Major-General (ret) Andrew Farquhar CBE, Managing Director, UK for GardaWorld
GardaWorld is a Company that reflects the core values and standards of the Armed Forces, and therefore not a surprise that we have many veterans working with us. As such, we are extremely proud to be a supporter of the UK Armed Forces Winter Sports Championships. This will be our second year of sponsoring the event, and Oliver Westmacott, our President & COO and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Meribel last year, able to join with all the competitors, the support teams and other sponsors. The event exceeded our expectations and was extremely special, not least as it was the first of its kind for several years due to the Pandemic. The clear and obvious desire by all competitors to be the best through determination, a sharp focus and hard work, while promoting a spirit of camaraderie, was truly impressive and wholly representative of the ethos of the UK Armed Forces. These attributes build high-level team and individual performance, which leads to success; a lesson for us all whether in industry or the Armed Forces.
Being one of the World’s leading security providers and with a global presence, we know that today’s risks can be deeply unpredictable. Operating across some of the World’s most complex geographies, the need for precision delivery and innovation in our sector has never been more critical to safeguarding our people and our clients. These core capabilities from within our team, underpinned by GardaWorld’s values of integrity, trust, vigilance and respect, have seen us successfully grow our operations throughout the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. Key to this success has been our respect for Human Rights and our humanitarian efforts, notably throughout 2020 and 2021 where we safely evacuated our clients, the local community and our staff during the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique; from Goma, DRC during the volcanic eruptions and from Kabul, Afghanistan following the events of August 2021.
Our repeat sponsorship of the UKAFWA is a valuable opportunity to forge new relationships, rekindle existing friendships and to catch up with colleagues from across industry, all in wonderful surroundings. This unique atmosphere created by the UKAFWSA and those who compete in these Championships, is why we support this event. We are very much looking forward to being back as a UKAFWSA sponsor and seeing you all on the slopes in 2023.
