Bernard Hogan-Howe

Lord Hogan-Howe’s stellar career began in 1979 when he joined the South Yorkshire Police Force. He became the most senior police officer in the UK, leading an organisation of nearly 50,000 people with a budget of £3.2billion. He is a world authority on planning and leading through internal and external crisis. His experience and insight into how to approach, motivate and learn through crisis is helpful to organisations across all industries and cultures.

Upon his appointment as Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police in 2011, London, with a population of 8.4 million people, was still reeling from large scale rioting. At the same time, the Met police had lost half of the Management Board and £600 million from its budget. Hogan-Howe and his team motivated the police force, restored confidence to the community and delivered the London 2012 Olympic Games without incident.

Like many operating models that have evolved through time, traditional “ways of working” permeate the police force. Acknowledging and confronting new challenges that require a more innovative approach has been a feature of Hogan-Howe’s career.

For example, faced with the rising level of fraud, data theft and other cybercrime, Hogan-Howe launched a unit in 2014 dedicated to countering online crime in London. Building new “fit for purpose” policing strategies and methods has transformed the ability to win against this new age crime.

In November 2017 Hogan-Howe was made a Life Peer, taking the title Lord Hogan-Howe of Sheffield in the County of South Yorkshire.

Hogan-Howe’s leadership skills and experiences are atypical of most large organisations. The police force is an organisation characterised by challenge. Hogan-Howe and his team were constantly looking for new strategies to promote diversity, counter prejudice and train people from all walks of life to assimilate and build relations with an often hostile audience. In a multicultural world, Hogan-Howe’s insight into workforce challenges is critical.