“I want to place risk management in the hands of the person who needs it,” states SHIELD Consultants’ CEO John Schembri, as he outlines his firm’s drive on fostering a resilient culture across the board. This growth into resilience occurs as the company provides the necessary tools to ensure that measures addressing operational risk management are systematically in place.
Having founded the company two decades ago, Mr Schembri confidently notes that SHIELD is at the forefront in its sector in Malta. It has developed an increasingly specialised focus on the Mediterranean basin and the Near Middle East regions.
Counting clients from across the globe, including in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Pakistan, Erbil (North Iraq) as well as on the South American continent such as Peru, Colombia and Ecuador; John reveals that the SHIELD approach towards operational risk management and resilience is attracting increasing interest, as franchises are also on the cards.
The firm’s client profiles cover a wide range of sectors. Large facilities such as ports and maritime operations as well as critical infrastructure feature prominently. So do industrial sectors related to energy, transport, ICT, pharmaceutical and financial services, construction and distributor networks. Several shopping malls, schools and care homes are also prime examples. SHIELD Consultants’ list of clients, from both the private and public spheres, is considerable.
SHIELD’s in-house software – STORM, is remarkable in its functionalities while maintaining good ease-of-use. This technique of facilitating what otherwise may be considered as a daunting brief for companies, reflects Mr Schembri’s philosophy as he reasserts his wish to “democratise risk management”. A brief run-through of STORM’s features allows for a demonstration of its capabilities and the methods applied, as SHIELD continues to enhance its services and solutions within the evolving environment in which today’s businesses operate. STORM provides a “digital solution for operational risk management”, as John eloquently sums it up.
Mr Schembri speaks of holding a “deep-dive with clients” to assess the requirements from various angles. By way of example, the CEO points out that the STORM software is designed primarily with an understanding of client needs and followed up with writing solutions specifically for client companies. This flexibility to adapt the off-the-shelf version, attests to SHIELD’s commitment to address the realities faced by its clients across the whole spectrum of day-to-day operations, within a globalised operational environment. And the software option is just one tool in SHIELD’s inventory of services and solutions.
Mr Schembri’s military background seeps through the various aspects of SHIELD. This is evident from the links that he still has to this sector. To illustrate a specific scenario, he picks up a manual of a foreign military service sitting on his desk and leafs through it – he had trained with such a service during his military career. With this he underlines the utility of an aide-memoire, a manual of instructions to navigate through all scenarios envisaged, including the toughest.
Having retired in the rank of Major from the Armed Forces of Malta two decades ago, Mr Schembri was also involved in the setting up of the highly specialised ‘C’ Company within the AFM, having graduated from the prestigious Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and other internationally prominent military institutions in the USA, UK, Italy, Sweden and elsewhere.
Which possibly also explains Mr Schembri’s very grounded approach, as he elaborates how SHIELD implements risk systems by assisting clients to draft policies, plans, procedures, and processes as well as designing tailor-made training, and supporting clients during implementation including, if necessary, by embedding its own personnel within client companies, and providing mentoring.
In the good times, it is perceived that businesses tend to concentrate on the margins, and perhaps with unchecked confidence, overlook risk. After all, risk is part and parcel of many an enterprise. However, for those adopting the right outlook to protect their economic ventures, Mr Schembri has time and again witnessed companies “seeing the fruit” as he aptly terms it, of those who assess and manage risk correctly. Recent international developments have placed a huge spotlight on mismanaging the dangers – one wrong step can have a negative ripple effect across a company and much more beyond.
Mr Schembri lays a strong emphasis on having control over risk, at all levels of operations even at those considered as possibly more rudimentary activities. As sophisticated technology and a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) culture become more widely diffused, he sees this also as an opportunity to increase awareness and ensure that risk is managed collectively.
SHIELD Consultants’ main expertise is within operational risk management, directing clients according to its competence – the latter being a highly valued requirement for Mr Schembri. He is definitely not in the business of bluffing one’s way through, which gives assurance to companies partnering with SHIELD that their trust is well founded. Mr Schembri has various anecdotes of the long-term relationships established with some of the major companies based in Malta, securing their continued growth.
Besides having garnered several post-graduate qualifications in security and risk management as well as other related areas, John Schembri also contributes internationally to the field. Just recently he had two articles published in the journal of the Strategic Risk Leadership Association (SRLA), a Europeannetwork of risk management experts, with the latest article entitled: Attempted Foresight: Opportunities to learn from organisational failures.
Mr Schembri states that “technology will continue to drive change”, underlining the need to adapt, stay on top of things and use digital tools to manage risk more effectively. Reflecting his positive outlook for the future, John encourages “leveraging the skills of the youth” and placing an emphasis on finding practical solutions that work. He clearly highlights that SHIELD Consultants does not shy away from attracting top talent to its staff complement.
As SHIELD continues to embark on new projects in different jurisdictions, John Schembri’s drive to foster a culture of risk management does not abate. Even from a strictly economic perspective, he sees the sector as one that can potentially add high value to the Maltese economy; his own company’s experience is a testament to this. There is indeed a strong business case for risk management across the board. As a professional practise, risk management can save life and limb, as well as business reputation and operations. Partnering with an experienced firm, well-aware of its spheres of competence, such as SHIELD Consultants, goes a long way to protect one’s interests and move forward on strong and resilient foundations.
