Westbury MBE

Hart was founded in 1999 by Lord Westbury, a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), following a distinguished military career. Educated at Harrow School and Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, Richard was commissioned into the Scots Guards in 1970 and subsequently joined the SAS in 1975. He served four operational tours, was decorated for bravery in 1978 and appointed MBE in 1979. During his time in the SAS he worked on every continent, being intimately involved in many international incidents during the 1980s.

From 1988 to 1991 he served as Deputy Chief Executive of The Leadership Trust, an executive training centre providing leadership and management training for over 2,500 chief executive officers and other key executives each year.

In 1991, Richard was invited to join Defence Systems Ltd., a company providing security services mainly in Africa. He became a director and Deputy Chief Executive in 1993 and Chief Executive Officer in 1995. During this time, the client base was increased from eight to over 200 multinational companies and supra-national agencies. In 1996, Richard and the Chairman of Defence Systems led a successful management buyout from Hambro Group Investments with the support of NatWest Ventures and DLJ Phoenix and merged with a U.S. public company.

He left Defence Systems in 1998 and in 1999 formed Hart, providing specialized security services on a global basis across land, sea and air. Hart soon became the founding company of the Hart Group, of which Richard is Chairman..

Today, it is known as the Chelsea Group and employs over 8,000 personnel with offices in Limassol, London, Dubai, Washington DC, New York, Sydney, Mogadishu, Kabul, Shanghai and Bogota. The offerings of the group include specialized managed services, power generation, aviation security, strategic consultancy, construction, portable housing, camp management, water purification, leadership training and software development.

In August 2006, Hart became a principal partner in Symbion Power LLC and Richard the Chairman. Symbion Power LLC is an engineering, procurement and construction company specializing in complex electrical infrastructure power projects.

Richard is a Vice President of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and an Officer in the Order of St John.