25-11-2025
Every month, our Joint Managing Director, Angela Bennett, shares an insight into leadership within fire and security…
As we move into the final stretch of 2025, November has been a month of contributing to the wider business community – through sharing best practice, volunteering, mentoring, and continuous learning – while also laying the groundwork for a confident and ambitious 2026.
We began the month exhibiting at the NI Safety Group Annual Conference, where one of the key themes centred on Preparing for Martyn’s Law and strengthening venue safety.
It was an honour to spend time with Figen Murray OBE, initiator of Martyn’s Law and a truly inspirational person. I also had the privilege of taking part in a panel session alongside Figen, Tony Stafford from the SIA, and Jenny Penrose from our longstanding client, Odyssey Trust. Together we shared practical insights on improving security and emergency preparedness across all sectors.
If you missed it, the full write-up is available here: NISG Annual Conference Highlights.
It has been a busy and productive month across our Projects, Compliance and Maintenance teams, with activity spanning NI and beyond.
We handed over a new fire and security installation for a leading aerospace and defence manufacturer. Extensive pre-configuration was completed in The Vault to minimise downtime and disruption on site.
In response to the current threat environment, our security team has also been delivering enhanced protection measures for several MLAs, ensuring their homes and constituency spaces are as secure as possible.
Members of our technical team visited a large Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) site in the south of England, where we will be commissioning a high-end fire detection system early in the new year. This project draws together our expertise in specialist detection and critical infrastructure protection.
Closer to home, we upgraded ageing life safety and security systems at a long-established Belfast community centre – bringing the building up to modern standards and improving overall resilience.
Our service engineers have been busy as always, maintaining systems right across Northern Ireland – from university colleges and factories to offices and entertainment venues.
We also completed numerous Fire Risk Assessments across Northern Ireland, and delivered another Fire Warden Training Course – we were delighted to score 10/10 from all attendees!
Our annual ISO 9001 quality audit took place this month, carried out by NSI. Upholding high standards is part of who we are, and the audit once again validated the strength of our systems and processes.
A special thanks to Julieann, our Operations Manager, whose meticulous work ensures our continued compliance and quality assurance.
November brought a wealth of leadership and governance-focused opportunities for me.
I attended an intimate IoD dinner with leaders from across Northern Ireland. Martin Tierney shared superb insights into leadership, lean practice, and his experience in a world-class family business. Seating Matters continues to set a global example in operational excellence.
Later in the month, the IoD Directors’ Bootcamp provided a timely refresher on directors’ duties and good governance – particularly relevant as we prepare to appoint a Non-Executive Director in early 2026. Much of the discussion mirrored the reflections shared at the earlier IoD dinner on the value of a strong board in a growing family business.
I attended Distilled, hosted by The Foundation, at Crescent One- an inspiring evening exploring leadership, purpose and tackling complex business challenges with clarity.
The fireside chat with Sarah Schaefer, Jo Hopkins, and Brendan Gallen, chaired by John McKee, was excellent.
The evening closed with a whiskey tasting with Master Distiller Graeme Millar from McConnell’s Irish Whisky, accompanied by music from The String Ninjas – a brilliant event all-round.
I’m looking forward to attending this week’s NI Chamber of Commerce President’s Banquet as a guest of Danske Bank. This year’s theme celebrates The Open Championship in Portrush – a special event that I had the privilege of attending in July with some of our clients.
A major milestone this month was putting the final touches on our new three-year vision during our board meeting. It is ambitious, strategic, and firmly rooted in our values.
We’ve placed strong emphasis on clarity of roles, responsibilities and accountability as we prepare for our next phase of growth. I’m excited to present the full vision to the wider team in early December.
We hosted a fantastic LinkedIn training session with Kerry Hall, helping the team strengthen both their personal and professional online presence. Expect to see more from us on LinkedIn as these insights are put into practice.
This week Ian and I went back to Wallace High School – our old school – to exhibit at their Careers Fair. Supporting young people as they explore future paths feels more important than ever. The engagement from the pupils was fantastic, and encouraging to see so much interest from the young women there. It was great to catch up with my A Level English teacher, who was a big part of why I studied English at Queens University Belfast.
This month I was delighted to begin my mentoring journey with SistersIN, meeting my mentee, Isha from Methodist College, for the first time. Helping young women build confidence and feel supported as they navigate future opportunities is something I feel deeply passionate about.
I took part in a somatic breathwork session led by Ben Gadd – a deeply emotional experience that brought forward memories and connection to friends on the other side of the world. A powerful reminder of the importance of pause and presence.
I’ll be closing out the month with Lucille Cassidy’s Winter Reset – a restorative blend of reformer pilates, yoga, hot-and-cold exposure, and journalling. A perfect way to create space and intention before the busy festive season.
Behind the scenes, a significant amount of work has been focused on goal-setting, planning, and strengthening accountability structures. This month has been about building the right foundation for thoughtful, sustainable growth.
Our purpose remains unchanged: to help people understand how to protect what matters most. But how we deliver that, through leadership, innovation, technology, and education – is evolving in all the right ways.
Until next month,
Angela
Head Office Location