Setbacks such as the Olympics fiasco have left Mr Buckles under pressure. Last year, G4S failed to provide sufficient security guard numbers for the London games, prompting the army to step in. During a grilling from MPs about the security contract, Mr Buckles admitted that it had become a “humiliating shambles”.
His decision in late 2011 to launch an unexpected £5.2bn takeover of ISS severely hurt investor confidence. The deal was eventually abandoned and Mr Buckles said at the time: “We clearly regret that we misread the market’s appetite for deals of this scale.”
Although Mr Buckles survived those incidents, analysts speculated on his possible exit earlier this month when G4S warned that this year’s profits would be lower than expected due to factors such as a shake-up of the prison system in the Netherlands.
Commenting on the change of chief executive, analysts at Jefferies said: “While Ashley Almanza’s elevation to CEO is not particularly surprising, the pace is much quicker than expected.”
“Ashley has only been in the CFO role for six weeks and we thought a year might pass before an orderly transition was unveiled. We suspect the accelerated timeline may have been driven by shareholder reaction to the recent disappointing profit warning,” they added.
Speaking about his appointment, Mr Almanza said: “G4S is a great global business with enormous long term potential and I am looking forward to working with a highly experienced and capable management team as we take the business forward.”
John Connolly, G4S chairman, added: “Nick Buckles made a massive contribution to the group over a 28 year career. As CEO he led G4S in the creation of significant shareholder value following the merger of Securicor and Group 4 Falck – building the world’s leading security company. On behalf of the board and everyone at G4S, I thank Nick and wish him the very best of luck for the future.”
“The board is extremely pleased to have attracted Ashley Almanza to the group. He brings a wealth of experience from working across international borders in complex businesses and we are confident he will provide strong strategic and operational leadership to the group,” he added.
As well as the elevation of Mr Almanza, G4S has also appointed Eddie Aston from DHL to the new role of chief operating officer.
G4S responds to public anger but remains complicit in Israel’s abhorrent prison system
By Palestinian BDS National Committee
April 24, 2013
Palestinian Prisoners Day was last week marked with actions in 11 countries protesting the complicity of British-Danish security company G4S in Israel’s prison system. The company provides equipment and services to prisons at which Palestinian political prisoners, including child prisoners, are illegally detained and subjected to torture. G4S also operates in Israeli checkpoints and illegal Israeli settlements. G4S has already lost contracts with universities, banks and charities across Europe as a result of its role in Israeli human rights violations.
Reporting on the groundswell of public anger about G4S profiting from Israeli violations of international law, the Financial Times published an article that underlines the extent to which the campaign against G4S is impacting on the company’s reputation among investors.
“The Israel/Palestine conflict has created reputational issues” for G4S, an investment analyst is quoting as warning. The article suggests that G4S may be considering selling its Israeli subsidiary altogether.
The international campaign against G4S is resulting in the company losing lucrative contracts and facing criticism from public figures, members of parliament from across Europe, trade unions and investment experts.
G4S told the Financial Times that it is responding to public pressure and repeated previous statements that it will “aim to exit the contracts which involve the servicing of security equipment at a small number of barrier checkpoints, a prison and a police station in the West Bank area“.
However, even if G4S implements the steps it announced in 2011, it will remain an accomplice to Israeli war crimes and human rights abuses in several ways:
• G4S is contracted to deliver equipment and services to prisons inside Israel to which Palestinians from occupied territory are transferred in violation of the Geneva Convention. Human rights organisations have documented that Palestinians, including child prisoners, are held in these prisons without trial or charge and subjected to torture.
• G4S provides security equipment, services and personnel to businesses inside illegal Israeli settlements. In a recent email to a UK client seen by campaigners, G4S confirmed that it also provides security services to homes in illegal Israeli settlements.
• G4S provides systems, equipment and services to the Israeli military, including the provision of “patrol units” for the guarding of military premises.
The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), the broad coalition that leads Palestinian civil society’s BDS Campaign, welcomes the fact that popular mobilization is bringing pressure to bear on G4S.
The BNC reiterates its position that G4S has only stated that it will “aim” to exit a limited number of contracts and remains deeply complicit with Israel’s abhorrent prison system and other violations of international law.
G4S announced a new “ground breaking” human rights policy on Monday. This new policy will be prove meaningless if the company continues to participate in and profit from Israeli violations of international law that have been widely condemned by human rights organizations, the UN and other international bodies.
The BNC calls for the intensification of the campaign against G4S and looks forward to working with supporters of human rights all across the world to pressure the company until it ends all involvement in Israeli war crimes and abuses of Palestinian human rights.
Links
Protest against G4S outside Ofer prison Video, 6.23 mins.
Protests force G4S to give up West Bank contracts
G4S launches landmark human rights policy
