Building capabilities that count When it matters most

Jamie is an advisor who understands his subject matter and, critically, how to pass that understanding on to his clients. A specialist in leadership and strategic crisis management, he has been deeply involved in the UK government's review of the regulation of the nuclear generation industry’s resilience and emergency response. He has been instrumental in preparing the industry to meet these challenges, and is regarded as a go-to authority for the sector.

Jamie has experience from a broad range of industries which also includes oil and gas, finance, insurance, property, mining and agriculture. He is a trusted advisor to a number of board-level and senior executives, including coaching and mentoring FTSE 100 (or equivalent) CEOs.

As incisive as he is informed, Jamie is inspired by the opportunity to find new and better ways to do things. He seeks to understand an organisation’s culture, strengths and weaknesses before developing plans and processes which will transform performance. He has an entrepreneurial spirit and is not constrained by pre-conceived ideas or accepted wisdom. He is both personable and sincere, and his clients highly value his straight-talking approach.

Jamie also holds advisory, executive and non-executive positions in companies that deal with corporate social responsibility at their core, a subject close to his heart, while still maintaining commercial viability.

Before building his reputation in the commercial world, Jamie served as an officer in the British Army Air Corps.

As one of Berwicks’ co-founders, Dougie has set the culture for the business and been instrumental in establishing its excellent reputation in the marketplace. Recognised for delivering simple, effective solutions that work in complex environments, he has played a key part in helping to establish an integrated approach to emergency management and the command and control structures now common-place in the UK nuclear industry. He also has extensive experience in emergency planning and training with other major hazard industries.

Prior to Berwicks, his 32-year Services career spanned command appointments around the world, including counter-terrorist operations and military intelligence. This meant he was closely involved with a variety of national and international agencies dealing with the most senior level of crisis management. His key clients at Berwicks include EDF Energy, Magnox, AWE and Rolls Royce.

Mike is the organiser at Berwicks – his is a unique role in the business that requires him to draw on a range of skills to make sure plans and people stay on track. From minute to minute he is required to be a change manager, process designer, team coach, project manager, contract manager, financial controller and business administrator. He has a rare ability to help people understand the key things that trigger that “lightbulb moment”, and is often described by his clients as indispensable.

Mike’s time as an officer in the Army Air Corps stood him in good stead for this job, giving him experience of leading and organising teams of people in the heat of operations and in training. This was followed by four years at NetJets Europe – the world’s largest fractional aircraft ownership business – before joining Berwicks as Director of Operations and business consultant.

Dan is known for his ability to help people unlock potential and improve performance in the context of both leadership and personal development. Since joining Berwicks, he has shaped the way the team delivers emergency leadership training and coaching to clients. He’s won particular plaudits for designing training and courses that enable participants to change their thinking and over-achieve against their goals, both personally and professionally.

His background in the military and high-risk industries has given him a clear focus on the importance of safety and the motivation to make a difference. He was a Squadron Leader flying Chinooks during 20 years in the RAF, and his commercial experience includes 13 years developing people in high-risk industries in the UK and Asia. Calm in a crisis and always focused, Dan enjoys collaborating with his clients and brings a sense of humour to his work to foster a fun, engaging and supportive environment.

Philip’s role at Berwicks uses the skills and know-how that he picked up in a 40-year career that spans a wide variety of industries. A seasoned senior manager in sales and business development, he has gained professional and leadership experience with leading consultancy, technology and software organisations across the world. Recognised by clients for being commercially pragmatic, technically astute and easy to work with, Philip is inspired every day in his job by the opportunity to make a positive difference to people and projects.

Prior to joining Berwicks in 2015, Philip’s most recent focus was on applying security and C4i technologies across multiple industries. Whatever the project or the context, he is a highly innovator thinker and someone who stays focused on delivering results.

Angela is the company accountant at Berwicks. Beyond the efficient and effective management of the accounts and invoicing processes - she is particularly valued for her patience, power of expression and excellent organisational abilities.

She has been with the company since it started in 1998 and is well respected by colleagues and clients alike. Angela is known for keeping the Berwicks team on their toes and also for her good humour – an essential element of being part of the Berwicks team.

Profile coming soon.

Bill has extensive experience in leading intricate and diverse programmes in high risk environments.  Both astute and perceptive, he simply thrives in complexity.  He can quickly understand and bring clarity to multiple, disparate challenges, as well as gauge the culture and mood of an organisation before navigating his way through with considerable skill.

Bill is widely respected for his deep knowledge of the UK's emergency and crisis management response and how he applies it to industry. His many career highlights include the strategic planning of Hinkley Point C’s emergency management arrangements. This involved engagement with key stakeholders, bridging wide cultural divides and easing tensions to align teams toward a common goal. 

As well as crisis management and crisis communications planning, Bill is also a specialist in management consultancy, strategic leadership and performance management.  His work at Berwicks builds on his distinguished career in the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence.

With extensive strategic experience in the public and private sectors, Scott is well known for the quality of the policy guidance he provides on all aspects of political, economic and security risk.

His impressive CV includes 25 years’ advising on security in the oil & gas and telecommunications industries – including time as Global Director of Security and CSO at Chevron. This followed high-level policing roles in the UK government and the Royal Air Force. One of his career highlights to date has been his appointment as the only non-US citizen on the Executive Council of the US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a Federal Advisory Committee with a US Government Charter to promote security cooperation between American business and private sector interests worldwide and the US Department of State.

Scott is an enthusiastic and engaging character with a proven track record at the most senior levels of the corporate world. At the same time, he has an eye for detail that makes him a consummate performer technically and operationally. Highly versatile, he is as happy crafting and evolving existing security structures and policies, as he is starting from scratch.

Steve excels at helping individuals realise their potential and at forging highly effective teams. He has a proven track record of bringing his open-minded approach to clients’ toughest challenges and working tenaciously to seek out and apply the most effective solutions.

His 30 years at one of West Yorkshire’s busiest fire stations – where he was the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Commander – has given him a wealth of experience in dealing with pressurised, dangerous and time critical situations.

Our clients particularly value his attention to detail, dedication and drive. Equally, his perseverance and conscientious approach, together with exceptional project management skills, are indispensable in the highly complex industries where we work.

Eddie’s background in the Fire & Rescue Service has given him a unique perspective on emergency and incident management that he applies daily in his role as Senior Emergency Planner at Berwicks. Having held several senior roles over a 30+ year career, Eddie has gained operational experience in risk assessment, command and control, hazardous material response, decontamination, and business continuity. His time developing policy and procedures and liaising with multiple stakeholders has also proved invaluable in the commercial world. An example of this was the creation of a programme of Operational Risk Information for a world-leader in the decommissioning of nuclear waste, which was described by the regulator as ‘industry best practice’.

At the Fire & Rescue Service, Eddie was the National Inter Agency Liaison Officer, where he acted as mediator, planner and risk assessor on emergency arrangements in time-critical incidents. He coordinated multiple agencies and developed operational policy and procedures.

Highly personable and excellent at building supportive, effective teams, Eddie has leadership and management qualifications from both Leeds and Bradford universities, as well as hands-on training at the National Policing Improvements Agency, West Yorkshire Police, Fire Service College and the Institute of Health and Safety.

In his role as a Berwicks consultant, Chris puts a wide range of capabilities to work, including team leadership, mentoring, bid development, project management and stakeholder management. Depending on the project, his focus could be on crisis management, emergency planning or strategic planning.

Chris has been instrumental in the design, development and delivery of a national nuclear emergency response exercise involving over 200 participants. It was a logistical test, with sites to coordinate UK-wide, as well as managing diverse stakeholders including central and local government, national agencies, local responders and nuclear operators. The project was a great example of his ability to get the best out of a team by challenging and stretching them, and also of how to clearly and simply articulate extremely complex issues.

Chris has trained senior leadership teams and crisis response staff at Ofgem, BP, UK Power Networks and Rolls Royce, as well being Director at the Emergency Planning College.

Alice is a highly-regarded business executive coach focusing on the security sector. She has an excellent track record of working in multi-national, multi-agency and multi-skilled teams, with experience that spans the UK military as well as advisory roles within the nuclear, chemical, oil and gas sectors.

Her specialism is designing and implementing security processes, working at every level of an organisation to ensure a project is delivered operationally and tactically.

Open, personable and always straight-talking, Alice makes connections easily and intuitively understands team dynamics and how to motivate others. She addresses corporate challenges in an effective and positive way with a resolute focus on the end solution.

Geraldine is recognised as an authority on global incident and crisis management issues. Her outstanding track record has seen her lead major strategic programmes at organisations including McKinsey, AXA and Zurich Financial Services. Resilient and highly credible, she specialises in the design and implementation of global incident management structures, incident and crisis response, risk management, business continuity and resilience planning.

Geraldine is extremely ambitious for her clients and relentlessly results-driven. She combines hands-on expertise with academic rigour and is an excellent communicator who is adept at both getting the best out of her team and winning the respect of her clients.

Geraldine’s experience in the field internationally is underpinned by excellent academic credentials which include a Masters degree in Law. She is also an active member of the Business Continuity Institute.

An expert in emergency and change management, Peter has produced outstanding results for the nuclear industry and public sector.

A trainer and consultant with excellent communication and people skills, he is very good at explaining new concepts and building and empowering teams at all levels. He understands that people learn at different rates and he tailors his approach accordingly. This makes him particularly adept at introducing process changes that must meet complex new regulatory requirements.

Peter is well liked by clients, not only for his professionalism and genuine interest in the work he does, but also for his sparky personality and infectious enthusiasm.

Alan’s 26 years as an operational fire fighter and senior leader means he is exceptionally well-placed to advise clients on how to react when they find themselves in an emergency situation. A man of considerable conviction and integrity, he has built a strong base of academic qualifications to support his considerable practical experience.

Alan has worked extensively with first and second responders to deliver statutory and regulatory emergency preparedness requirements within the nuclear power industry as well as the National Counter-Terrorism network. He is infectiously enthusiastic in his pursuit to deliver the most effective, safest emergency response for his clients. The sheer breadth and depth of Alan’s know-how has made him an acknowledged authority in his field.

An emergency management consultant with a razor-sharp engineer’s mind, Trevor has developed a series of highly effective emergency management methods which are unique to Berwicks. Putting them into practice, he has helped many of our clients to design and develop systems that transform their crisis and emergency management capability.

He is adept at clarifying confused thinking and never afraid of challenging perceived wisdoms or disrupting the status quo in pursuit of the best possible solution. This approach brings fresh ideas to processes that are often left unchallenged, and he has a particular skill for articulating new concepts in a way that inspires his audience. The sum of his qualities and capabilities mean that he is highly respected with colleagues, clients and the wider industry.

George is recognised for his consulting expertise in security, resilience and emergency management, and for his remarkable ability to pass on his deep knowledge to others. During his distinguished career, he has spent 28 years in the military before going on take up senior security roles in the international oil and gas industry as well as emergency management consulting to the nuclear industry in the UK.

Always good-humoured and engaging, George is widely respected by senior professionals in the industries where he works for his can-do attitude and for the connection he makes with those he trains. His focus is always on motivating them to excel, an approach that enables people to find solutions in the face of considerable and complex challenges.

George works at all levels of his client’s organisations across the UK and internationally, delivering security consultancy, best-in-class training and advice on enhancing individual performance.

Angus has an exceptional ability to analyse highly complex situations, distil critical information and create detailed and workable plans and programmes. In terms of implementation, whether working solo or as part of a team, Angus has realised multinational and multi-agency projects in some of the world’s most demanding environments. He is a clear communicator adept at preparing, advising and coaching personnel at all levels of an organisation. He has a strong track record for spotting and developing potential in others and a rare ability to help even very bright people challenge their assumptions and see familiar situations from new perspectives.

Angus’ consultancy roots go back to his career in the British Army, where he led a team of 10 consultants that identified operational risks to the NATO mission in Afghanistan and reported personally to the US General Commanding ISAF. He was also Chief of Staff to a 3500 strong unit that ran operations in Afghanistan, as well as holding the position of Strategic Planner in the Ministry of Defence, responsible for articulating UK strategy and resourcing operations. This has given him invaluable hands-on experience of how to enhance effectiveness in diverse and complex environments.

David is one of Berwicks’ longest standing consultants. To every project he brings huge experience in the field of crisis management and emergency response gained in some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous environments, as well as advanced negotiation and diplomatic skills.

His approach to tackling complex challenges lies in developing a thorough understanding of the current situation and having an absolute determination to achieve the end goal. From there the path forward becomes clear and he is adept at developing and delivering a process to effectively achieve the end objective.

As well as being highly capable, David is hugely charismatic and brings welcome good humour, patience and a positive spirit to even the most pressurised situations.

Kevin has over 25 years’ experience of leading operational rescue teams and training people in rescue skills and equipment – this includes working from heights, rescues from confined spaces, harness training, breathing apparatus and casualty handling. He also has a strong background in developing fire and rescue cover contracts as well as procedures in support of outage work at nuclear and other hazardous facilities.

In his various roles in the energy industry, he has been a first responder to incidents for many years. A particular achievement was Kevin’s contribution to the National Coal Board - bringing the Mines Rescue Service up to date, and transforming it into a leader in health and safety in the nuclear industry. Whatever the project or challenge, Kevin is comfortable working with people at all levels, adept at opening communications channels, and is well-known for his positive, optimistic approach.

Will has that special quality which allows him to interact with people at every level of an organisation, win over the doubters and get the job done no matter what. It’s a mix of enthusiasm, emotional intelligence, charm and tenacity that has allowed him to achieve impressive results for clients facing the most challenging situations.

Will most recently put these skills to excellent use when he addressed a key capability shortfall that had created an ONR regulatory issue at one of Europe’s most complex nuclear sites. He delighted the regulator by solving this 20-year old problem, providing both an interim solution and a long-term strategic plan that fulfilled regulatory requirements.

His emergency management expertise is underpinned by academic qualifications in management and leadership, as well as nine years in the British Army.

Vincent is recognised for both his vast experience in the fire and rescue sphere and for his impressive academic track record. He has worked at national and regional levels, focusing on key disciplines including emergency planning, resilience, anti-terrorism response, exercise planning and facilitation, risk assessment, interagency co-operation, organisation learning and business continuity.

As well as his strong technical background, Vincent brings a deep sense of empathy to his role. Easy-going and well-liked, he forges strong connections with those he is training and knows how to make complex environments and information accessible and easily understood. This intuitive approach makes him an extremely astute operator.

A proven emergency planning, leadership, HR consultant and executive coach, Gordon has a wealth of hands-on experience at both operational and strategic levels in a wide range of industries. He has an outstanding track record, and has designed and delivered programmes for leading organisations including EDF Energy, Magnox, ONR, Virgin, Ford, Visa, Google and British Airways. His most recent projects have seen him working with McKinsey & Co, PwC and Towers Watson to achieve major transformation through structural and behavioural change.

He is a big believer that humility is one of the great unsung competencies, and has also demonstrated great adaptability by helping a client deal with a real emergency that occurred when he was on-site to run a training course. Before his move into management consultancy, Gordon was a Royal Marines officer who served operationally during Desert Storm and later as a member of the staff of the Naval Commander and at Brigade Headquarters. Gordon frequently speaks at key management events and is the author of a range of performance tools.

A proven leader, communicator and project manager, Duncan brings experience from a range of industries to his role as a consultant. In the energy business – specifically nuclear, oil and gas – he has a track record of designing new processes and mentoring teams at all levels of an organisation. His experience of building positive relationships and managing complex change comes from his time working in the communications sector.

An extremely driven individual, he enjoys working with people to radically improve performance. Both determined and tenacious, Duncan has a resolute commitment to removing anything that stands in the way of achieving a justifiable goal.

Duncan developed his focus on strong leadership during a 25-year career in the Royal Navy where he served as a helicopter pilot, trainer and commanding officer. Later moving into roles as both a policymaker and commercial mediator, he gained a good grounding in the building of consensus and negotiating workable solutions.

A specialist in emergency management and an accomplished performance coach, George is a sought-after consultant with an outstanding track record. He is known in the industry for his ability to develop high-performance teams and overcome stubborn obstacles, which ultimately helps our clients achieve their objectives.

George has a natural authority and a rare ability to connect with people at every level – qualities that come from his long experience of working with individuals and teams from a wide variety of disciplines and cultures. As well as being both professional and diligent, George brings an extraordinary integrity to everything he does. He is valued for the positive, can-do attitude which has been instrumental in his success throughout his business career and during his impressive climb through the ranks when he served in the Royal Marines.

Andrew has earned a reputation for helping people and organisations to solve large, complex problems. Driven by a desire to make a real positive difference to every organisation and situation he encounters, he has often seen his training applied successfully in high-pressure incidents.

Andrew particularly enjoys working closely with clients to challenge perceptions and leverage the knowledge of the wider team to find innovative ways forward. He has a fierce intellect and is very quick on the uptake and, while he is a proponent of the light touch approach, he is prepared to be bold and frank when necessary – skills he learnt dealing with foreign militaries and civilian organisations during his British Army career.

Pat brings a range of consultancy skills including project management, emergency planning, command and control and change management to his work with Berwicks, but is perhaps best known as an inspiring and accomplished emergency leadership trainer and coach. He has worked with leading clients including EDF Energy, Magnox, ONR, Sellafield and Rolls Royce to name a few. Whether developing and implementing plans, delivering training, mediating between groups of stakeholders or liaising with industry regulators, his focus is always on finding efficient and workable solutions.

His early career in the Royal Marines gave him a good grounding in the broader challenges of emergency management. One of the most intense tests he faced was running a refugee camp for Kurdish refugees after the first Gulf War. As well as the logistical and operational issues that he had to tackle, he found himself working in an environment that really changed his perspective.

Colin is a leading expert in crisis management, leadership and decision-making. Highly strategic, he combines a fierce intellect with a practical and intuitive approach. His many years of military service, at senior international levels, have enabled him to deliver insightful and reasoned guidance in even the most high-pressure situations.

Extremely perceptive and analytical, he has a rare and valuable ability to identify and weigh complex (and often competing) political, technical, financial and personnel factors affecting organisations and finding workable solutions. Colin’s understanding of people enables him to instinctively gauge the mood of teams and respond accordingly.

His clients appreciate his ability to consistently embed capabilities that add significant value to their organisations – benefits that he has delivered as project lead for large client organisations.

Thiemo thrives when the stakes are high, when the situation is complex, and when creativity is required to find solutions. His career has spanned both the consulting and corporate worlds – including a global partner and practice leadership role at the world’s first consulting firm.

Proven in a wide range of industries, Thiemo’s leadership skills are both well known and highly valued by his clients. He combines an easy-going yet determined personality with a deep methodological know-how, specialising in areas such as strategy formulation and implementation, organisational change, operational excellence, shared services and transformations on a global scale.

Among his stand-out pieces of work has been the set-up and implementation of a global multi-year operational excellence and transformation program with USD 450 million in savings. Early on in his career he was also instrumental in developing a methodology for strategy development and leadership alignment, which is still being used as an industry standard.

John is much in demand for his specialist knowledge of emergency response and risk management. He has a wealth of experience working at the highest levels of government where he was responsible for managing extensive and critical programmes in challenging, complex environments. The insight be gained from this work, as well as a distinguished career in the Royal Marines, gives him huge credibility that has proved invaluable to Berwicks clients.

For someone who operates at such senior levels, John is very down to earth and able to engage with people at every level. He balances a diligent and effective approach with a mischievous and fun streak, making him someone clients genuinely enjoy working with.

Phil is a highly experienced consultant trainer who excels in a wide range of specialisms including resilience, leadership coaching, risk and crisis management as well as strategic and operational planning.

Personable, patient and articulate, Phil works tirelessly to help and guide his clients and always goes the extra mile. He will typically go beyond the delivery of an effective emergency response, to focus on developing a team’s self-belief - building confidence in their ability to respond to a real-life scenario.

One of Phil’s key skills is his ability to explain highly complex concepts in clear and simple terms. He is adept at working with all levels of an organisation, as well as with individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Prior to joining Berwicks, Phil consulted for UN Embassy staff delivering high threat preparation training and spent 20 years serving in the British Army.

Mick has a broad skill-set that spans risk management, performance management, emergency planning and training at strategic, tactical and operational levels.
His background as a highly experienced Fire & Rescue Service Incident Commander and Senior Manager has honed his ability to tackle complex scenarios and get results.

Time and again, he has demonstrated a talent for finding innovative solutions that both solve the problem and do it in a way that dovetails with complex regulations and legislation.

Whatever the issue on the table, his clients value his professional attitude, his responsiveness and his commitment to ‘doing the right thing’ for the organisation, team or individual he is working with.

Charlie is a high-level strategist with experience drawn from a broad range of industries. He has coached and mentored board members in the engineering, legal, construction and chemical sectors and also held government advisory positions at minister-level. He is recognised as a pre-eminent expert in corporate culture, leadership skills, business structures, strategic planning, crisis management and resilience planning.

Charlie has a deep understanding for how business cultures drive performance. Both astute and highly analytical, he has a gift for processing complex information with pragmatism and logic. His exceptional communication skills enable him to build very effective teams, and his results-focused approach ensures that he is able to deliver solutions that create a tangible difference to the performance of an organisation.

Charlie’s background includes 20 years in the British Army and a business career that has seen him set up, run and sell several of his own successful businesses.

David has worked at the very highest levels on the global strategic stage, advising governments, the UN, NATO and leading multinationals.

He combines a fierce intellect with exceptional resilience. David has repeatedly demonstrated his innate ability to see opportunities in even the most pressurised and politically sensitive situations – whether advising an interim government on its new constitution or a nuclear energy company on its crisis response.

A people person, David enjoys taking the time to understand and connect with individuals at all levels of an organisation, and finding ways to challenge and motivate them to excel.

Following his distinguished career in the Royal Marines, David has applied his unique blend of experience to strategic leadership and crisis management in the high hazard sector, working across the nuclear and chemical industries.