Sir Hugh Orde, the current President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1977 and served in central, south and west London before taking command of the Territorial Support Group as a Superintendent.

He was appointed Commander (Crime) for southwest London in June 1998 and in April 1999 was the officer in command of investigations into  the racially motivated Brixton bombing in which 50 people were injured. As Commander he also developed Operation Trident, an operation set up to deal with serious drugs related crime in London.

He was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner in October 1999 and was given day-to-day responsibility for the Commissioner's Enquiry (Stevens III) into collusion and the murder of a prominent solicitor in Northern Ireland.

In September 2002 Sir Hugh was appointed Chief Constable of the newly formed Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), a position he held for seven years. During his time in Northern Ireland he was responsible for the implementation of the Patten report. Widely recognised as one of the largest Police reform projects undertaken across the world, the successful implementation of the Patten Report was critical to the progress Northern Ireland peace process.

Sir Hugh is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute. He holds a Degree in Public Administration, an honorary Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Kent and an honorary doctorate in law from Ulster University, where he is a visiting professor.

In addition to speaking on the theatre and festival circuit. Sir Hugh also makes an ideal guest speaker for corporate and business functions.