Mayor delighted to see "an innovative, growing company deciding to invest in London."

Today Mayor Boris Johnson opened International SOS's new global headquarters and Alarm Centre in Chiswick Park, West London.

The new headquarters are specially designed to support the International SOS client-centric approach, helping companies and governments to mitigate medical and security risks faced by their employees deployed abroad.

International SOS' London Alarm Centre is a global hub for co-ordinating routine medical, security and travel advice services across time zones and regions. It is also a key lead centre for integrated medical and security crisis response when political upheaval, natural disaster or pandemic impacts clients. The London team is very experienced in carrying out thousands of interventions and evacuations each year.

London is a key location for International SOS, as it is the base for many client organisations. It is excellent to recruit a diverse and skilled pool of specialists, as an increasing number of medical and security teams are needed to help client businesses proactively assess and manage the risks that their global workforce face. Within a global network of 10,000 people, 800 employees are based in the UK from 43 different nationalities. This represents an exponential rise from the 40 people employed by International SOS in the UK in 1998.

The London Mayor with CEO of International SOS Arnaud Vaissie
Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga

London Mayor Boris Johnson welcomed the opening of the new headquarters with a speech before taking part in a guided tour of the alarm centre, exploring its new technology and the enhanced capability. He commented: "I am delighted to be able to mark the official opening of International SOS' new global headquarters and to see an innovative, growing company make the decision to invest in London. The company's expanded presence reflects the capital's position as a major hub for business, positioned at the centre of international time zones and served by a strong and growing transport infrastructure. London continues to attract inward investment from around the world and International SOS' new headquarters are a further vote of confidence in London's position in the global marketplace."

International SOS Chairman and CEO Arnaud Vaissie said: "Increasing globalisation has allowed organisations to send more and more employees abroad, to often challenging locations. Organisations are also more aware of their duty of care responsibilities. We are investing in the new global headquarters and Alarm Centre to further extend our ability to proactively manage the risks faced by our clients' globally deployed employees and assist them. We are delighted that Mayor Boris Johnson has supported the opening of our new office and endorsed the contribution that our business is making to the capital's economic development."

March 30, 2012