Minimal Risk Senior Management & Support Team
Greg Cole - Director
Prior to joining MRC in early 2009, Greg worked as an Assistant Project Manager for a major UK based construction company where he worked on a £44m development in the West End of London from demolition to completion of the new building. In his role, Greg was responsible for many of the project’s Health and Safety and Environmental aspects and procured a significant proportion of the work to complete the project. This role involved upfront planning and delivery where he followed the construction process from initial tendering through to implementation and completion. Aside from his main role Greg also delivered a training module to the company’s supply chain through their in-house training establishment.
Greg graduated from the University of Edinburgh in with a Politics MA in 2005 focusing on African Politics, Post-Soviet Politics, International Security, and War and Justice. Prior to graduating, Greg completed an internship with the Scottish Parliament working for a central Edinburgh MSP.
After graduating Greg continued his studies by completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Construction Management (Project Management) at Herriot Watt University relating to the built environment and management of construction projects at strategic and practical level. Greg is a full member of the Association of Security Consultants.
Before becoming a Director Greg was employed by MRC as the Project Manager supporting the recruitment team and overseeing various asset protection and consultancy tasks. During this time Greg completed a Certificate in Terrorism Studies from the University of St Andrews.
Greg became a Director of Minimal Risk in 2011 and continues to oversee and manage projects in the UK and overseas.
David McKeown - Director
David completed twelve and a half years with the Royal Air Force in 2008. As a Personnel Administrator within the Royal Air Force, he worked in a diverse range of roles which initially began as a Personnel Documentation Clerk in arguably the busiest Royal Air Force administration office at that time. He later moved onto two operational tours in Northern Ireland and additionally completed a posting to the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood.
David went on to work as a Property Manager for a family run Lettings Agency and was responsible for coordinating with landlords, tenants, and contractors to facilitate property inspections and subsequent maintenance repairs.
David later moved to a major bank as a Mortgage Manager after having completed his Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) and his professional accreditation. Outside work David has completed his Certificate in Human Resource Practice and Diploma in Management & Leadership, with the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and Chartered Management Institute (CMI) respectively.
David joined MRC in July 2009 providing administration and finance support for a variety of projects in the UK and overseas, becoming a Director in January 2017.
Andrea Matthews - Projects Manager
Andrea started her career as a telephonist and receptionist for a large storage tank manufacturer and after three years was promoted to Office Manager supervising a team of six.
After a short career break to have her family Andrea started to work as part of the Administration Team for the County Inspectorate which was part of Herefordshire Council.
In 2002 she was promoted to Business Services Senior Administration as part of a new national Government body for Registration, Inspection, and Enforcement for Social Care in England. Andreas main role was to ensure that administrative processes for inspection and enforcement were carried out to meet appropriate timescales and to maintain internal systems including finalising inspection reports and processing CRB disclosures.
In 2008 she became part of the Regional Contact Team for the Regulator of Social Care in England to provide help and advice on processes to a vulnerable client group, professionals, proprietors and members of the public.
Other duties included assessing and logging incident reports including adult protection issues.
Andrea joined MRC in mid-2009 to assist operations with additional administrative support and to coordinate rosters and manning levels on projects in the UK.
Paul Delany - Senior Operations Manager
Paul has gained extensive experience in the security sector through serving in both the British Army and Private Sector. Possessing a proven track record managing multi-functional teams, implementing continued improvement processes and adaptable to changing priorities.
After leaving the British Army in 2001, Paul spent almost two decades working in the Middle East, Africa and Asia on various Government and NGO contracts providing a professional security service. Throughout these contracts Paul, developed his career path from a security operator to management level. Paul implemented approved policies, procedures and guidelines and provided recommendations based on evolving conditions.
Paul continues his professional development by furthering his education ensuring he remains current with UK legislation and maintaining his Close Protection Licence. He has undertaken various Security Diplomas ranging from Project Management to Security / Operations Management. Additional to those qualifications, Paul has achieved his Health and Safety qualifications in Nebosh General & Fire Certificate.
Paul joined Minimal Risk Consultancy (MRC) full time in June 2022, following a successful deployment to the British Consulate in Hong Kong; augmenting the full time MRC team during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simon Bryan - Operations Manager
Following an exemplary military service within UKSF (R) which involved completing multiple operational tours and training team tasks. Simon left the military in 2015 after 12 years’ service and continued to use his experience within the security industry both in the UK and abroad in various countries including the Middle East, North and West Africa providing specialist skills to government and NGO contracts.
Simon’s experience working within the security industry is extensive and varied depending on the location and role. He is an individual with a high level of strategic experience and a proven track record. A professional leader driven by best practice who has a wealth of people management skills, with experience working with multiple nationalities. Simon is an extremely security conscious individual with outstanding ability to design and implement measures that manage risk, maximise safety and add reassurance. Simon is an affiliate member of the security institute and continues to progress with his professional development with further education.
Since joining Minimal Risk Consultancy in 2021, Simon has deployed to China supporting the British Embassy during the COVID pandemic and then moved to the Critical National Infrastructure site at the AWE Nuclear Facility in Reading. In October 2023, Simon joined Minimal Risk Management based at the Hereford office.
Roy Dykes - HR Manager
Roy served in the British Army for nearly 28 years primarily in Administrative, Welfare and Project Management positions. A successful career in a variety of formations and units include MoD, NATO HQs, HQ Land, HQ NI (and honoured with Meritorious Service Medal), Infantry Bde HQs, UN, Infantry, Cavalry, SF, Logistics, Signals and Electrical Mechanical Engineers. Roy also undertook operational tours in Northern Ireland, Angola, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
After leaving the Army, Roy was appointed HR Manager (including Facilities and Security elements) for a UK gold mine drilling company in West Africa. This was followed as the Support Manager for Total during the construction phase of their £2 billion Gas Plant on the Shetland Island. His next role was Facilities, Security and Health & Safety Manager for a UK multi-media company with TV Studios, warehouses and offices. His most recent position was as HR Manager for a Risk Management company in Afghanistan split with time within the British Embassy Kabul Security Department. Roy joined MRC in April 2020.
Roy has qualifications in Strategic Leadership and Management, Leadership and Management, MSyI, Facilities Management, Management Practice, CIPD, NEBOSH, IOSH, PRINCE2 and Equality and Diversity.
John Davies - Contract Manager
John has a varied background in the Construction and Support Services environment. Working in his early years in the building and roofing trades he progressed quickly to a bricklayer whilst attending College to enhance his skills base. He then moved on to work for the University of Wales in Cardiff within the Maintenance Department. John later progressed to Property Protection before moving to the Railway Industry. Travelling all over Wales and England as part of a team John was responsible for maintenance of some rail networks, including railway stations and network upgrades. Following this project, John worked for a large construction company involved in the M4 widening project where he worked for several years before the project came to an end.
John joined MRC in September 2010 engaged to work within what was then the Forestry Commission of Wales, later Natural Resources Wales. Initially responsible for undertaking Mobile Patrols to secure sites across South Wales he progressed to becoming the Contract Supervisor and later Contract Manager. John was responsible for managing response, inductions, and safety, reporting and performance data, as well as also ensuring Client requirements were met. As of 2016 John has become MRC's Company Contract Manager and is responsible for operations management and support across various sites and locations in the United Kingdom. John pays an important role in delivering projects and running tasks including asset protection, special events, and security guarding.
Tom Griffin – Harewood Estate Security Manager
Tom served as an Infantry soldier responsible for the actions, behaviours, and welfare of a section of other ranks and, as a Regimental Policeman he was charged with discipline enforcement and unit custody of soldiers under, or awaiting sentence. He completed operational tours in Northern Ireland and additionally completed postings to Germany and the USA.
On leaving the army, Tom embarked on a varied career and has over 25-years’ experience in management roles for shopping centres, health and safety, museum security, guest services, and in the security industry. He has held direct responsibility for the protection of people and assets within high value and high standing organisations.
Tom has resolved major health & safety and contractor problems for shopping centres and museums, and has introduced policies, procedures and disaster plans for organisations such as the Science Museum Group, Direct Line, Heineken, and Nestle UK.
He joined Minimal Risk Consultancy in November 2022 as the Estate Security Manager for Harewood House, one of England’s top ten Treasure Houses.
Natalie Stevens - Finance Officer
Prior to joining MRC in mid-2009, Natalie gained 10 years experience working in the construction industry.
She developed significant experience in implementing strong administration and office support for a variety of projects in the sector with a reputable company.
Natalie leads the Hereford office’s reception service and assists the team with administration and office support for a variety of projects in the UK and overseas.
Vicky Hanks - Vetting Officer
Vicky joined MRC in October 2016, bringing a wealth of administrative experience to her role as Vetting Officer. Vicky spent 7 years working in recruitment where she interviewed, referenced and placed staff, both temporary and permanent, on a daily basis. This also required a lot of client facing work in order to ascertain and keep up to date with their requirements.
Vicky then spent 11 successful years working for an insurance provider, which involved providing advice, quotations, and selling of insurance policies. Vicky’s exceptional organisational skills and ability to work under pressure have since seen her command important positions in Herefordshire Council, Homepoint Housing, Herefordshire Housing and Hereford Hospital which required accurate handling of sensitive data.
Vicky’s diverse skillset have also seen her undertake a voluntary role alongside her day to day work, of Welfare Liaison officer in the British Army during the Gulf War, providing confidential and professional specialist welfare services to soldiers and their families with any personal or family difficulty, thereby strengthening and enhancing the resilience and resourcefulness of soldiers and their families.
At MRC as Vetting Officer, Vicky ensures that all personnel are screened and deemed fit to conduct operations on behalf of our clients and on our own projects, a highly important role and integral to the seamless transition of our personnel.
Julia Davey – Bookkeeper
Julia has 20+ years’ experience in finance, with many of those in manufacturing environments, which also involved dealing with Government agencies, including Research and Development and tax compliance. Moving in 2016 to a business working with new start-ups and SMEs setting up accounts and administration practices, including training in a variety of accounting software packages. Julia joined Minimal Risk Consultancy (MRC) in December 2022.
Bob Cole - Security Consultant
Following a highly successful British Army career serving in the Royal Engineers and the SAS, and a further 5 years as a corporate Head of Security, Bob established MRC in 2002 to provide independent advice for commercial operations so to counter terrorism and crime. He is a specialist in security audits, business contingency planning, risk and project management; in particular for VIP Protection and Corporate security. During 2003/4 he was the 'start-up' project operations manager for a contract in Iraq with 300+ operatives deployed providing mobile and static protection teams, communications control centres and a risk analysis service for the UK Government. Since 1996 he has conducted several similar projects worldwide as a contract security manager and specialist consultant.
In 1998 Bob co-wrote the Museums and Galleries Commission Inaugural Security Manual since adopted by 2500 Museums, Galleries and Libraries in the UK and overseas. In 2002 he also co-wrote British Standard BS 8406 'Event stewarding and crowd safety services-code of practice'.
Bob has a full range of recognised security qualifications and speaks Arabic; he is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management (FInstLM), Member of the Association of Security Consultants (ASC) & Member of the Security Institute (MSyl)
Stephen Unwin MSc - Consultant
Steve served for 24 years in the Royal Navy, with the latter part specialising in counter-terrorist physical security measures. He was then directly employed as head of security for one of the UK’s largest food (fresh meat) processors and manufacturers, with responsibility for physical security measures at 43 UK factory locations as well as 250 farms and breeding units, advising on all types of security issues, including Bio-food terrorism and the animal activist threat.
Subsequent positions held include security manager for a leading budget supermarket chain’s distribution centres’, and as part of the senior management team overseeing the operational security activity for a UK based international banking group.
In 2008 Steve was employed as a security risk specialist by one of the top four UK manned guarding companies, and was responsible for establishing the proof of concept for their highly successful security risk consultancy.
In 2015, Steve established Pellego Security Risk Consulting Ltd as a fully independent company, which successfully provided bespoke security solutions to a wide range of UK, European and global businesses.
Since 2016 Steve has supported Minimal Risk on several high-level projects and was appointed to a permanent role in October 2021.
Steve holds the MSc in Security and Risk Management from Leicester University, and the Certificate in Terrorism Studies from St Andrew’s University, which is an SQA Level 8 (HND) qualification.
Steve is also licensed by the Department of Transport ‘Security Directorate’ as an instructor in the recognition of firearms and explosives.
His accredited memberships include the Association of Security Consultants (ASC), The Security Institute (MSyI), the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Steve also holds an honorary Fellowship at Derwent College, University of York.