The Defuse Podcast - Personal Threat Management - The Weekly Guide to Feeling Safer – Details, episodes & analysis

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In this, my first video recorded podcast without a guest, I’ll share why subscribing to this podcast will deliver even more value this year, with an episode every week.

In this episode I’ll share my thought of the appalling circumstances that led to a young female British soldier taking her own life following a campaign of sexual harassment by not one, but two of her superiors.

This case illustrates why so few cases are in fact reported, as it highlights the four reasons why victims don’t report allegations and why addressing these issues in important, morally, financially and for security and safety reasons.

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What do you do when your reputation or brand is threatened?

Handling a threatened reputation requires both short-term crisis management and long-term strategic efforts to rebuild trust and credibility.

This month, we speak with esteemed London lawyer Andrew Sanderson.

In part 1 of the podcast, Andrew shares how and why he became a lawyer and chose to focus on his niche.

Andrew debunks the myths surrounding the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), explains the differences between defamation, slander, and libel, and describes why and how you should consider your options when facing such threats to your brand or reputation.

Bio

Andrew has nearly 20 years of experience working as a lawyer based in the City of London, advising large national and multinational clients on complex highly complex issues.

He has always adopted a commercial approach when dealing with clients and opponents.

With extensive legal, risk, and business experience, Andrew is a Solicitor-Advocate with rights of audience in the higher courts, both Criminal and Civil.

He has recently joined a new firm, Kingsley Napley

https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/our-people/andrew-sanderson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sanderson-fcilt-minstta-8023b015/

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Bill Zimmerman has spent over 35 years analysing and managing threats. He started out in the fledgling Threat Assessment team of the US Capital Police shortly after its creation and, having spent over 20 years there, moved into the private sector on his retirement from law enforcement, where he continues to be a leader in the field of Behavioural Threat Assessment. Despite his long career, Bill is one of the humblest men you will have the pleasure of meeting. He is a fountain of knowledge and expertise, and in this podcast, he shares some of that wisdom.

Key Points:

• Behavioural threat assessment has evolved to focus more on identifying concerning behaviours early on rather than just reacting to direct threats. This allows for more options to address issues.
• Practical threat assessment requires communication and information sharing between different protective teams and agencies that may deal with the same individuals.
• The rise of social media has made it easier for people with extreme views to find communities that validate those views, which can encourage more dangerous behaviours in some cases.
• Workplace violence and threat assessment are recognised concepts in the US, but there is no agreed terminology for these issues in the UK and Europe yet. This hinders the recognition of toxic behaviours like bullying as serious problems.

Bio:

Bill Zimmerman was assigned to the Threat Assessment Section (TAS) of the U.S. Capitol Police. The mandate of this section is to investigate threats against Members of the U.S. Congress, their families and other statutory protectees. As a TAS Investigator for over 25 years, he conducted thousands of investigations into individuals concerned with the Congressional community. He collaborated with other Government agencies, local law enforcement, private security, and members of the private sector, who were integral parts of the investigations.

As the senior investigator, his responsibilities included traveling regularly to conduct security awareness seminars for the Senate and House staff throughout the United States and protective intelligence teams for congressional leadership and other congressional events. He helped create and develop guidelines for investigations with input into procedures currently used by the TAS and other Agencies throughout the United States and Great Britain. His experience was solicited for input into developing numerous publications on threat research and risk assessment.

Today, he incorporates that knowledge and experience to help conduct violent risk assessments and assist in creating threat assessment and threat management teams.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-zimmerman/

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Giles Kenningham is an expert in crisis communication. A former journalist who honed his skills at the sharp end of politics as the strategic advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron shares his thoughts on the relevant issues. In this podcast, we look back at his time in politics, and the Covid pandemic. We then discuss how his consultancy, Trafalgar Strategy, advises their clients, understanding the traps and opportunities, guiding them away from a crisis or helping them avoid one in the first place.

Some of the key questions Giles answers include.

What do you do in a crisis?

How do you respond?

Can you get ahead of the game and pre-empt a crisis?

What impact does Social Media have and how do you use it for positive effect?

How do you manage fake news?

Giles Kenningham MBE is a former Head of Press at Number 10 Downing Street and spokesman to the Prime Minister. He was the Director of Communications for the Conservative Party’s general election win in 2015 leading a team of 40 people. Prior to this he was a special adviser/ press secretary to the Secretary of State for Communities, Local Government and Housing.

​He started his career as a journalist in national radio reporting on business and consumer issues for a variety of stations including Classic and Magic FM. He is a former ITV News producer having worked for 3 years on their three main flagship programmes.

​Few people entering the sector have his level of experience and insight of dealing with every crisis imaginable. From political scandals to sex scandals, to privacy issues, he has dealt day in day out for 6 years with the issues that have led the TV news bulletins and dominated the newspaper front pages.

​Giles regularly appears as a political and media commentator on BBC, Sky & CNN. He also writes for various national publications including the Times and Spectator.

​Contact Information: gkenningham@trafalgar-strategy.co.uk

 https://www.trafalgar-strategy.co.uk/

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/giles-kenningham-mbe-96515a2/

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Being wealthy, prominent, and successful doesn’t mean all your problems disappear. A study co-funded by the Gates Foundation published in the Wall Street Journal found that many of the ‘Ultra-rich’ turn out to be a generally dissatisfied lot whose money has contributed to deep anxieties involving love, work, and family. Being the subject of reputationally harmful and sometimes untrue media stories, harassed by trolls and stalked by fixated people causes paranoia and hypervigilance, which can harm decision-making and drive people towards unhealthy behaviours. When that occurs, they turn to Tracey Jones. Tracey is a mind management coach, language alchemist, and a trusted and respected confidante to numerous high-profile individuals, UHNW, and their families. In this podcast, Tracey shares her experience working in this space and the tips and tools she uses to help her clients through some of their darkest times, using the bespoke PAT methodology she has designed.

 
BIO
Tracey has been a mind management coach for about nine years. She began her career as an educator, giving a solid foundation to this part of her chapter. In 2013/2014, she went through a challenging period and sought support. She quickly recognised that this support was compelling and decided not only to build herself back up but also to transfer the skills to others. Since then, she has worked around the clock on mastering various skills and techniques and now dedicates her time to teaching others the language of their unique life. Being known for her discretion and privacy makes her clients feel safe while working through their problems.

 https://tjlife.net/

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-jones-212a8248/

 https://www.instagram.com/thelanguagealchemist/

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In this podcast, the first of 2024 we delve into what It really takes to be an elite performer with Guy Batchelor.

Guy is the CEO and founder of Minerva Elite, an elite global risk management service.

Minerva Elite is a highly professional and effective risk management and resilience consultancy formed to provide clients with a competitive advantage and bespoke solutions to their security needs.

Guy founded Minerva Elite having left the British Army, having served for 18 years in the world-renowned and elite 22 Special Air Service, the SAS.

In this podcast, Guy shares his thoughts on what makes a unit, organisation or person elite. Having spent 18 years at the ‘tip of the spear’ he is well equipped to talk about how to maintain that level of performance over such a period. Guy talks about the challenges of leaving behind that career and how he forged a new one running one of the UK’s most respected Close Protection and Surveillance businesses, the role education played, and how he sees the UK security industry evolving over the next 10 years.

This is one of the most inspiring podcasts I have had the good fortune to record.

Minerva Elite can be contacted at https://minervaelite.com/ or by telephone at +44 01432 678126

Guy can be contacted via https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-batchelor-076a9632/

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This month's very special guest is Gabrielle Thompson, PI, CPP. 

I am delighted to have Gabby as our Christmas guest. Gabby has recently announced that after a glittering 25-year career at Gavin de Becker & Associates (GDBA), she has decided to move on and seek new opportunities.

During her time with GDBA,  Gabby acted as the firm's subject matter expert on threat assessment by handling high-risk and critical cases, including inappropriate pursuit, stalking, threats, and harassment, and overseeing threat assessment programs for at-risk individuals. She also led the firm's threat assessment training, influencing thousands of others' careers. 

Gabby's career was in part initiated by her own experience of being a victim of stalking. In this podcast, we discuss how this has influenced her management of stalking investigations, with some great insights into how to manage the initial phases of a complaint.

We also discuss what keeps prominent people awake at night, issues of threat management, investigations, the impact of AI and technology and women in the security industry.

This is Gabby's first podcast since leaving GDBA and is not to be missed!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thompsongabrielle/

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The Defuse Podcast with Benjamin Barrontine –  Social engineering, digital exploitation and cyber targeting.

 In an increasingly digital age staying safe requires an understanding of how adversaries operate in order to build an operational system that works. 

In this podcast we hear from an expert who has used social engineering, digital exploitation and cyber targeting offensively when targeting enemy forces and terrorists in covert combat operations and now uses his expertise defensively when protecting his global clients.

 Benjamin Barrontine spent 15 years in the US military. He initially served in the infantry soldier before moving into the Special Forces specialising in intelligence, social engineering, digital exploitation and cyber targeting. He's has also worked with the NSA National Security Agency, the US Marshals Service, and NASA.

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This month’s podcast is all about doing business in the Gulf region. For many people, the Gulf region is an unexploited opportunity. It is a culture that is perceived to be at odds with the West. Corina is an expert in the region and shares with us her wisdom in unravelling the perceived complexities and making doing business more approachable. 

What is it like doing business in the Gulf region as a woman? Is it even possible? 

Do you need to speak Arabic?

I’m not in the oil business so what are the opportunities?

Where and how do I connect with potential partners or clients?

Corian will answer these issues and much more.

Corina Goetz is a Middle East Strategist and Keynote Speaker who helps companies and professionals to succeed in the Gulf region. We have been trusted advisors to many HNW clients from the Gulf and we now teach others how to build these relationships.

Corina founded Star-CaT Ltd in 2015 which stands for five-star service and consulting and training.

Corina, and her team help companies and professionals to succeed in the Gulf region. We have been trusted advisors to many HNW clients from the Gulf and we now teach others how to build these relationships.

Their services include:
 Training
 Advisory
 Middle East Membership for ongoing support (for companies and individuals)
 Speaking
 Online Resources

www.star-cat.co.uk

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In this podcast we speak with Jameson Ritter, there are only 200 individuals globally that have the same level of qualifications as Jameson when it comes to threat assessments.

Jameson has recently published his excellent book titled “This Book Saves Lives: 10 Steps to Building a Threat Management Program in Your Organization, Prevent Workplace Violence, and Take Care of Your People”

We discuss what Jameson has learned from the qualifications he has acquired, in particular ATAP’s Certified Threat Managers, the CTM and how what he learned is relevant to those of us outside the USA.

Jameson shared his thoughts and experiences on managing threats with faith-based communities, small businesses and global corporations with the human element and the issues and triggers that are common throughout.

Jameson Ritter

CTM, CPP, PCI, PSP

Jameson is an experienced security consultant who specializes in workplace violence prevention, behavioral threat assessment and management, physical security and training and awareness programs. He is an active contributor to XR, VR and software developer Deep Attic, where he works to provide impactful and scalable training technology designed to prevent violence and save lives.

Currently serving as President of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), Jameson has also held several senior security roles in the private sector. As Director of Security Operations and Violence Prevention at US Foods, he led the company's workplace violence prevention and physical security programs. At UnitedHealth Group, he led the Global Threat Management team, developing and implementing threat management programs and training for the company's operations worldwide.

Jameson is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and is one of just over 210 professionals certified as a Certified Threat Manager (CTM) within ATAP. He also holds the "triple crown" of ASIS International certifications: the Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Professional (PSP), and Professional Certified Investigator (PCI).

Jameson is a sought-after speaker and has presented to a wide range of public and private sector organizations on topics such as workplace safety, prevention and response to school and business violence, terrorism, active assailant protocols, and internet safety for children and young adults. He has also worked with private sector organizations to assess their vulnerability to internal and external threats and has assisted in the planning and execution of a variety of security protocols during special events in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

Jameson graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a bachelor's degree in Sociology of Law, Criminology and Deviance in 1999 and received his master's degree from American Military University in Homeland Security in 2011. He is also an active duty veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having spent time in both the enlisted and officer ranks and is a graduate of the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal School and the Air Force Air Battle Manager training course.

Jameson is the author of the book “This Book Saves Lives: 10 Steps to Building a Threat Management Program in Your Organization, Prevent Workplace Violence, and Take Care of Your People” 

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