Paul Derry
Former RCMP Agent. Justice System Whistleblower. Expert on the Criminal Mind
"To understand the value of my perspective, you must first understand the world that forged it. My expertise wasn't earned in a classroom or a boardroom; it was acquired over two decades spent living a dangerous double life. I was simultaneously a career criminal managing a violent enterprise and a covert, paid agent for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)."
My journey began on the streets, escalating from a petty drug dealer to an accomplice in a murder ordered by the Hells Angels. In this world, I mastered the unwritten rules of organized crime: manipulation, unconventional leadership, and the complex dynamics of trust and betrayal. This was my first education.
At the same time, I was an asset to the RCMP, having worked as an informant since the age of 15. For years, I walked the thin line between two worlds that exist to destroy one another. I saw the inner workings of the justice system from a vantage point few will ever experience—from the inside of a criminal conspiracy and the inside of a police operation designed to stop it.
This duality came to a violent end when I made the decision to testify, helping to convict a full-patch Hells Angels member and multiple associates for murder. The arrests and convictions were instrumental in shutting down the Hells Angels Chapter in Halifax, N.S., which was not reopened for nearly 25 years. That choice saved my life but also ended it. My family and I were plunged into the disorienting world of the Witness Protection Program, becoming ghosts in our own country. The psychological cost of this life—for myself, my wife, and my children—was immense and is the subject of my ongoing lawsuit against the federal government.
It was in the aftermath, stripped of my identity, that I found my true purpose. This period of profound loss became a crucible for a different kind of transformation—one that reshaped my moral compass through an encounter with unexpected grace. It was a second chance I never earned, sparking a new mission built not just on experience, but on redemption. I began to deconstruct everything I had learned, translating the hard-won wisdom from the underworld into transferable skills for the legitimate world.
My books, speaking engagements, and consulting work are all built upon this unshakable foundation. I don't speak about theoretical concepts of risk, leadership, or the criminal mind. I share the profound and practical insights gained from a life where a single miscalculation could have been my last. This is not just my history; it is the bedrock of the unique perspective I offer today.