Working alongside her fellow directors, she will take the organisation to the next stage of its development by ensuring that it continues to meet the needs of its growing membership.

Shaw is the founder and managing director of Esoteric, a well established electronic sweeping, counter espionage and intelligence gathering company based in the UK. An MBA graduate and a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP), her early career was spent with the Royal Military Police, followed by a period working in the UK Security Service.

Having previously been vice-chairman of the Security Institute, with responsibility for its strategic direction and finances, she takes over from Mike Bluestone, who had been in the position since 2009. Bluestone stated, ‘It has been a pleasure and a privilege to lead The Security Institute over the last four years and I will continue to promote the excellent work that it does wherever and whenever I can. Having worked closely with Emma during that time, I’ve no doubt that it is in the best possible hands and I wish her all the best.’

Emma has served on the main board of the Security Institute since 2007. Having also been both registrar and chairman of the Validation Board for several years, she has been instrumental in the on-going refinement of the membership process, ensuring it remains both current and relevant.

In addition to her work at The Security Institute, Shaw is the southern region chairman of the Defence Industry Security Association (DISA), a council member for City and Security Resilience Networks (CSARN). An active participant in the development of industry standards and best practice techniques for technical security counter measures, she has worked closely with Skills for Security National Occupational Standards and National Security Inspectorate Codes of Practice.

No stranger to industry acclaim, she was a finalist for the Association of Security Consultants’ (ASC) Imbert Prize 2012, a finalist for Director of the Year at the 2013 Toast of Surrey Awards and won the Security Consultant of the Year 2012 accolade at this year’s Security Excellence Awards. Emma also featured in the list of recent Ifsec Global top 40 influencers in security.

Commenting on her new role, Shaw said, ‘I feel both delighted and privileged to have been elected to lead The Security Institute. Although we are a UK based organisation, our future direction, approach and thinking should also reflect our ability to support our members globally. It is my intention to achieve this objective via a cohesive strategy that utilises external communications to develop and influence the shape of our industry, as well as supporting our members in their professional career development. The Security Institute has many dedicated volunteer security professionals and I am looking forward to working with them to shape its future.’