Every venue, event, public facility, and cultural institution faces risk.

Sometimes it's obvious: a severe weather event, a medical emergency, a security incident, or an unexpected operational disruption.

More often, it's less visible. A process that no longer matches reality. A security measure that creates unnecessary friction. A compliance requirement that absorbs resources without reducing meaningful risk. Decisions made in isolation instead of through a coordinated understanding of safety, security, operations, and organizational objectives.

The question isn't whether risk exists. It's whether you're managing it in a way that supports success.

That's why we're proud to announce Reliance Risk North America, a Joffe company.

Reliance Risk North America has been established to help venues, event organizers, and facility operators take a practical, balanced, and comprehensive approach to risk management. While emergency preparedness remains an important part of what we do, our focus is broader. We help clients understand risk across their entire operation, applying an all-hazards approach that strengthens resilience, protects people, supports business objectives, and enables great experiences.

At its core, risk management should be practical.

It shouldn't be driven by fear. It shouldn't be reduced to a compliance exercise. And it shouldn't result in organizations spending resources on controls that provide little real value.

Instead, effective risk management requires understanding the realities of an organization, identifying what matters most, and implementing measures that are proportionate to the risks involved. It means balancing safety, security, operations, customer experience, and commercial outcomes in a way that makes sense.

That philosophy is at the heart of Reliance Risk North America.

What makes this offering unique is the experience behind it. Our methodology has been shaped by decades of real-world venue, event, and facility management combined with world-class risk management expertise. We understand how venues operate because we've worked in them. We understand the pressures event organizers face because we've managed events ourselves. And we understand how to translate risk principles into practical actions that work in the real world.

For some clients, that may mean assessing their current risk management framework and identifying opportunities for improvement. For others, it may involve reviewing safety and security arrangements, developing emergency management plans, conducting exercises, improving governance, strengthening operational resilience, or building organizational capability through training and mentoring.

Whatever the challenge, our goal remains the same: helping clients make informed decisions that improve outcomes while managing risk effectively.

Reliance Risk North America brings together exceptional expertise to achieve that goal.

The team behind Reliance Risk North America

Wayne Middleton, founder of Reliance Risk Australia & New Zealand, is recognized internationally as one of the leading authorities in venue and event risk management. His work has supported major venues, governments, and some of the world's largest and most complex events, including the Olympic Games. Through Reliance Risk North America, Wayne will lead our consulting practice and help embed proven methodologies that have been successfully applied around the world.

We are also pleased to partner with Alex Keen and the team at Keen Independent. Their research, analysis, and benchmarking capabilities strengthen our ability to provide evidence-based recommendations and practical solutions grounded in both experience and data.

Alex is a nationally recognized risk management leader who has served as both a faculty member and chair of the IAVM Academy for Venue Safety & Security. His team brings extensive experience managing risk for arenas, performing arts venues, museums, and other cultural institutions. Through their work with cultural attractions, nonprofits, and public entities, Keen Independent helps organizations identify, evaluate, and address risk while advancing operational and strategic goals.

Together, these partnerships create something we believe is genuinely different in the North American market: a risk management capability that combines strategic thinking, operational experience, and practical implementation.

What this means for existing Joffe clients

For existing Joffe clients, nothing changes about how you work with us. You'll continue to engage through the same trusted relationships you've built with our team. What grows is our ability to support you across a broader range of challenges and opportunities.

We are excited about what lies ahead.

The venues, events, public facilities, and cultural institutions we serve operate in increasingly complex environments. Success requires more than emergency plans and compliance checklists. It requires a thoughtful understanding of risk, informed decision-making, and the confidence to balance protection with performance.

That's what Reliance Risk North America has been built to deliver.

We look forward to partnering with organizations across North America and helping them create safer, more secure, more resilient, and ultimately more successful operations.

If you'd like to learn more about what Reliance Risk North America can do for your organization, please contact us at Support@JoffeEmergencyServices.com.

In partnership,