Ex- Convict & Young Mother of two now Award Winning Business Owner
The transformation of a woman with a troubled past, determined to succeed
By Tashanne Grey
Krista Brown is now a successful businesswoman with over 20 years of experience within recruitment and a plethora of awards for her work within the Security and Events industry – but it is a far cry from her humble beginnings as a young and naive girl, facing jail time and losing hope.
In her teen years, Krista faced trials and tribulations. As a young child, she was a runaway and brought up in the care system with absent parents. At just 16 she fell pregnant with her daughter, Kimberley and at 18 was convicted for stolen goods.
I spoke with Miss Brown in an interview, where she discussed her past and the huge contrast between then and now. She stated, “My DBS is six pages long! If you saw it, you’d be in disbelief. But everything that I did back then, we’re decisions I made with the circumstances I had at the time.” She added, “I remember my first conviction like it was yesterday, I wanted to be able to provide for my baby girl and bought fifteen baby clothes which turned out to be stolen goods and was given 18 months probation.”
Some years later in 2004, Krista faced a low point – and was hit with a prison sentence for a drugs offence.
“My time in prison will always stay with me – the things that you are exposed to are like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. But in that time, I reflected. A lot. I made a plan of action for my release and had to make some hard decisions, but I know without that, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
In her twenties, Krista had worked as a Close Protection Security Guard and thought to combine her knowledge and experience as a woman in a male dominated industry and birthed Persona HR – a specialist Recruitment Company to the Security & Events Industry, working predominately with Hospitality, Security & Event Stewards. They have provided staff for venues and popular events such as Wireless Festival, V Festival and London Fashion Week to name afew.
“At Persona we’ve had more than 500 ex-offenders on our books throughout the years, and we’ve never had an incident. Nationally 48% of adults reoffend within one year; and during my 10 years in business, less than 2% of people with criminal convictions have reoffended.”
“Often people caught up in crime are using skills which could be making a positive rather than a negative contribution to society. I have been thanked so many times for giving people a chance, where other companies overlooked them. That’s what makes my job so worthwhile, and my experiences make me sensitive to the needs of someone with a conviction. We are disability-confident, race-confident, ex-offender confident.”
It is evident that the work she does, leads to new business & opportunities and Krista has won awards including, Entrepreneur of the Year London in 2010 & 2016 Runner Up, as well as being nominated for Director of The Year London & the Contribution to Industry Award.
Krista stated, “My advice to young teens would be to avoid making the same mistakes I made. Though my life did a 360, it definitely was a negative and low point in my life. If you are in a similar position to where I was in my teens, keep going. Don’t give up and be determined. Allow your family & friends to be your driving force and you will be fine.”
As of February 2018, Krista merged her company with The SES Group and now head their Recruitment Division.
You can check out the SES Group on Social Media for more information & see how they are changing the industry for the better.
Facebook: The SES Group
Twitter: TheSESGroup
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