Geoffrey Padgham MVO

A British Royalty Close Protection Officer with 30 years exemplary service in the Metropolitan Police Service, Geoffrey is an expert in close protection. In 22 years as a Personal Protection Officer and senior manager in the Royalty Protection Department at Buckingham Palace he worked with every member of the Royal Family. He was the Inspector responsible for protective security with HRH The Duke of York for 17 years and in 1991 was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) by Her Majesty The Queen.

Upon retirement from the police service Geoff’s reputation as a security consultant specialising in executive close protection, major event management and training, landed him posts with organisations including; the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Old Royal Naval College and private clients. He is passionate about the professional delivery of quality security training and from 2005 to 2010 held the executive post of Training Director with Anubis Associates, a private security company.

Geoff’s wealth of experience and skills have been leveraged by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) in the development of a qualification for licensing private close protection operatives. He served on; the Board of Skills for Security, the security standards body for the business sector, the SIA’s Strategic Steering Group for SIA Competency and the Board of Buckinghamshire New University’s International Centre for Crowd Management and Security Studies.

He tutored on the protective security management degree at Buckinghamshire New University and maintains his SIA Front-line Close Protection Licence. He is passionate about the design and professional delivery of quality training and is an excellent communicator at all levels. Geoff’s book Close Protection – The Softer Skills was published in 2006.

In an industry littered with poorly trained personnel, Geoff believes in a more professional approach to protective security where effective training and executive diplomacy seamlessly combine. His success is borne out by the fact that he worked with the British royal family and VIPs for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for a continuous period spanning three decades. He can share with you many of his real-life experiences of close protection bringing an unusual mix of difficult situations, dilemmas and funny scenarios.