Ligue Internationale Des Societes De Surveillance Tribute Presentation

JPS was the Chairman and President of the Ligue Internationale Des Societes De Surveillance for over 40 years, following in the footsteps of his Father who was a founder member.

This presentation was presented at the Ligue's last General Assembly in 2010.

The Ligue meets every two years in a different location and the 2010 General Assembly was held in Instanbul. It was felt befitting that a tribute be paid to JPS and this was organised by David I Hudson, a board member and who was someone who was closely associated with JPS for 45 years.

The tribute took place as the end of the meeting with the Chairman of the Ligue Mr. Nick Buckles saying some very nice words, followed by a rather moving and touching story of JPS's time with the Ligue by the Secretary General, Mr Hans Winzenried.

Jorgen Philip-Sorensen: 'Building the Future' Award winner for 2010

Brian Sims reports from the BSIA’s 2010 Annual Luncheon

It was agreed with the majority of the previous recipients to posthumously make this award to ‘JPS’ because, in reality, this finest of men was the architect of the modern security industry.

In truth, his contribution to the development of his own employees as well as that of industry standards entirely changed the landscape of the UK security sector much for the better.

Left to right: Brian Sims and Bobby Logue with JPS' daughter Louisa Mann and son Mark.

Personal Tribute by Professor Roger Williams, CBE

Tribute by Professor Roger Williams, CBE, Director Director of the Institute of Hepatology, and supported of 'The Foundation for Liver Research', established in 1974 to develop and extend research into diseases of the human liver and to enhance medical research generally.

----

As Philip’s doctor for some twelve years – and of his medical problems I will say no more, except to indicate that his only complaints to me, particualrly during the past year, were to the effect that he was no longer able to do all he wanted to do! 

We shared a great love of the sea and of sailing and consultations often turned quite quickly to our most recent experiences.  Early on in our friendship I remember particularly one tremendously fun evening that we had when going out to The Needles to welcome Mike Golding back after his first Round-the-World race sponsored by JPS.  We also had happy times together during Cowes Week.

But it is of his work as Trustee of the Foundation for Liver Research that I particularly want to write about and pay tribute to.  Philip took a serious and professional interest in not only the workings of the Foundation but also in what was being attempted in various projects directed to the better understanding of liver disease and its treatment.

I know that I can speak on behalf of the Chairman and other Trustees in saying how much his advice  and opinion were welcome.  He rarely missed a meeting despite the hectic business and travel schedule that he lived and I could always rely on him for wise advice in between the regular Trustee meetings.  His most generous donations over many years also made possible important research project and many patients wil be indebted to him as a result.

Philip, for me, was larger than life in so many respects and each of us who filled Worcester Cathedral for that most marvellous memorial service last Friday will have special memories of him and reasons for gratitude to his entrepreneurial skills and extraordinary hard work over the years. 

He will be greatly missed.

The Times Obituary

On the 19th February, The Times newspaper published an obituary titled...

'Jørgen Philip-Sørensen: security expert'

'Cosmopolitan entrepreneur who set up Group 4 and made it the world’s largest private security firm.'

 Click here to read the obituary online.

Click here to read scanned version.

My Contract With The Chairman

This contract was created and distributed to the senior management e of Group 4 Securitas many years ago. May be can still use and learn from them today.

• To be a cash generator in line with agreed targets rather than a cash consumer. 
• To make an acceptable profit in line with agreed targets.
• To ensure that the contents of our service package responds to the needs of our customers.
• To ensure that our staff understands what the service package contains and how each individual is part of the overall service package our customers pay for.
• To create a service delivery system which guarantees our customers the service for which they are paying.
• To define, maintain and develop our service quality levels.
• To create a team spirit which expresses the Group’s business culture.
• To be a cash generator.

Jørgen Philip-Sørensen - G4S Retirement Video

Jørgen Philip-Sørensen retired as Chairman of G4S plc in 2006 after 50 year service to the company he founded. This compilation video was made at the time.  More retirement vidoe tributes will follow in due course.    

Tribute from Peter Green

Peter Green - Retired Ex Head of Human Resources, Group 4 Securitas (International)

Like thousands of others, we heard with shock and great sadness of Philip's death. Our thoughts and sympathy are with Ingrid, Susse, the children and grandchildren and close family friends.

Early in the history of Group 4 in the UK, Philip taught me the full importance in our business of the guard, their families and their supervisors, their need for support and their need for training. How can you expect a quality job to be done by someone who has not been properly trained?

This philosophy was the basis for the great expansion which was to follow and he continued to show this regard for the troups on the ground by the early introduction of a most generous pension scheme for guards, staff and management alike. His work rate was legendary.

Nothing delighted him more than a new marketing opportunity. The opening up of Eastern Europe allowed him to formulate many joint ventures, giving many of us new challenges, excitement and great job satisfaction. It gave a new meaning to the expression, "multi-national". Thereafter, the Group's development continued in the Americas, Asia and the Middle East, until few places remained where he was not represented.

As a leader he preferred making allowances, if this were possible, rather than judging and condemning. Perhaps this is why so many people were prepared to work so hard for him; perhaps also because he convinced people at all levels that what they were doing was worthwhile.

As a boss he was tough and demanding and life was never dull but he never asked you to do anything which he had not done himself or was not prepared to do.

As a friend he was generous and supportive and always there.

We shall miss him. 

Winning at Service - JPS Video Quote

This book reveals the Secrets to Service Success by analysing four service companies that grew from small beginnings to the leaders in their industries. Interviews with the four CEOs who guided the companies to their success reveal the three basic principles they all share.

Two of the CEOs interviewed are Thomas Berglund of Securitas and J. Philip Sorensen of Group 4 Falck.

by Waldemar Schmidt, Gordon Adler, and Els van Weering.

Tribute From Michael Dufton

Tribute From Michael Dufton - Ex Group 4 Employee

Not only did JPS create a large multinational company which eventually had a presence on every continent, he also enabled many other people to realise their own goals and ambitions.

JPS did this not only by his own ingenuity and ideas, but also by giving to his management and staff a significant freedom to do what they thought was right for both the customer and the company.

He was able to get the most out of people and at the same time remain essentially human and concerned for the individual. In talking about him with other friends, it was often the small details of his kindness and thought for others which have struck us all.

The other remarkable achievement was to create one of the most "extended families” within one of the largest employers in the industrial world. JPS managed to create a sense of personal loyalty which was quite infectious. If he ever asked us to walk across hot coals, there would have been few of us who would have hesitated.

JPS was able to bring about a sense of fun and adventure in projects and initiatives, which made it a real pleasure to work for him, his “extended family” and his group.

His passing has brought a number of us together again, as it did whilst we worked in his company.

His legacy is not only a great company but also the employees who worked for him, and their skill and expertise will live on in his company and beyond it.

Michael Dufton

Tribute from Roy Stemman

Tribute from Roy Stemman - Editor of various Group 4 publications, including “Group 4 International” and now “G4S International”

I have so many happy memories of working with JPS that it is difficult to know where to begin. He was, without doubt – as others have said in their tributes – a giant of a man, who built the world’s biggest security organisation with vision and determination. And his sense of humour was always in evidence, even during difficult times.

Another of his many qualities was an understanding of the importance of communication. He did that extremely well personally, as those who heard him speak publicly can testify, but he also knew that he needed to use the published word to reach a wider audience. That’s where I came in – in late 1973 – as a consultant to Group 4, writing and editing its largely UK-based internal magazine.

As well as promoting his own business he used the magazine to influence the UK security industry as a whole, campaigning for legislation and encouraging it to adopt his own values.

When we launched "Group 4 International" in 1991, to start reporting on the company’s rapid expansion, everything moved up a couple of gears for me, though it was just JPS’s normal pace. To collect material for the first couple of issues I accompanied him on one of his trips. We visited four countries – Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Malta – in as many days. And while I familiarised myself with what had been achieved so far, JPS attended board meetings planning future developments. How he maintained that pace throughout the year I’ll never know.

I accompanied him on many other trips and was privileged to be in at the beginning of his new operations in eastern European. I also accompanied him to the Indian company, in which he took immense pride. Two things impressed me about those visits.

Firstly, when we visited the biggest contracts, the first people JPS wanted to speak with were the security officers on duty. He never tired of reminding us that they were the backbone of the company. He often said that security was "a people business" and he was certainly "a people person".

Secondly, with some of his new European ventures, things may not have gone quite according to plan and the management occasionally tried to gloss over this fact. It never worked.

I remember the managing director of one joint venture talking very enthusiastically about the business and pointing to an array of freshly-printed charts and graphs covering the walls. JPS listened patiently and then asked why there wasn’t a graph showing one particular key performance figure. People looked at each other in astonishment and offered a flustered explanation, but he’d immediately put his finger on the one weak point. No doubt that was discussed at length behind closed doors at the board meeting.

Then, of course, came the sailing years and I found myself following not only JPS but the "Group 4" yacht around the world, interviewing its skipper Mike Golding and its crew members about their adventures and misadventures, and particularly their triumphs.

I was astonished when, in my first interview with Golding, he told me that people would be able to follow the yacht’s progress on the internet and know exactly where it would be at any time. How, I asked, would that be possible?

“I’m going to have JPS attached to the mast,” he replied.

For just a few moments, the absurd picture of the chairman strapped to the mast calling out coordinates flashed through my mind. I knew he was passionate about sailing, but surely that was going too far. It turned out, of course, that I had misheard Golding. It was GPS not JPS that would be communicating the information.

My most treasured memories of those times was seeing JPS, with tears in his eyes, throwing bottles of champagne to the skipper and crew after they had crossed the line on various legs of their tremendous round-the-world races.

Like most of us who were lucky to be part of the Group 4 adventure, I guess I took much of it for granted. Looking back, I now realise that this extraordinary man was making history and I was privileged to be writing some of its pages.

Thank you, Philip, for your loyalty over more than three decades and for being such an inspiration to me and countless others. You leave behind an astonishing legacy and a deep feeling of loss in all our hearts.