Biography
Simon Garside joined ICANN in February 2017 as Vice President, Security Operations and is currently also the Interim Head of Administrative Services.
His broad security experience includes developing and implementing global security strategies; managing cost-effective security processes; identifying, understanding and mitigating security risks; protecting organization’s personnel, property, and assets; directing global security processes, associated programs, and designing training programs in addition to serving on crisis response and management teams.
Simon is the top security leader at ICANN and responsible for the overall management, oversight, and strategy of ICANN’s Security Operations Department to ensure the safety and security of ICANN’s people and assets.
Prior to joining ICANN, Simon was Associate Director at Control Risks in San Francisco where he was responsible for delivering the full spectrum of security, risk and crisis management services for clients throughout the Americas region. His role included delivering a range of acute risk (active shooter, kidnap-for-ransom), crisis management and travel security solutions for a variety of organizations across the technology, energy, retail and service industries. Before that, Simon was a project manager at Aegis Defence Services Ltd in Iraq in support of the U.S. Department of State. While in this role, he executed the daily operations, deployment and training of the Base Defense Force and management and coordination of the mobile Security Escort Teams.
Simon was an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Singapore. As Training Officer at the Gurkha Contingent Singapore Police Force (a paramilitary unit within the Singapore Police Force consisting of elite Gurkha soldiers tasked with security provision and counter-terrorism capabilities) he led a team responsible for the planning and execution of leadership and tactics courses for the 2,000-person Gurkha Contingent. Simon also was an Army Officer with The Royal Gurkha Rifles of the British Army, based in Brunei, the UK and Nepal. He saw active service in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, The Balkans and Northern Ireland.
Simon was commissioned into the Army from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Prior to that, he earned his B.A. with honors, in Modern Languages (French, German, and Spanish) from Durham University in the United Kingdom.