Paul Simmons, Co-founder and Director of Training
Paul retired from the Royal Engineers after 24 years of service in 2002, operating in hostile environments across the globe. He then moved into private contracting and became heavily involved in land mines and Explosive Remnants of War removal and mitigation, mainly in the Balkans and South Asia.
In Afghanistan, he moved into private security and was responsible for the safe movement of clients from the Corrections Sector Support Programme. On returning to the UK, he was involved in the management of event security and spectator safety management.
Paul is still operationally active, and he has moved into training to be in a position to give back to students the benefit of his knowledge and experience. His calm, patient and understanding temperament has made him an effective tutor who always strives to get the best from his students.
As a co-founder and director of Laurel Group, Paul is committed to the delivery of high-quality, excellence, and effective training in a holistic environment.
Jonnie Telford, Co-founder and CEO
Jonnie retired from the Royal Marines in 2017 after a 34-year career, having served operationally in a variety of roles and many locations and working with Private Security Contractors, most recently in Afghanistan.
On entering the private sector, he worked in executive protection and media, recognising a need for increased quality, he began to work as a Close Protection Tutor assessor and operational mentor. Jonnie has recent commercial experience and continues to provide operational risk management and training consultancy.
Driven by experience and a commitment to excellence, the Laurel vision is to provide high-quality training to personnel to become professional operators and who are highly determined to attain excellence within the Private Security Industry.
Particularly motivated when that training enables people to go beyond what they thought capable and achieve excellence within the Industry.
As CEO, he manages the commercial support, operational demand and concurrent training activity of the organisation ably assisted by the co-founders and directors of Laurel Group.
Mandy Limbrick, Co-founder and Director of Operations
Mandy has a background in Marketing, Administration and Organisational management spanning over the last 20 years. She has designed and run events and conferences throughout the globe, and this is where she grew an interest and experience in the private security industry.
Initially training as a Medic, Mandy then trained as a Close Protection and Surveillance Operative and worked in Executive Close Protection in the UK and overseas.
Characterful and highly energetic, Mandy is a Highfield Tutor and Assessor and brings a unique and engaging element to the training, balancing out the military delivery, and ensuring, at times, that the other tutors are consistently 'balanced' in their methods.
Mandy is the consistent centre point of the training centre and as Director of Operations is responsible for Commercial Marketing, Human Resources and Administration of both training and Operational task delivery.