In December 2021, we attended the Ex-Forces in Business Awards at the Intercontinental Hotel - The O2 in London. We were delighted that Graham Thomson, our chief information security officer, won the Team Leader of the Year award.
In its fourth year, this event is the world’s largest celebration of ex-military personnel in their second careers. It recognises the value veterans add to businesses and the employers that support the transitioning of servicemen and women to civilian careers.
There were over 1,350 award nominations with 2,100 attendees from 700 companies across the London and Glasgow events. Irwin Mitchell was the only law firm in England and Wales to have a finalist in any category.
Through our partnership with England Rugby, we were also delighted to be able to donate an auction prize to raise money for the event’s charity partner SSAFA. Nearly £70,000 was raised in 2021 to help the charity continue to support the Armed Forces Community.
Graham, who was thrilled to be shortlisted and honoured by his win, said: “The event was an astonishing showcase of the talent and diversity that service leavers bring into the civilian world, regardless of rank, cap-badge, personal background or physical ability.”
Military service runs in Graham’s family. His great uncle worked with the French Resistance in WWII, escaping from a POW camp twice. Graham had been a sea cadet with aspirations to become a Navy pilot. After studying genetics at university, he applied to join the Intelligence Corps, and worked mostly in high-profile operational units.
Graham joined Irwin Mitchell in June 2017. He’s a member of the EC-Council Advisory Board for CCISO-Europe, and a founding member of the Cyber Resilience Centre for Greater Manchester, which helps small business and charities manage their cyber-risk.
He’s passionate about helping give back to the community, and encourages his team to do so too. They’ve taken part in educating the younger generation in local schools, and have also taken on a cyber-apprentice.
In 2021, Graham was promoted to partner. This was recognition of his strategic impact since joining the firm around security and data analytics. Graham’s also helped to keep our colleagues safe from the major increase in cyber-attacks we've experienced while working from home.
Graham’s award underlines our commitment to the forces community, both in acting for clients and recruiting ex-service personnel. It follows the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold award we received in August, as part of our Armed Forces Covenant commitment.
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