The Defuse Podcast - Taking the guesswork out of protecting your physical, psychological and reputational wellbeing‪.‬ Philip Grindell MSc CSyP

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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