Berwicks was founded in 1999 by Douglas Keelan and Andrew Keeling. They had served together in the Royal Marines and realised that the skills they had learned and employed in the military had an obvious relevance to the civil sector. They took these skills – leadership, command and crisis management – and transferred them successfully into industry. Andrew dropped out in 2001 to pursue other commitments.
The catalyst for a military input to civil industry was the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988. Lord Cullen, who led the Public Inquiry into the disaster, suggested that some lessons should be learned from the military approach to problem-solving, crisis management and, above all, leadership. The UK offshore industry was the first to consider this approach and Dougie and Andy amongst others consulted in this sector.
The foundation of Berwicks was the natural progression as the UK nuclear industry woke to the possibilities offered by the application of command and control to crisis management. Starting at British Energy and then building relationships with others in the nuclear arena meant that Berwicks needed to grow. John Barry joined as Training Manager in 1999 followed by a band of consultants that had recently finished military service.
In 2004 the company began working outside the nuclear sphere and needed to expand once again. Jamie Murray came on board as a Director and brought some new youthful talent with him.
Berwicks continues to evolve under Dougie’s watchful eye and the energy of Jamie, John, Mark and the team, moving into new areas but remaining true to the principles that all Berwicks consultants hold dear and that are as relevant to crisis management as they are to planning a ski holiday or running a successful bank in the city.