Madelon den Brinker’s career has taken her all over the world – from Kenya, Tanzania, Toronto, and Netherlands – just to name a few. Beginning her security career as a Constable for The Dutch Federal Police, den Brinker quickly moved into different detective roles at the department and joined specialized units including narcotics teams, organized crime investigation, missing person specialist and political intelligence analyst.

Then in 2006, she moved to Canada where she found the security field job market lacking.

“I had to do something else for a while,” she says. “I was a property manager and real estate investor for a bit then, at some point, I circled back to consulting which led to a job offer in Kenya”

There, den Brinker worked in fraud investigations and security operations, and then eventually landed as Operations Manager for the United Nations in 2017. A strong proponent of life-long learning and continuing education, den Brinker earned a master’s degree in international risk and security management before eventually settling into her current role as Manager Global Security & Crisis Management EMEA & APAC at LyondellBasell.

“Everything I've done before has allowed me to grow and build me into the person that I'm now,” she says. “In this role, I manage an interesting portfolio, because I work with the manufacturing sites, do physical security, training development and risk management. I do a lot of employee engagement, manage teams, work on travel and executive security, incident investigation, and the security and the crisis management team. I'm always collaborating with business partners or teams on manufacturing sites. It's really a wonderful role.”

You have to lead by example. Particularly security professionals, need to know how to think under pressure and as a mentor you bring the calm to the chaos.

A Career of Service

“I have consistently positioned myself as a driving pillar in the strategic objectives of projects, investigations, and organizations by fully immersing myself in their needs and challenges, identifying solutions and developing lessons learned from each experience,” den Brinker says. “This has defined my roles as an investigator in syndicated crime investigations, a consultant initiating operational changes in East Africa, initiating technology projects to mitigate guarding manpower shortage for example, and as a key member and trainer of a highly effective and confident Crisis Management Team.”

With more than 20 years of working in the industry under her belt, den Brinker is proud of the work she’s done, the people she’s mentored, the teams she’s helped grow, and always rising to the next challenge.

“One specific achievement that I am proud of, and which is close to my heart; in my law enforcement career I successfully uncovered a human trafficking network while investigating a missing person's case,” she recalls. “It led to multiple arrests and my early promotion to the organized crime unit without the standard five year experience requirement. More importantly the investigation contributed to the recognition of human trafficking patterns, the identification and response to similar cases by authorities.”

Leading by Example

Mentorship is an important part of success within the security industry and den Brinker thanks every one of the leaders that took the time to give her guidance throughout her career. Within her own leadership roles, den Brinker continually looks for ways to hone and improve her skills – whether through education and certifications – but also guides and encourages growth within her team.

“A mentor has to be encouraging of lifelong learning, particularly in security because the field is changing so fast. There are constantly new threats and new solutions,” she says. “When it comes to a good mentor, what worked for me and is also how I mentor, is that it's mostly show and not so much tell. You have to lead by example. Particularly for security professionals, we need to know how to think under pressure and as a mentor you bring the calm to the chaos. What I learned from my mentors – be pragmatic, cut through the noise, filter out the distractions, and get to the core of the issue. That's very essential.”

Throughout her career, den Brinker has sought to become the best security professional possible by seeking out new opportunities and by doing so she encourages her team’s growth and remains a leader who consistently dedicates herself to the safety and security of both personnel and assets.

“I don't lead as a woman, I lead as a professional,” den Brinker says. “I focus on where I can make a difference. I develop myself and I help others to do the same. I believe that when you know your subjects, know your audience, and you're a reliable pillar in an organization it holds up more than any label.”