INDUSTRY FOCUS
Sarah Bird to lead brand new industry event for 2027
ORIS, the UK’s pre-eminent network promoting best-in-class collaboration and education for risk professionals has announced the appointment of Sarah Bird as its new Partnerships and Events Manager to build upon the organisation’s unparalleled portfolio.
The former general manager of the National Business Crime Solution (NBCS) who has wide experience of event management and organisation is tasked, working closely with a team of industry experts, with leading ORIS Media’s ambitious events roadmap, including the development of a major new retail and hospitality risk conference which will take place in March 2027.
Sarah, who has almost 20 years’ experience in intelligence-led business crime reduction and strong links to retailers and solutions providers, the national law enforcement community, and criminal justice system, will work alongside ORIS CEO Louise Kadege to deliver the much sought-after event following wide approaches from the retail security industry.
Louise, who has been promoted to the position of CEO and worked to deliver multiple ORIS events over the past 14 years, said this week: “We have a fabulous ORIS team which has worked hard to put on numerous events, including our annual ORIS Forums Risk Summit over many years. During that time, we’ve been approached on many occasions to deliver a larger, more general industry event for those businesses who are not currently members.
“We have always looked for the wow factor in terms of event content and connectivity through strong networking, and this strategic approach will continue under the stewardship of Sarah. She is a great asset to the industry, with broad knowledge and experience as well as her connections across the sector – she will be instrumental in delivering this event and other ORIS initiatives going forward,” she added.
Chairwoman of ORIS Kerinda Ibbotson added: “What Louise and the team have accomplished over the last few years with limited resources is testament to pure hard work and determination. Her promotion to CEO is a recognition of that achievement and has highlighted what the organisation is really capable of – which is why the decision has been taken to add Sarah with her wealth of experience, talent for organisation, and her interpersonal skills to the team as ORIS looks forward and embraces its 20th anniversary. year.”
Sarah’s long list of attributes includes senior leadership roles, delivering crime reduction strategies, and becoming a trusted voice on issues such as partnership and offender management across the industry as well as a business champion for the sector, engaging at the highest levels of government following the formation of the Pegasus and Opal initiatives.
She brings a wealth of experience to her new role having delivered a number of national business crime conferences, each attended by 300–400 delegates from across industry, policing, and government. She has also led charity gala dinners and sector events, all of which have raised significant funds while strengthening cross-sector collaboration.
A proud Geordie, Sarah is already engaging with prospective business sponsors and retailers looking to attend the March 2027 event.
She said: “I am delighted to be taking on this prestigious new role with ORIS. It is an organisation I have worked alongside in my previous role and have always admired it for the quality of its numerous outputs – whether it’s the collaborative not-for-profit ORIS Forums, Loss Prevention Magazine Europe, Wicklander-Zulawski, or its best-in-class conferences and events.
“My role is to be ambitious – to be bolder and go wider with events which means super-charging what is already a first-class offering.”
For more information about the 2027 event – including attendance and sponsorship, Sarah can be contacted at sarah.bird@orismedia.co
