Michael was Master of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals from June 2019 to September 2020. It was at this time the global pandemic hit us all and dramatically changed the way the Livery (and everyone else) worked and operated.
His career started as a Police Officer in 1974. He served in the Police for 25 years specializing in the use of intelligence. He introduced a new system for the handling of Police informants and gave expert evidence at several high-profile criminal trials as well as investigating complex crimes in the UK and abroad. He was seconded to the United Nations in 1996 through to 1997 and travelled to Iraq on several occasions as a Weapons Inspector as part of the United Nations Special Commission into Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programme.
He joined Sky in 2000 and introduced initiatives to protect Sky’s content. This entailed leading investigations, successfully bringing prosecutions as well as introducing technical measures that disrupt the activities of those who want to steal sporting and other popular content. He was responsible for the mitigation strategies in relation to kidnap of those who travel to high-risk environments, as well as fraud prevention, investigation matters, government and law enforcement liaison, anti-bribery, corruption, cyber and asset protection.
He was also on the Board of The Federation Against Copyright Theft – commonly referred to as FACT for 22 years and in 2017 was appointed as its Chairman. FACT is at the forefront of the fight against intellectual property crime in the UK and internationally, specialising in protecting digital content and more recently carrying out due diligence on behalf of numerous countries governments.
He is a founding member of The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, is married with three children and now retired, enjoys trying to play golf.
