.

Whilst Jo’s commitment to the company is in the role of Finance Director, she keeps herself up to date and current with assessing our learners and quality assuring our instructors.

Director of Business Development

Gary is our Director of Business Development due to his considerable experience within the events sector and a proven track record of providing exemplary levels of event planning including site inspections, risk analysis, security and threat assessments, workplace safety and contingency planning enabling him to draw-up safe operational procedures and make recommendations following any accidents or incidents. Since Gary started his career within the event safety industry in 1985, he has been a director of his own company where he has provided staffing, management and training services at various football stadiums and other large venues, delivered safety training up to Level 4 Spectator Safety, was the Deputy Safety Officer for Charlton Athletic Football Club 2000 – 2004, has managed contracts across a wide variety of events around the UK and the Channel Islands; including the Commonwealth Games 2014, Tour de France 2014 and most recently, was the Safety Officer at the largest venue of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022. However, one of Gary’s proudest work-related achievements, was that he started working at Mill Wall Football Club as a Steward in 1985 and finished in 2005 as the clubs Deputy Safety Officer.

Outside of Gryphon Safety and Security, Gary is currently the Safety Officer for Gillingham Football Club, is a member of the Football Safety Officers Association (FSOA), has been a Security Team manager at Wembley stadium since 2014 and has been part of the support team for the Men’s England Football away matches since 2017. [Full Bio to follow]

Operations and Training Manager

As the Operations and Training Manager, Karl is responsible for the day to day operations of the company and manages our contracts from various parts of the country with regards to all elements of safety and security work including providing Appropriate Adult Support and Challenging Behaviour Support to the care sector. Karl is also responsible for the delivery of training to our learners, and ensures that company staff and instructors are also up to date with current legal requirements and CPD. Most recently, Karl was not only responsible for recruiting the most Area Supervisors at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games than any other external agency, he was also part of the team that was responsible for providing a safe, secure and successful environment for spectators that visited Birmingham University to watch the squash and hockey competitions throughout the games.

Karl spent 13 years in the Army and 2 years with the Reserves. Following his time in the Armed Forces Karl worked as a locksmith before a career change to working with young children with mental health and applied to work in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CHAMS) in low, medium, and secure units. It was at this point that Karl made the move to specialise in working with teams for young people in family settings. During this time, Karl managed teams on a basis of 1:1 to 6:1 and felt that he made changes to young peoples lives through the design and delivery of his own programme that he implemented to keep both clients and  staff safe. Karl’s success in providing support in the mental health sector meant that he was able to work freelance with young people for many Local Authorities including Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge and Essex.

Karl’s interests are falconry, spending time with family and friends and is currently completing his Level 5 in Health and Social Care.

Human Resources and Compliance Manager

As our Human Resourses and Compliance Manager, Debbie is our ‘go to’ person for all employee related queries. Debbie is involved in managing activities such as job design, recruitment,  employee relations, performance management, and promoting corporate values whilst shaping a positive culture within the working environment. Compliance is at the core of Debbie’s daily routine as she diligently ensures that the company’s policies and rules are in line with regulatory and ethical standards, regardless of whether government or a company’s executive management establish the standards. Debbie conducts audits and makes recommendations that will keep the company from facing any difficulties due to non-compliance issues. [Full Bio to follow].

Human Resources and Training Administrator

Robyn provides support to our Human Resources department and is usually the first point of contact for HR-related queries from employees and our external partners. Robyn also provides support to our training department by providing an effective and comprehensive training recruitment administrative service for the Company. [Full Bio to follow]