Bates is new BSIA chief executive

16 Jul 08

The announcement was made at the Association's Annual Luncheon, held today at The London Hilton on Park Lane. Bates will take over from David Dickinson, who steps down at the end of this year.

John Bates is the director of corporate communications at GSL, and has over two decades of experience in the security industry. It's expected that there will be a handover period in the autumn, during which Bates will shadow David Dickinson before taking over the reins full-time as of January 1st 2009.

GSL - Global Solutions Limited - provides critical support services for companies and public authorities. It was acquired by G4S in May this year.

Outgoing BSIA chairman Adam Wiseberg, who chaired the selection panel tasked with finding Dickinson's successor, told i4s: "We had a wide-ranging and very talented pool of candidates from which to make our choice, and conducted a searching and extensive recruitment process. For this, we were advised by a specialist executive search consultant [SMT was canvassed for its views on a possible successor]. We confirmed John's appointment this morning at a specially arranged BSIA Council meeting."

BSIA's future "in good hands"

The newly-elected BSIA chairman Stuart Lowden - head of Wilson James' security business - commented: "John Bates' 20-plus years of industry experience and, in particular, his skills and reputation as a communicator, give me every reason to be confident that the future of the Association lies in good hands. I welcome John's appointment, and look forward to working with him in the coming years."

Although Bates couldn't be present at today's event, the official BSIA Press Statement issued post-Luncheon included a quote. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the team at the BSIA," said Bates. "I look forward to working with the chairman and listening to the views of all those with an interest in seeing the BSIA go from strength to strength. Together, I'm confident we can build on the achievements realised by David Dickinson and deliver support in equal measure to all BSIA members."

Get the latest stories first with info4security's newsletters: Click to signup

Post and bookmark this story at the following sites:

What is this?

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit	Google	Newsvine