Birmingham-based Resource Services Group, which provides outsourcing staff to the private and public sectors in the UK and Ireland, has got the New Year off to a flying start with two new appointments.

Russ Smith, who joined the company in March last year, has been appointed National Security Director for the British arm of the company, which is based in Ashted Lock, Birmingham Science Park. A former Chief Superintendent of West Midlands Police, Russ brings a wealth of experience to the role, which is a brand new position for the team.

"I am looking forward to tackling the challenges this new position will bring and putting the wealth of valuable experience I gained during my time at West Midlands Police to further enable Resource to develop its security offering," he said.

"We already have a number of high profile security contracts under our belt and are confident we will continue to understand and meet the needs of organisations that outsource their security requirements within this highly specialised and regulated sector."

Resource has further bolstered its security expertise with the appointment of Neill Pow as National Security Operations Manager. Neill has significant experience of working within the prison industry.

The security market is a key focus for resource, which made the innovative move of launching a Security Advisory Board (SAB) in February last year in a bid to boost the firm's security offering and act as advocates for that offering at the highest level.

Andy Vaughan, managing director at Resource, said: "The security sector is a key focus of ours and the creation of these two new roles will further enable us to develop in this newly-emerging market. We are delighted to have made the appointments and welcome the wealth of expertise both Russ and Neill both bring to the team."