Professional Experience:
BIO
Senior security risk management advisor helping governments, UN agencies, and international organisations operate safely in the world’s most challenging environments.
Martin’s career spans three decades across the United Nations, strategic consulting, defence and global commercial aviation. Most recently, he served as a Director in UN Security where he coordinated global emergency response and led the UN’s security interventions in Ukraine and Gaza.
Background
Martin began his career as an armoured corps officer in the Australian Army and deployed to the Middle East and Central Asia. He later served as global Group Manager of Aviation Security Operations for Qantas Airways, helping establish the Australian Air Marshal programme, and as a Principal at Good Harbor Consulting in Abu Dhabi, advising governments and corporates across the region.
In the UN, he held leadership roles in Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, and as Chief Security Adviser for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He led the first UN emergency response team into Ukraine in March 2022, and the UN’s security support for Gaza immediately after the events of 7th October 2023. Martin was one of the architects of UN Security’s shift to a results-based management framework. He has spoken about complex security issues at a number of international forums.
What I Do
I help organisations analyse their threats and assess their operating risk. I advise decision-makers and help build security frameworks that allow operations to continue in the most volatile contexts. My work sits at the intersection of strategic planning and operational reality and feasibility.
The organisations I support need to conduct critical activities in places where the environment is unpredictable and the stakes are high. I work with clients to understand what they need to accomplish, structure an approach that makes risk acceptable, and support them through implementation.
How I Work
My approach is discreet and grounded in the realities faced by field teams, senior leadership, and government counterparts. I operate with restraint, focused on enabling operations and delivering results.
Early in my career, I recognised that the most meaningful contribution I could make globally was enabling others to do work that matters. The humanitarian workers, the physicians, the diplomats and others go to these places because the mission demands it. I work to make sure they can get there and stay to deliver.
I support clients through:
• Strategic security advisory and risk assessment
• Crisis response and incident management
• Operational planning for complex, high-threat environments