When something doesn't feel right, this is who they call.

Small by design

Defuse Global is a boutique advisory practice. Complex personal risk requires deep experience and direct attention, which is why we keep our client list deliberately small.

We work with advisers, family offices and prominent individuals when someone’s behaviour is causing concern, but its meaning is unclear. Our role is to provide clarity early — before assumptions harden into decisions and before a worrying situation becomes a crisis.

Two things sit at the centre of the work: making clients harder to find and target in the first place, and interpreting situations calmly and quickly when a concern arises. Mostly, it is preventive.

We do not trade in fear. We do not default to visible security. We take the time to understand the behaviour, the context and the likely intent, and we advise measured, evidence-led action. Often, that means reassurance rather than escalation.

When pressure or uncertainty would otherwise distort judgement, we provide the calm second opinion that enables clear decision-making.

The aim of it all is straightforward: to take the worry off our clients’ shoulders so they can get on with their lives.

Philip Grindell MSc CSyP 

Philip Grindell was a detective at Scotland Yard, worked within the UK’s counterterrorism and intelligence environments, and led the specialist Parliamentary threat assessment capability established following the murder of MP Jo Cox. That work — the slow build of unrecognised signals, the moment when intervention is still easy, the cost of waiting until a situation becomes visible — has changed how he thinks about every case he handles today.

He trained directly under Dr Robert Fein, co-author of the U.S. Secret Service Exceptional Case Study Project — the research that changed how targeted violence against public figures is understood and prevented — and considers it the most formative period of his professional life.

That experience now sits behind a quieter role. Philip helps prominent individuals, families and their professional advisers when something in someone’s behaviour begins to feel wrong. People usually come to him early — when uncertainty, scrutiny or a shift in tone is starting to affect how a client thinks, sleeps or makes decisions, often well before a situation looks dangerous from the outside.

Much of the work, he’ll tell you, is listening carefully and asking the right questions before any judgement is reached. He has spent decades learning that the right questions, asked early, prevent most of the problems that would otherwise become visible threats. What matters most to him is the human side of personal safety.

Philip is recognised in the Spear’s 500 as Top Recommended in Security, Intelligence and Investigations. His book, Personal Threat Management: The Practitioner’s Guide to Keeping Clients Safer (2025), was shortlisted in the Business Book Awards, with a foreword by Dr Robert Fein. He holds an MSc in Security Management and is one of fewer than 300 Chartered Security Professionals worldwide.

Order the best-selling book here:

“For those advising individuals and organisations on threat risks, it’s essential to understand who and what one is dealing with. Grindell’s decades of real-world experience mean his voice is ignored at your — and, more importantly, your client’s — peril.”

— Julian Pike — Head of Reputation Management and Sport at Farrer & Co at the time, now Partner at Gunnercooke

“Philip is steady, and that is what you want. No fuss, no drama and no false expectations — he tells it to you straight and does what he says he will do. Because he didn’t flap, I didn’t flap. Because he delivers what he promises, I could trust him.”

— Sarah Champion MP

“Defuse Global’s ability to identify, analyse, and assess online hate and targeted threats is genuinely first class. It has allowed us to make smarter, more proportionate decisions – strengthening defence and deterrence around the Principal and their family while protecting the security budget and ensuring financially prudent outcomes.

At a personal level, Philip is the one who tells me whether my client is actually in danger and, if so, what to do about it. He won’t oversell, he won’t undersell – he’ll just tell me the truth. That clarity and integrity are invaluable. Defuse’s regular reporting provides calm, evidence-based reassurance, cutting through noise and unfounded concern.

On one occasion, their rigorous, scientific assessment enabled appropriate escalation to law enforcement, resulting in a decisive outcome.

Defuse Global is now a trusted part of our protective ecosystem, and I would recommend them without hesitation.”

— CSO, US-based Private Family Office

“When you are targeted, it’s both terrifying and unclear what you should actually do about it. Yes, you have legal recourse, but it’s slow, expensive, and a large distraction for your organisation to pursue. Philip and his team specialise in this situation and have dealt with hundreds of other cases. They were invaluable in guiding us. Most importantly, the course of action they recommended proved correct.”

— Sarah Cone, Founder & Managing Partner, Social Impact Capital (Venture Capital, New York)

“I met Philip Grindell in February 2019 through my work as an Ambassador for The Jo Cox Foundation. He explained how he had been involved in setting up Operation PLAIT after the murder of my sister Jo in June 2016. I was instantly impressed with his calm demeanour, professional approach, and sensitivity to my situation. During the last 6 months Philip has been a huge help in advising both The Jo Cox Foundation and me personally on any concerns regarding safety and security. For our family, having someone we can turn to in this way has provided a great deal of comfort and reassurance, and I could not have asked for a better person than Philip to turn to for advice. He is honest, straight-talking and does what he says he will do. I am hugely grateful for the guidance Philip has given me so far, and I would recommend his services without hesitation.”

— Kim Leadbeater MP — Ambassador for The Jo Cox Foundation; Jo’s sister

Amanda Grindell – Director of Business Development

Before joining Defuse Global, Amanda worked in the TSCM and commercial counter-espionage sector, where discretion is the operating standard rather than the marketing line.

That background shapes how she supports both Philip and the clients the firm advises. People often come to Defuse Global at moments of uncertainty or unease, sharing concerns they may not have raised elsewhere. Amanda understands that trust is built through quiet consistency — doing what she says she will do, accurately and without fuss.

She oversees operations and coordinates client engagements, making sure the work runs smoothly behind the scenes. Her international background allows her to work comfortably across regions and time zones, and her steady, attentive manner helps clients feel heard during sensitive or difficult conversations.

Dr Lorraine Sheridan, PhD – Chartered Forensic Psychologist

Lorraine works at the point where someone’s behaviour has started to cause concern, but the level of risk is not yet clear. Her role is to help advisers, organisations and individuals understand whether their concern is warranted, what matters most, and what, if anything, needs to happen next.

She completed Europe’s first PhD on stalking and has spent more than 25 years working on cases involving stalking, harassment, threatening behaviour and harmful communications. Much of her work takes place in situations of uncertainty, conflicting advice, or rising anxiety — moments when proportionate judgement matters far more than diagnostic labels.

Lorraine has advised police forces, courts, governments, corporations and security professionals internationally. Police across England and Wales used the evidence-based harassment risk assessment she developed for many years, shaping how large numbers of cases were assessed and managed. She is registered as a forensic psychologist in both the UK and Australia.

Her approach is steady and evidence-led. She helps separate real risk from background noise, advises against unnecessary escalation, and supports decisions that people can stand behind long after they are made.

Lorraine’s work shares Defuse Global’s view of the field: that good risk assessment depends on careful reading of behaviour, on resisting the pressure to act before the picture is clear, and on the discipline to recommend no action when no action is what is required