Our People

SPS’s reputation and brand is based on the collective experience of our team. Our personnel have the proven ability to provide client focused and innovative solutions to challenging issues in complex environments. We guarantee the integrity, experience and quality of our personnel, who are on hand to deploy anywhere in the world to assist our clients.

Leadership Team

Andy Young
Group Chief Executive Officer
Simon Sawyer
Group Chief Operating Officer
Simon is the COO and reports directly to Andy Young (CEO). Simon is the strategic leader and manager of the Group’s global business units, responsible for maintaining exceptional performance with a focus on customer satisfaction and operational excellence. Simon has over 15 years’ worth of commercial experience in strategic business and risk management solutions. Over and above his management of the individual business units and key supplier relationships, Simon also oversees several highly complex and sensitive security operations for SPS’ customers. Prior to joining the company in 2010, Simon held numerous leadership roles in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and also served in the British Army’s Airborne Forces as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer. In his spare time he volunteers as an Emergency First Responder.
Andy is the CEO and Founder of SPS (established in 1991), and is responsible for the strategic direction of the Group. His success as a leader at the forefront of risk management stems from over 30 years’ worth of experience in the commercial sector. He has lived and worked for extended periods in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq and the United Kingdom, and has operated in more than 50 countries. Andy has extensive work experience as a retained kidnap and ransom advisor for both corporate companies and high net worth families in Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Middle East and Europe. Prior to establishing SPS, Andy served with the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP) - a para-military force - between 1981 and 1988, and spent most of this time in the Counter-Terrorist Special Duties Unit (SDU), assuming the role of Team Commander.
Neil Young
Advisory Board
Colin Hill
Advisory Board
Mike Griffiths
Advisory Board
Neil is a former officer in the British Army (commissioned in the Parachute Regiment) and has over 30 years’ worth of experience in crisis prevention and response. Over this time, he amassed a wealth of knowledge about the insurance industry. In 1990 he established Neil Young Associates, which came to be recognised as one of the world’s leading consultancies advising private, corporate and governmental clients on kidnap, ransom and extortion crises around the globe. Neil has personally deployed globally as a crisis response advisor on cases of kidnap for ransom, extortion and marine piracy, and has also provided crisis consulting and training services. Neil is currently retained as a senior advisor and board member to several international businesses. In 2018-2019 Neil rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, setting a world record with his teammate for being the oldest pair (with a combined age of 123 years) to row any ocean.
Colin is the Founder and was Chairman of Hill & Associates Ltd (H&A), one of the world’s largest and most respected risk management consultancy firms. Prior to establishing H&A, Colin served and held senior operational positions in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, including Commander of Hong Kong’s Counter-Terrorist Response & Technical Surveillance Units. During this time, he played a key role in shaping the development of governmental policies, planning national crisis response, and managing major incidents which threatened national security. Colin also consulted and co-operated very closely with governmental agencies and specialist units in the United States, United Kingdom and Continental Europe. He has had broad international exposure at strategic policymaking level and is a recognized specialist in the development of comprehensive strategies aimed at protecting assets, personnel and critical infrastructure (with a strong focus on improving resiliency and response during times of crisis).
Mike was Chief Constable and Chief Executive of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) from October 2012 until his retirement in April 2019. The CNC is a national force providing the police armed response component of UK’s civil nuclear security infrastructure. Under his charge the organisation doubled in size, became fully compliant with the College of Policing’s Firearms’ Standards, and deployed officers in support of territorial forces in times of crisis. Mike also served as an officer in the army for 35 years, and left as a brigadier. He was commissioned into an Infantry regiment - his most recent key appointments being Commander British Forces Afghanistan (2004), Brigade Commander NW England (2006 - 2008), and Director Personal Services Army (2008 - 2011). He was made CBE in the 2011 New Year’s Honours for his work as Director Personnel Services Army, and was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for his work with the CNC.
Dr. Duan Lemmer
Medical Director
Lucien Niemann
Director of Medical Services
Arthur Bisschoff
Medical Assistance Manager
Dr Lemmer is the medical leader of SPS Medical, and is an alumnus of the School of Medicine as well as the School of Accounting at the University of Pretoria. He is passionate about achieving best practice medical care in all environments - be they remote or metropolitan. His strength lies in developing new models of medical care delivery to improve the patient’s experience and clinical outcomes. With over 15 years’ worth of experience in the South African healthcare system (both public and private), Dr Lemmer has actively practiced in some of the most demanding emergency units, and has attended to and treated severely injured patients with very limited resources. He has worked in the Johannesburg Hospital Trauma Unit (colloquially known as 163), which is world-renowned for the severity of injuries that come through its doors (doctors from all over the world attend this hospital as an elective to enhance their trauma skills and to learn from some of the best trauma surgeons in the world). Dr Lemmer is also the Managing Director of a remote wilderness emergency medical care practice. He has extensive experience with business management, accounting, emergency medicine, medical case management and telephonic medical consultancy, having advised both patients and fellow doctors. This positions Dr Lemmer as the ideal expert to lead, guide and assist in the delivery of our medical services.
Lucien heads up SPS Medical and has been actively involved in both professional and volunteer emergency medical services for over 18 years. He is responsible for ensuring that our customers receive expert advice and localised care founded on international knowledge and standards. Lucien is an alumnus of the School of Emergency and Critical Care at Netcare911, as well as the School of Nursing at the Nelson Mandela University. Over the course of his career, Lucien has developed pre-hospital and wilderness training programmes and has registered two emergency medical training colleges in South Africa. He has also acted as a practising paramedic in both urban and remote regions for 14 years. Lucien sits on the board of two reputable medical companies, where his knowledge and experience in generating solutions to challenging cases have proven invaluable.
Arthur heads the 24/7 Global Medical Assistance Centre, which supports the Global Operations Centre (GRC) for SPS’ clients. Under his leadership, the medical team of experts within SPS Medical design and implement time sensitive and lifesaving medical solutions across the globe, utilising both local and international resources. Prior to joining SPS, Arthur specialised in medical assistance as a Case Operations Coordinator for two companies over a period of 4 years. Prior to this he was an actively practicing paramedic in Pretoria and other remote areas around Africa.
Martin McColl
Sr. Global Assistance & Response Manager
Mark Bergmanski
Global Assistance & Response Manager
Marie Roeisaeth
Global Assistance and Response Manager
Martin heads the 24/7 Global Response Centre (GRC) that supports security operations and travel assistance for SPS’ clients. He leads a team of subject matter experts within the GRC in the implementation of time sensitive and lifesaving solutions across the globe. Prior to joining SPS, Martin specialised in managing covert surveillance operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and served in an operational role within the British Army for 12 years.
Mark manages our assistance teams within the 24/7 Global Response Centre (GRC). Prior to joining SPS, Mark was a Detective Chief Inspector with 30 years’ worth of experience within a number of police forces in the United Kingdom. Mark was accredited as ‘Senior Investigating Officer’, having run and managed murder and major crime investigations (including serious rape and sexual offences investigations). Mark is also experienced in running and managing covert surveillance operations, and was accredited ‘Silver Commander’ for firearms and major incidents.
Marie manages our assistance teams and provides account management to our customers. Marie was a retained firefighter with Hampshire Fire and Rescue, working live fires and training in Immediate Emergency Care. Marie has also held managerial positions within a variety of hospitality and retail sectors in the UK, Norway, and Canada. Marie holds a First-Class BSc in Television and Video Technology and is fluent in Norwegian, Danish, and English, plus conversational Spanish having travelled through South America.
Andy Dunn
Sr. Intelligence Analyst
Mark Exley
Private Clients & Estates Manager
Kevin Miller
Commercial Manager
Andy leads the SPS Analyst Team, and brings decades worth of experience in geopolitical risk, intelligence and strategic advice to both governmental and private sectors. Prior to joining SPS, Andy worked in the Metropolitan Police Service for 30 years where he specialised as a Tactical Firearms Commander in the Firearms Command, and as a Close Protection Team Leader with the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command.
Mark specialises in assessing risks, as well as customised program management to support our private clients. He also leads our residential security teams, ensuring our mandated standards are consistently met. Mark leverages his unique range of tactical and strategic experience gained from his years of working in counter terrorism within the British Military, and the 21 years he spent in the police force.
Kevin has been with SPS for over 10 years, and lives the values and culture of the company through his expert leadership of our commercial team overseeing Finance, Human Resources, Compliance and Customer Experience. Before joining SPS, Kevin enjoyed a successful career in operations and logistics. He also served 25 years in the British Military, completing his service as a Warrant Officer Class 2 where he provided dedicated logistical support for UK Special Forces.
Paul Watkins
Client Experience & Quality Control Manager
Karen Stallard
Financial Controller
Crispin Webster
Regional Security Director MENA
Paul manages SPS’ customer experiences and quality control. Focused on performance metrics and personalised service, Paul ensures that our clients are completely satisfied – always! Prior to joining SPS, Paul had an extensive career in growth management and quality improvement for several large global brands.
Karen monitors financial performance across the Group, assisted by her team of local accountants from our subsidiary companies. Karen plays a key role in setting targets, minimising SPS’ financial risk, and monitoring and evaluating the Group’s financial strategy. She joined SPS in 2014, and has been a practising accountant for over 20 years.
Crispin is based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and supports our clients in the Middle East and North Africa through his extensive tactical and strategic risk management experience. Crispin specialises in developing risk consulting solutions, which help companies to operate in complex environments. Before joining SPS, Crispin spent 13 years in the financial sector where he held a senior security position for a major global bank in the Middle East and Pakistan. Crispin also spent 11 years with the British police, serving in their Counter-Terrorist wing.