Speakers

I am a recently retired Chief Constable and I am the founder and Managing Director of Tambish Boardroom Consulting. I was born in Auchterhouse, a small village in Angus, and completed my senior schooling in Dundee. After graduating with a degree in Mathematics from Edinburgh University, I went on to begin a rewarding and varied career in the police service.

I joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1990 and for the next 14 years I worked in uniformed, detective and corporate roles across the Force area. In 2004, I successfully completed the Strategic Command Course and then took command of the Human Trafficking Division of the Metropolitan Police, leading national and international anti-human trafficking operations.

In 2007, I was appointed as an Assistant Chief Constable in Edinburgh with responsibility for Crime and Specialist Operations. Following a period as Temporary Deputy, I became Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland in 2009 and worked closely with Audit Scotland to undertake the first joint Best Value inspections.

In 2011, I was seconded as a Syndicate Director to the College of Policing and supported a cohort of officers and staff as they sought to become chief officers. In 2013, I was appointed to Police Scotland as the ACC for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Later that year, I was made the Deputy Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police which included operational responsibility for the Force area, staff conduct and strategic change.

In 2017, I was appointed as the Chief Constable for Lincolnshire. During my tenure I led the Force at a time of significant budgetary pressures and operational demands. Against this backdrop, I was recognised as being at the very forefront of delivering workforce wellbeing while maintaining services. I led for the East Midlands on Criminal Justice, and I was the national lead in England and Wales for Performance, Inspection and Police Staff Collective Bargaining.

On retirement from the Police Service, I returned to Edinburgh in 2021 and started my own management consultancy company. I have delivered to several clients including Sport Wales and the Atomic Energy Authority.

I am the CEO and Chair of Team Police, a not-for-profit company that raises income through commercial sponsorship for distribution to Police Sport UK, allowing them to invest more in police sport and wellbeing.

I have a longstanding interest in police heritage, and I am the founder and Chair of the Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall.

I have sought to continually develop my training and experience, gaining an MBA from Edinburgh University and Diploma in Criminology from Cambridge. I received a distinction for my Diploma in Corporate Governance with the Institute of Directors and successfully became a Chartered Director in 2018. I was honoured to be named as one of the UK's fifty Leading Lights in kind leadership in 2018 and delighted to be the winner of the Public Services Director of the Year for the Midlands in 2019 and again in 2020.

My wife and I live in the beautiful city of Edinburgh close to our two adult daughters. I am keen on keeping fit and I am proud to be the Chair and active member of Police volleyball.