John Hedley
Director of Training

John Hedley served for 26 years in the British Diplomatic Service, including postings to British Embassies in Sweden, South Africa, Spain, and Mexico. He has a particular expertise in political analysis and counter-terrorism. He is a fluent French and Spanish speaker.

In the private sector, John worked in cargo security with TRI-MEX International, specializing in satellite tracking of high-value, high-risk cargo across Europe. He also built the EUROWATCH network of security companies, providing a real-time cross-border response to car and truck theft.

In 2003 John Hedley was recruited by Nestlé, the world’s largest food & beverage company, to be their first Head of Group Security. Working from Nestlé Headquarters in Switzerland, John designed and developed the corporate security strategy and built and directed a team of some 40+ security professionals working across the globe on issues such as counterfeit, extortion, theft, fraud, kidnap, crisis management, emergency evacuations, expatriate travel programs, staff security awareness, pandemic preparation, manned guarding efficiency, workplace violence etc. Commercially-oriented and fully aligned with the Group’s business objectives, the Nestlé Security Group delivered a demonstrable year-on-year return on security investment of some 300%.

John Hedley subsequently became the first Global Head of Security and Travel Facilitation for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), representing 93% of the world’s scheduled airlines