ABOUT US

Our Story

Incorporated in 2010, ADISA has spent over 10 years promoting best practice for data sanitisation and data protection working with organisations across the globe. As a certification body, ADISA offers independent validation of compliance to our own Standards to help organisations have confidence in their suppliers or in their own business process.

In 2021, ADISA Standard 8.0 was formally approved by the ICO as a UK GDPR Certification Scheme and the certification process was approved by UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) in August 2022.

ADISA operates it's own data laboratory called ADISA Research Centre under the control of Dr Phil Turner and works with some of the leading technology companies in the world. With clients across the global, the ADISA Research Centre is viewed as leader in its field.

Meet The Team

Steve Mellings

Founder & CEO
ABOUT Steve

Steve is the founder of the ADISA which is a Product and Service Certification company based in the UK.

In 2012 Steve worked with the ICO and wrote much of the official guidance notes which were released to help businesses comply with data protection legislation in this area. Steve is also the author of the National Computer Centre (NCC)’s guidance notes on how to manage risk when disposing of assets.

Steve has also worked with BSI on the development of a publicly available specification (PAS) 7010. This was for the destruction of digital media but was withdrawn prior to publication.

In 2019-2021, Steve worked with the ICO to achieve formal approval of Asset Recovery Standard 8.0 which was one of the first Standards to be recognized under Article 42 of the UK GDPR as a Certification Scheme. This ensures that companies who are certified against this Standard are complying with the UK GDPR in their service provision.

Steve was the lead for ADISA when we achieved UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation in 2022 and is the main person responsible for developing news Standards and  Products for  the ADISA.

Steve is a regular speaker on data protection and compliance subjects and was a judge for the CRN Tech Impact Awards - Sustainability Categories for both 2021 and 2022.

Lisa Mellings

Certification Director

ABOUT LISA

Lisa is a qualified ISO 9001 Lead Auditor and has over 10 years of experience of running the audit function at ADISA and as Certification Director, Lisa is responsible for all aspects of certification at ADISA.

Since 2019 Lisa has been part of the Standard development team as well as being integral with building the new ISO 17065 audit process which will see ADISA achieve UKAS accreditation in 2022.

Within the audit function, Lisa is responsible for the certification strategy, training, quality control and is the point of escalation for all audits.

In her spare time Lisa loves spending time with her 3 horses, dog Cressi who joins the team in the ADISA office every day and enjoying her classic MG Midget.

Dr Philip Turner

Technology Director

ABOUT PHIL

Dr. Philip Turner has a background of over 30 years in Information Security, Digital Forensics and Data Recovery. Dr. Turner is well known to those in the data sanitisation certification industry due to his extensive service at QinetiQ where he provided technical advice to the UK Government National Technical Authority CESG (Now National Cyber Security Centre) and other security agencies on hard disk technology, digital media overwriting, destruction and reuse, he is an expert in data recovery techniques and storage technology. Dr Phil's hobbies include an interest in Jaguar cars and is currently restoring a replica of an XJ13 and model helicopter flying.

Paul Stretch

Product Certification Manager

ABOUT PAUL

Paul joined ADISA in 2021 in the role of Lead Auditor responsible for performing all types of audits at ADISA as well as auditing the ADISA Research Centre’s projects.

Paul is a recently qualfied as an ISO 9001 Lead Auditor and prior to ADISA, spent 25 years in the technology leasing division of a bank-owned lessor. Most recently he was their Head of Asset Management responsible for the asset lifecycle and valuation throughout the leasing process. The end of lease process was where Paul gained experience of the ITAD sector and as a result has significant experience in ITAD selection and management as well as undertaking the technical aspects of data sanitisation.

Prior to this, Paul had a practical technology background, including managing IT repair centres, with additional responsibilities for managing ISO 9001 compliance.

Paul is also a qualified mountain leader, rock climbing and dinghy sailing instructor, so he’s used to helping people overcome challenges.

Sandeep Sharma

Senior Auditor

ABOUT SANDEEP

Sandeep joined ADISA in January 2022 and brings over 5 years of auditing experience with him including extensive international and facility auditing experience.

Sandeep completed a master’s degree in business management at the University of Hertfordshire and has already impressed the team which the speed in which he has picked up the ITAD sector jargon. With a keen eye for detail, Sandeep brings critical focus to the audit function but delivered with strong inter personnel skills.

Sandeep loves playing cricket for his local cricket club, cycling, hiking, and watching Formula 1. His ambition is to qualify as a cricket umpire in the near future.

John Campbell

Auditor

ABOUT JOHN

John joined ADISA in May 2024 following a career of over 25 years in the commercial real estate sector.

He is a chartered surveyor and a member of the RICS; having held senior leadership positions at a number of national and international companies specialising in office leasing, the flexible office sector and more recently, PropTech.

John graduated from The University of Reading with a degree in Land Management and is looking forward to applying the many skills he has gathered from his career in property to the growing auditing team at ADISA.

John is a keen rugby fan and enjoys keeping fit with the occasional charity run and cycling trip to keep active.

Filip Aleksic

Forensic Analyst

ABOUT FILIP
Filip joined ADISA in May 2024 as a forensic analyst. Filip is currently working on a Master's degree in Data Science from the University of Kragujevac and already has a Master's degree in business from the University of Belgrade. He has held senior leadership positions at a number of national and international companies specialising in plant management and has always been a keen information technology student.
Filip is also a silver medallist holder from the Youth World Championships representing Serbia in rowing.

Zoë Harding

Marketing Executive

ABOUT Zoë

Zoë joined ADISA in 2024 following a move from Social Media Marketing.

Having graduated from the Media College of Amsterdam with a distinction, Zoë worked as one half of the production company zoeenanna.nl before making the move over to the UK in 2018. From there Zoë has worked with Fullers, Turner and Smith both on the hospitality side and the marketing team for the Paper Mill in Aspley and the Harpenden Arms in Harpenden, as well as working as the Social Media Executive for The Solar Centre.

Zoë  is a goalkeeper for Harpenden Town FC and was on Nickelodeon as an actor in the series 'Hunter Street' growing up. Now, she enjoys traveling back and forth to the Netherlands for the odd acting job and to see the family.