Themis Group

Mark Albon spent two decades in the South African Foreign Service, serving in Africa, The Middle East and Europe before leaving to work for FTSE 500 companies in the Private Sector. After gaining his MBA in Corporate Governance and Strategic Corporate Finance in 2007, he returned to International Diplomacy serving as the Director for International... Cooperation and Assistance at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. He was a member of the OPCW Leadership team in 2013 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . In 2015, Mark established and led the UN/OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria, before submitting the report to the UN Security Council. In 2017, he joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in London where he established the CVE Unit, involved in multilateral Counter Extremism Policy Engagement and programs throughout the Commonwealth. He has worked extensively with police and counter-terrorism organisations across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Mark is a Non-resident Fellow at the Stimson Centre for International Peace and Security in Washington DC, and is the Executive Director of Themis Group Ltd. His 35 year background includes roles as Head of PSNI Service Improvement Department, Legacy and Justice Department and District Commander of one of the most challenging District Commands in Northern Ireland and United Kingdom, due to constant threat from terrorism and community unrest. Drawing on his extensive experience he is now advising on Strategic Policing Leadership and Security Sector reform, working in collaboration with security services, public, private and government agencies around the world. Key areas of focus include community policing, security, strategic project and performance management, leadership, reducing violent extremism, inspection, evaluation and review, contingency planning, consequence and crisis management, stakeholder engagement and partnerships. Stephen has Lectured and acted as Strategic Advisor ...Read More