About Us

Founded after the Sydney Olympics, Truscott Crisis Practitioners are selected for their backgrounds in professional response agencies combined with commercial acumen.

Our Crisis Practitioners operate throughout Asia, Australia and the Pacific. We are competent in Crisis/Emergency and Business Continuity Management and we are economically priced.

Our expertise covers the full spectrum of plan writers, contingency planners, management team trainers, exercise controllers, issues managers, safety and security advisors, transport specialists, scenario-based future planners, training developers, strategic intelligence analysts, journalists, legal and IT practitioners, and ER advisers. Individually and in small groups these Crisis Practitioners have worked for international companies along corporate, business and country lines, and down to sites.

We provide both advice and training involving plan writing and exercises and leadership mentoring. Without exception all Crisis Practitioners have a solid grounding in planning, communicating and implementing plans and strategy under difficult circumstances.

Our Crisis Practitioners are strategic specialists with a tactical reach, and their operations experience coupled with commercial acumen gives them leverage in crisis work.

We represent a collective pool of talent that ought to be tapped in the pursuit of best practices.

Steve Paterson | Stuart Aitken | Tim Allsop

Photo of Jim Truscott Jim Truscott has been a crisis practitioner for 25 years, initially in Special Operations, where he was intimately involved in coordinating strategic responses to regional and global crises, and now as a consultant and chartered engineer on the Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief.

Jim has planned and controlled politically sensitive government operations for the successful resolution of regional and international crises in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia and Kuwait, the peace operations in Bougainville, East Timor, Solomon Islands and Fiji, prevention of fish poaching from the Southern Ocean, and the security for the Sydney Olympics.

Jim writes business contingency plans to deal with an array of issues, threats and risks, and he trains executives and Management Teams in the art of Crisis and Issue Management throughout Australia and Asia.

Jim's experience in planning strategy in Situation Rooms and concurrently managing emergencies in Operations Rooms enables him to conduct challenging crisis simulation exercises for corporations and businesses across sectors. Jim is regularly invited to speak at international conferences.

Books Published by Jim Truscott:

Voices from Borneo, the Japanese War (more info and PDF download)
Who Knows Wins – SAS Australia
The Incomplete and Unexpurgated Works of Taipan
Instinct for Dissent - Autobiography

Adam Lawrence is based in Melbourne. He has over 12 years international experience in Risk Management, operational planning, compliance auditing and team leadership. He has demonstrable expertise in providing strategic business resilience, operational and compliance risk solutions gained from servicing a client base that includes some of the world's leading companies in banking and finance, resources and manufacturing, governments and public institutions. He has an extensive working knowledge of the Australian Standards for Risk Management (AS/NZS4360) and Business Continuity Management (HB221), and the Prudential Standard for Business Continuity Management (APS232). He is a member of Risk Management Institution of Australasia (RMIA) and has worked on assignments throughout the UK, Middle East, SE Asia, SW Pacific, southern Africa and Australia.

He has assisted several leading companies and government agencies in the development of pandemic influenza and terrorism preparedness measures and cost-effective solutions for meeting their compliance obligations. He is an Indonesian linguist and was awarded a commendation for Distinguished Service for counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan in 2002. Adam is a seasoned event speaker and corporate workshop facilitator and is regularly called upon to provide media commentary on terrorism risk and business continuity issues. Formerly the Crisis Management Account Director for Ross Campbell & Associates, he is now the Principal of Risk Fusion providing rapid market information.

Adam O'Donnell is based in Melbourne. He has worked in operational management and strategic planning roles with Fujitsu and IBM, where he gained extensive experience of risk analysis, Business Continuity planning and process governance. He has particular experience in the Information and Communications Technology sector. He also served for 10 years in British Special Forces, deploying as a team leader to Bosnia and Afghanistan as well as throughout Africa, Europe and USA.

A member of the Risk Management Institute of Australasia, he was responsible for the development of Incident Response Plans for a major UK bank, which he then successfully implemented following a major terrorist attack, and for a UK-based consulting firm.

Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan is the MD of Khan Enterprises. He is a medical graduate from Pakistan and holds a post graduate degree in Public Health from UK. He has a vast experience in the Public Sector in Pakistan at senior management level and has served in the USAID program to Pakistan as Provincial Chief for Balochistan Province. He has also assisted many multinationals like UNICEF, WHO, Wold Bank, Asian Development Bank, DFID (UK), Kfw Germany and JICA Japan with feasibility reports, project identification, implementation and evaluation. He has conducted many training courses and health studies across Pakistan and abroad and assisted many hospitals in public and private sectors in Pakistan with their business plans. Dr Khan has assisted the Government of Balochistan in formulating a Disaster Management Program especially mobilizing and involving private sector resources. He has also taken part in the feasibility study for the establishment of provincial training centre for mine workers and Emergency Response training in Balochistan.

Albert Tan, based in Singapore, holds the Joint Certificate of the Advertising Association and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, UK as well as the Diploma of Communications, Advertising and Marketing (DipCAM) Foundation, UK. He is an Accredited Member of the Institute of Public Relations, Singapore (AMIPRS). Albert has almost 40 years of commercial and business communications experience, mostly with Royal Dutch Shell but also with the Straits Times (Singapore) and General Motors (South East Asia). His varied career entailed bottom line responsibility for a number of significant market segments, advising businesses regionally and globally as well as providing business support in marketing communications, quality management and reputation management.

His last substantive corporate role was as GM External Affairs for Shell Eastern Petroleum in Singapore where he had responsibility for protecting and promoting Shell's image and reputation for business success and shareholder value. Areas of focus include media, government and community relations, corporate social responsibility, internal and external communications, issues management and emergency/crisis management. He had direct country accountability and also contributed to regional reputation management in the East. Emergency/Crisis Management and BCP were major country, regional and global priorities for Shell in its wide ranging activities worldwide and Albert played significant roles in these key processes, working with his team as well as external consultants. As a senior executive, Albert's focus and strengths have been in the strategic aspects but he is equally comfortable in managing and advising on tactical matters as well as in grappling with operational details.

Andrew Della-Vedova is based in Perth. He has held senior leadership and management roles for the past 15 years, predominantly in Special Operations. He has developed and implemented projects involving offshore operations, training and capability building activities throughout SE Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and has managed several high profile national response capabilities. Andrew is experienced at managing risk to ensure business continuity, reputation superiority and overall advantage from crisis. This experience has been gained in highly uncertain, politically sensitive and volatile environments. Andrew has highly developed diplomatic and negotiation skills, refined through strategic and operational planning with foreign governments, private, public sector and charitable organisations. He has considerable experience in organisational policy development and implementation of management and training standards. Andrew's strengths include leadership and analytical skills, with a proven ability to plan strategically and implement focussed solutions. He has considerable experience in cross-cultural projects and also speaks fluent Italian. He has consulted for Truscott with Origin Energy, Rio Tinto, Paladin Resources and Fremantle Ports.

Andrew Kilsby is based in Melbourne. He is a senior communications practitioner with almost 15 years of experience in crisis and issues management, in both the corporate and consulting sectors. Prior to his career in communications practice, Andrew served for 22 years with the Australian Government with postings in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Andrew has been head of Corporate, Media and Government Affairs for Newcrest Mining and Kraft Foods in Australia and regional Corporate Affairs Director for Kimberly-Clark Asia–Pacific. He has managed several public relations agencies in Indonesia and Thailand and conducted crisis and media training throughout Asia for a wide variety of corporate clients including on behalf of Truscott Crisis Leaders. Andrew has consulted with a variety of clients in the airline, banking and financial services, education, telecommunications, infrastructure, energy and resources, fast moving consumer goods and Government sectors. A graduate of Australia's RMC Duntroon, Andrew has served on a number of crisis teams in the region, including dealing with SARS, extortion, consumer issues, industrial disputes, corporate M&A and restructurings, brand threats from activists, community issues and corporate financial and legal issues. He has been an active member of the International Association of Business Communicators since 1998 and a regular presenter in conferences and to university courses on communications best practice.

Andrew Watts is Brunei-based. He is a transport specialist with extensive line management expertise in high risk and crisis situations. He gained his initial experience through active service with the British Army in command appointments in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Germany. He gained commercial experience as a pilot flying Boeing 757 – 200s for the second largest UK charter airline in Europe, Africa, Middle East and India. He is now a senior management consultant in safety, security and risk analysis.

Andrew's strengths are in organizational leadership, strategic thinking and planning, complex problem analysis, and identifying innovative and effective solutions under pressure. As an experienced military pilot and qualified international airline pilot, he is a specialist in airline operations and handling emergency aviation situations. He has consulted for Estill and Associates and the West Australian Government.

Bernard Isherwood is based in New Zealand and is an Associate Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management. He served in the New Zealand Army for 31 years and retired in 1998, with the rank of Colonel. He was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (UK) and his service included command of the NZ Special Air Service and Defence Advisor to the New Zealand High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

During his period in the military, his responsibilities included development of strategic and Special Forces' training policy, including the first New Zealand Defense/Police joint operations counter terrorist policy. In this role he developed close working relationships with a number of senior personnel in security and Foreign Affairs agencies.

Since 1998, he has worked throughout the Asian region, as a risk management specialist, supporting corporate clients operating in high threat environments. His client base has included the maritime, banking, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, insurance and manufacturing sectors. He has worked extensively in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, India and Hong Kong. He has been directly involved in the post incident management of a major terrorist attack in SE Asia.

Brendan Egan is the Managing Director of Oil and Gas Communications Pty Ltd, an oil and gas public relations and corporate communications consultancy based in Perth. He was the founding editor of the oil and gas division of Aspermont Ltd, a publicly listed publishing company, whose titles include the Analyst Energy Review and the EnergyReview.net news journals. He was the founding editor of the Australasian Oil and Gas news magazine and launched Australia's first online resources journal, The Analyst Energy Review. He has been writing exclusively on global oil and gas industry issues for 15 years. He has consulted for a number of companies on external affairs issues and crisis response management. He has consulted with Truscott for BHP Billiton Petroleum in Pakistan and Australia, Nickel West in Australia, Arc Energy, Tiwest, Western Power, and ExxonMobil Malaysia.

Bridget Hughes is based in Johannesburg. She has extensive experience with over 14 years in environmental research, environmental auditing and safety, health and environmental (HSE) consulting. Her work has taken her throughout South and southern Africa, Australia, Asia and South America. Specifically, Bridget has been a project manager in the successful implementation of a range of management systems both nationally and internationally. Bridget's core expertise lies in the management of and participation in HSE system development and implementation in accordance with internationally recognised management system standards as well as the planning, development and implementation of integrated management systems. In addition she has specific skills in the development and facilitation of customised HSE and risk management training and awareness programmes.

Choo Kwok Leong is Principal Consultant with Truscott Crisis Leaders, based in Singapore and Guangdong, China. Trained as a Civil Engineer, Kwok Leong is a seasoned professional with direct in-depth experience in front-line engineering, military command, field sales management, new market development, oil/gas trading, facilities management and business consultancy.

As a Reservist following his National Service with the Singapore Armed Forces, Kwok Leong rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was Divisional Artillery Deputy Commander. In the process, he was exposed to the vital role and techniques of emergency and crisis management and in training, motivating, influencing and managing people at all levels.

Kwok Leong's civilian career began as a Civil Engineer with the Public Works Department in Singapore, followed soon after by 20 years with Shell Eastern, where he played key roles in sales and marketing management, oil products trading, market development, market entries and ending up with several postings in Hong Kong and China. He acquired an in-depth knowledge of key regional markets as well as the massive opportunities available in China.

Post Shell, he had several jobs which focused primarily on providing consultancy and facilitation services to foreign businesses seeking entry into China. He had also advised on oil trading and managed an oil terminal in Zhuhai, China. Since 2000, Kwok Leong has been an Independent Advisor and Consultant, providing door openers into the Chinese market and in 2008, he decided to apply his wide knowledge, experience and contacts to Crisis and Emergency Management Consultancy and he is now a key resource of Truscott Crisis Leaders.

Clancy Laretive is based in Perth. Prior to becoming a Crisis Practitioner, he served in the Australian military and Western Australian Police for over 30 years. He worked mostly in Special Operations but concluded in Occupational Health Safety and Risk positions. His tertiary qualifications and operational service enables him to provide clients with safety, security, and crisis management advice. Recent defence assignments include Security Manager in Bougainville, instructor for the East Timorese Defence Force, and a senior post in Iraq. Clancy's main competencies are in developing Safety Management Systems, conducting safety audits, investigating accidents, and in managing emergency and crisis situations. He is a member of the Australian Safety Institute and his focus is on safety and environment in heavy haulage and mining. He has consulted with Truscott for Dampier Salt Limited, Chevron Australia, Hardman, Hismelt and Dampier Salt.

David Birkett is based in Horsham, Victoria. He has worked with and consulted for public and private sector Management Teams in the City of Adelaide, the City of Unley, the National Archives of Australia, TransAdelaide, the Northern Territory Electricity Commission, the Electricity Trust of South Australia, and Asset Services. Consequently, he is experienced in incident management and disaster planning in the energy and transport industries. Furthermore, he has gained a comprehensive understanding of government policies, procedures and practices, complemented by experience and knowledge of private enterprise methods and practices.

David's specialty is in leading project teams, implementing process and physical change often involving multiple stakeholders, and in the Emergency Response aspects of managing public and private sector assets. He now uses this commercial expertise and his previous experience with security intelligence in defence to advise companies in the prevention and control of emergencies and crises.

David Borrill is based in Perth. He has consulted for Crisis and Emergency Management Teams with Shell in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, Gulf, Santa Fe Energy Resources, Modec and Kelian Equatorial Mining in Indonesia, and with Nabalco, WAPET, ExxonMobil, Hamersley Iron and Newfield in Australia. His expertise as a crisis practitioner is drawn from his line management experience in aviation and logistics in the British Army. An experienced pilot and leader of operational teams he has considerable training capabilities combined with proven business development and analytical skills. His field and headquarter experience as an operational commander has required extensive contingency planning and it allows him to now advise corporations facing both tactical emergencies and strategic crises.

David's consulting strength is his ability to conduct highly interactive workshops, coordinate complex simulations, and give practical advice to mangers who must think and act under extreme pressure.

David Meager is based in Perth. He has nineteen years managerial experience in the training and envelopment of complex programs with the SAS. He is qualified and experienced in the research, preparation and presentation of training courses and the design and modification of competency standards. He has conducted all levels of security management for Australian Government departments and private sector heavy industries including physical security surveys and assessments. This has included the testing and validation of the crisis response strategic and tactical plans for the majority of the offshore and onshore oil and gas platforms/facilities in the North West Shelf and Bass Strait. He has conducted security planning and training for vital asset and personal protection in regions including the UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, PNG, Bougainville and Australia and worked closely with and trained the Special Operations Police in those instances.

David has worked as the National HR and Safety Manager for the largest automotive franchise company in Australia and was instrumental in the company's success as a Registered Training Organisation. He was subsequently employed as the Safety Systems Manager for Emergency Response Group Training Perth and was the senior Incident Management Training instructor. He has conducted emergency response and Incident Management Training for Shell, Woodside, Wesfarmers CSBP, Apache and ExxonMobil Wandoo B. He has provided specific Crisis and Emergency response training to ChevronTexaco management personnel in WA and PNG which has included the full investigation of major on and off site security and safety incidents. He continues to consult to Oil Search Ltd in Health Safety and Security matters and has recently rewritten the Oil Search PNG Emergency Response Plan and has redesigned the HSE training package. David has consulted with Truscott for ConocoPhillips Australia, BHP Billiton Pakistan, ENI Pakistan and Wesfarmers CSBP.

David Quinn is based in Perth. He has twenty years experience in leadership, training and operations roles with the SAS and three years in training organizations providing innovative solutions to the offshore oil and gas, mining and chemical production industries. This is underpinned by a mature leadership style, effective team building and excellent communication skills, and significant experience in leading and motivating teams to achieve highly effective results.

David has developed and implemented a crisis management plan for Wesfarmers CSBP, a safety management plan for ERG Training, an emergency management plan for TiWest JV, an incident management plan for Woodside Energy and ExxonMobil Wandoo B, a medical management plan for BP/Amoco, and a safety and emergency management plan for Esso. He has consulted with Truscott for ConocoPhillips Australia, BHP Billiton Pakistan, and Eni Pakistan.

Deep Mathur is based in New Delhi. He is a graduate of IIM Lucknow, General Management Program 2005 with 25 years of experience in the Indian Navy in various operations and planning assignments in India and abroad. This service includes 18 years in submarines and ships with command of a Kilo class submarine for five years and four years as second in command. He has been instrumental in shaping the submarine arm of the Indian Navy during his last tenure as the Joint Director of Submarine Acquisitions at Naval Headquarters in New Delhi. His operational experience in a submarine together with business acumen has made him a sought-after Crisis Practitioner. His business experience includes creating, developing and executing plans and strategies by consolidating and improving value and processes of the organization. He has led teams and supervised managers at different levels of work towards performance based targets. He has been practicing Crisis Management in adverse situations and with various organizations; consulting for Seatek India and Dubai Aluminum in the recent past as part of the Truscott Crisis Leaders team.

Francis Brancato, OBE, is the Operational Director of ITOPSEC – a specialist IT and physical security company based in Gibraltar and the UK. Francis served with the UK military for over 27 years, attaining senior management and leadership appointments including command of an infantry battalion. He deployed to such diverse theatres as Northern Ireland, Central America and the Balkans. He has wide knowledge of North Africa and Western Mediterranean area and during his time in the military was responsible for setting up a number of training initiatives and Defence Diplomacy missions in the region especially in Morocco. Francis' strength lies in his diplomatic and negotiation skills, his experience in strategic and objective planning and his leadership abilities. Recently Francis has been involved in providing consulting services to a major UK property developer seeking to establish itself in the region. He is a graduate of the Army Staff College, Camberley as well as of the Ashridge Management College in the UK. He is a fluent Spanish speaker. He was made an Officer of the British Empire by HM The Queen in 2003.

Ian Young is based in Perth. He spent 22 years in Defence in Special Operations, Communications Information Systems (CIS), and Information Warfare. He was intimately involved in planning and executing technical, operational, and strategic responses to crises in Somalia, Rwanda, and Kuwait. He was Chief Information Officer for all of Australian Special Forces and commanded the CIS unit of the elite Special Air Service Regiment, which included responsibilities for business process mapping, business continuity contingency planning, and disaster recovery.

Since 1999, Ian has undertaken private and public sector assignments in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India, and Iraq for the United Nations, SOS International, Osprey Asset Management, and Unity Resources Group. With Truscott, Ian has consulted for Western Power, Santos, Rio Tinto, Hardman, KIMA, Origin, Burswood Casino, OMV, Dampier Salt, Pilbara Iron, Resolute, SkyWest, IBM, Murphy Oil, BP, SBA, Diamond Offshore, BHP Billiton, ConocoPhillips, Clough, Newcrest, Asgard, Eni, WA Newspapers, Shell, Inpex, Star Energy, Tap Oil, Horizon Power, Consolidated Minerals, Paladin, Oil Search, Jubilee, WA Health Dept., Burrup Fertilizers, Apache Energy and PetroThai; in Australia, East Timor, India, Papua New Guinea, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Namibia, Yemen, the Philippines and Thailand.

Ian's strengths include logical thought processes applied to complex issues and strong human communication skills. He can rapidly develop robust plans, execute them very effectively, and adapt to sudden changes.

Jack Hayes is based in Masterton, New Zealand. He has been consulting in risk and crisis management for over thirty years, initially with NZ SAS (including service in Vietnam) and subsequently in counter-terrorist roles. He then gained experience in commercial insurance in the UK, NZ, Australia and the South Pacific. Clients included Transpower NZ, Ports of Auckland, Fiji Government, Fiji Sugar Corporation, Carpenter Group, Hyatt Auckland and Coles Myer. Jack is a member of the ASIS International Security Association, and a Certified Protection Professional (CPP).

Jeremy Hargreaves is based in Abu Dhabi. He has a defence background with 17 years in senior leadership and management roles. He is experienced in developing and implementing national level training and operational projects in the South Pacific, SE and Central Asia, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as leading high profile national emergency response capabilities within Special Operations. His expertise lays in managing risk to ensure business continuity, and crisis response coordination in the event of disaster. When not on Truscott assignments he is the Managing Director of a Sydney based leadership and performance development company.

John Moller served over 20 years in the military, during which time he gained significant operational experience in security and risk related issues, both domestically and internationally. In the corporate sector since 2000 he has been involved in the safety and security of high profile assets and activities, including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Rugby World Cup, and critical infrastructure facilities. Prior to joining Truscott he was the Risk and Security Manager at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. He has consulted for Woodside and with Truscott for Santos, Asean Bintulu Fertilizer, and ConocoPhillips Australia.

Lyndall Milenkovic is a specialist in Emergency Management. With over 15 years experience Lyndall has designed, implemented and provided training and consulting support in Emergency Management Programs for organisations both locally and internationally. This has included three Olympics and two Commonwealth Games. Lyndall is an Academic Associate at Charles Sturt University, has instructed at the Public Venue Management School, guest lectures at University of Technology and presents at many conferences on Emergency Management. Lyndall has wide experience in developing Emergency Management programmes, procedures, and training programmes. Importantly she has also been responsible for the successful implementation of such systems and the delivery of results in some very high profile situations. Areas of expertise include emergency management systems, crisis management, emergency training, public consultation and inter-agency coordination. She is an Adjunct Academic Associate, Australian Graduate School of Policing, Charles Sturt University, member of ASIS NSW, member of Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers Associate, Policing Intelligence and Counter Terrorism Unit, Macquarie University and member of the Venue Managers Association.

Some past emergency and crisis management, planning and training projects include Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre, Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, Sydney Royal Agricultural Showgrounds, FIFA World Congress, City of Sydney, University of Wollongong, Melbourne 2006 - Office of the Commonwealth Games Co-ordination, Precincts and Opening and Closing Ceremony, Qantas Airways Ltd, Sydney Opera House, Risk Management consulting support for Opening and Closing Ceremonies for Athens 2004, Evacuation and Emergency Planning for Sportcity Stadium for Opening and Closing Ceremonies, 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, Venue Emergency Response Planning for all venues for 2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City, Consultant to SOCOG Risk Management for Evacuation and Emergency Management Planning, Consultant, providing the Technical Review of International Association of Assembly Managers Emergency Preparedness Guidelines for venues throughout the USA, and participant on a number of forums for Emergency Management Australia for Attorney General.s Department.

Marc Preston is based in Melbourne. He has seventeen years experience as a legal practitioner and consultant, practising general commercial law, advising on IT and conducting international commercial transactions throughout the Asia Pacific region including Singapore, Malaysia, and PNG. His expertise as a crisis practitioner is drawn from his line management experience in defence special operations, IBM Australia and currently as the CFO of Innovative Business Knowledge.

Mathew Yap is based in Singapore. He has a double major degree in English Literature and Political Science, and also read Philosophy from the National University of Singapore (1982). He has a vast and varied track record in journalism and communications and has worked for several organizations including the Singapore's main daily, The Straits Times, from 1982 to 1988. He also had worked as an advertising executive for Standard Chartered Bank and as a senior public affairs person for the Singapore Government in two statutory boards. His longest career spans across marketing, corporate communications and board-level crisis communication management in BP plc from 1991 to 2006. It was in BP that Mathew developed a deep skill-set fit for crisis communication strategy and management at senior level. He was at the forefront of BP Asia Pacific's crisis management centre of expertise, developing and refining operational mechanisms and processes to support the various business units in the region working closely with BP's global HQ in London and other continental regional HQs such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Washington and Brussels. In addition, Mathew was the key person who devised "functional excellence standards" in corporate and crisis communications for BP in Asia Pacific for a team of 11 regional managers in the Function in 2004 and 2005. Mathew currently is a PhD candidate with National University of Singapore. He is also designing crisis communication and corporate social responsibility courses for adoption in local and regional universities, including National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Murdoch University (Australia). Mathew holds an adjunct lecturer position in all the three universities teaching organizational communication, journalism, new media & policies and creative writing.

Matthew Brown is based in Perth. He has 23 years security industry experience including managerial roles, policy development and government sponsored training advisory tasks to Asia and the Pacific regions. After an extensive career as a member of the Australian Special Operations Group he moved to the Australian Government Security as the Maritime Security Liaison Officer for Western Australia. He has extensive knowledge of maritime and aviation security including participation on maritime and aviation security committees, both government and non-government. He has an extensive liaison network which encompasses both the private sector and government agencies. He is conducting the final phases of a Bachelor of Science (Security) and due to exemplary performance, dedication to study and high achievement he was awarded membership to Golden Key Honor Society which recognizes the top 15 percent of achievers.

Mick McDermott is Melbourne-based with over 20 years experience in military and civilian security, risk and crisis management. He has expertise in various commercial sectors in assisting executives and senior mangers across multi-spectrum issues including facilities, assets and human capital protection. Michael has been the crisis and or security lead analysing, planning, and coordination of strategic, operational and tactical exercises and projects, on a nation, regional and international basis. Projects and exercises range from humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, contingency and risk planning, crisis management and recovery operations; assisting in high profile operational planning for Defence deployments, to extensive Oil and Gas security startup projects dealing with significant geopolitical, commercial and cross cultural sensitivities. His strength is in analysing and managing complex risks scenarios where he brings his leadership, operations, training and mentoring skills to use. Michael is a specialist in training, design and facilitation for crisis leadership, risk management and leading teams from multiple ethnic groups. He has consulted for Truscott with Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water, Nautilus Minerals, Perilya Mining, Australian Energy Development and Murphy Oil.

He has spoken at the 2007 International Association of Business Communication seminar on Crisis Planning & Stakeholder Communication. He has consulted for Truscott with Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water, Nautilus Minerals, Perilya Mining, Australian Energy Development, Murphy Oil, State Street Bank, Australian National Blood Authority, Sino Gold, Centerra Gold, AGR Asia Pacfic, Western Water Authority, Sydney Airport Limited, Virgin Blue, Lower Murray Water, Central Highlands Water, Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water, Transport Industry Assurance Advisory Group, Pacific Hydro, South East Water, Bass Gas, Terramin Australia Limited, North East Water, BOC Gases, Oil Search Limited and Deakin University.

Nathan Verity operates from Jakarta. He is the manager of Verity Human Resources & Recruitment Consultants in Indonesia. With over 10 years experience in Industrial Relations negotiation and dispute resolution, he works with the Ministry of Manpower in Indonesia and other industries on Business Performance Improvement, which includes HR and IR related risk and crisis management. He has experience in the airline industry, including the restructure of Skywest Airlines where he was a member of the Crisis Management team. In Earthcare, a construction and project management company, he was responsible for company-wide crisis and risk matters. Previously, Nathan was the HR manager for Woolworths Supply Chain in Western Australia. He is an industrial advocate in both the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission. During his years in Indonesia Nathan has consulted on people and risk management with Freeport, World Bank, PTAN (SAust Gov JV), Trakindo (Caterpillar Dealer), Terex, Newcrest Mining, Newmont Mining, Cummins, Western Star, IKEA, and the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower. He has consulted with Truscott for Shell, ChevronTexaco, and Santos.

Nathan Wilcock is a professional fire fighter based in Perth. He has a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health, and is a Chartered Professional Member of the Safety Institute of Australia and registered Safety Practitioner. Previously, Nathan worked for 10 years in the mining and mineral exploration industry as a senior field technician supervising operations throughout Australia as well as Kalimantan, Nevada, Madagascar, and Sweden. Since 1995 he has worked as an Occupational Safety and Health Advisor and Emergency Response Advisor and Trainer. He has been in Mine Rescue Teams and has conducted risk analyses, hazard identification, job safety analysis, safety audits and training needs analysis. Nathan has conducted extensive Safety and Emergency Response training in Australia and overseas for major international clients, including BHP Billiton, Eni in Pakistan, and InterOil and Oil Search in PNG.

Richard Bosi is based in Adelaide. After his first career in Defence Special Operations with service in Papua New Guinea, the Middle East and the United States, he has been involved a variety of businesses including a processed food export venture, an innovative fast food vending operation, an empowering reality show for television and a world first scenario based business planning process. He conducts leadership seminars for large public and private sector organizations. Recently he has written, launched and implemented defence industry policy for the Government of South Australia. He is a member of the National Speakers Association of Australia and an Italian speaker. He has consulted for Truscott with Eni in Milan.

Rich Hungerford is Perth based. He has extensive security industry experience in maritime, aviation, land transportation, oil & gas production and the protection of personnel in high risk situations in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. After an initial carer in Australian Special Operations he gained commercial exposure consulting for a range of international organisations in difficult localities. He has a proven record of successful collaborative interaction between government and business operations in high risk areas. He also possesses significant oil & gas experience in both onshore and offshore settings, advising ExxonMobil in Indonesia in an in-house capacity for over 18 months. He advises on the performance of security risk management functions for organisations with domestic or internationally based business operations. He has Bachelor of Science (Security) together with a number of technical qualifications and is currently finalising a Master of Science in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management.

Robert Kilsby is based in Brisbane. He is skilled in media management in crisis and in competitor information collection from 21 years in line management roles with government special operations throughout Australia and Asia. Some of these operating situations have been in totally hostile and confusing situations. Consequently, he can think, act and speak on his feet under pressure. This crisis grounding has given him the ability to develop, assess and lead small and large Management Teams for specific and often exacting outcomes.

Robert works well with mixed national and expatriate Management Teams using his Indonesian and Mandarin Chinese language ability and high level communication skills to establish rapport to good effect. Robert works across business sectors at the corporate level with specialist expertise in retail, health, property and investment issues where he has worked as both principal and consultant. He has particular experience in manipulating information in-crisis to support risk communications.

Scott Terrey is based in Sydney. He has consulted for public and private sector Management Teams throughout Australasia, primarily in industrial and commercial security. He gained his crisis practitioner skills from defence and ASIO appointments where he was streamed in Counter-Terrorism and Security Intelligence, and since 1988 as MD of a specialist consultancy to government and private organisations. The company has undertaken operations on behalf of the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department, the Department of Administrative Services, the State Rail Authority of NSW, the State Transit Authority, the Water Board, the Environment Protection Authority, the Australian Taxation Office, the Fiji Police, various State Ministers, banks and corporate clients. This work has included the provision of protective security advice, provision of security equipment, provision of training staff, writing and implementation of complete training packages and overview of military projects.

Sean Bellis is based in Perth. He has over eighteen years' experience in security and aviation management, training and leadership roles both in the military and private sector. He has developed excellent skills in strategic and corporate planning, and crisis management in Australia, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Sean has consulted for a number of resource companies in Australia and Asia, including Apache Energy, Rio Tinto, and Chevron, in security analysis, threat assessment and crisis management. He has a highly organised approach to the planning and management of complex tasks and events requiring input from and coordination with diverse agencies, both government and private. Sean has successfully undertaken numerous assignments around the world, including most recently the elections in Iraq.

Sim Boon Chai is Principal Consultant with Truscott Crisis Leaders, based in Singapore. He graduated in Chemical Engineering from Nottingham University, UK and is a Professional Engineer with the Singapore Professional Engineers Board. He is Lead Assessor in ISO. A mature professional, Boon Chai has a wide range of work experiences spanning more than 30 years. His spent the major part of his career with Shell Eastern Petroleum where he rotated through and acquired in-depth knowledge and experience in Operations, Manufacturing, Technology, Development, Quality, Trading and Business Development. In his Business Development role he has traded all over Asia including China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Mongolia. He has also lived and operated from Dubai where he managed operations in Khorforkan and Jebel Ali and trading extensively in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. Post Shell, Boon Chai has been a Senior Manager in one of Singapore’s largest Insurance Companies, supervising legal, audit, ISO and corporate governance teams. With his in-depth combination of technical and commercial roles spanning many countries and regions, Boon Chai is equally comfortable on the shop floor as he is in the boardroom of customers and clients.

Steve Paterson is based in Perth. He spent 24 years in the SAS in managerial, training, and development roles, providing guidance and leadership to highly motivated and successful teams in Australia and overseas. Steve is a highly qualified and experienced security professional with tertiary qualifications in all key areas of security and risk management. These are underpinned by extensive experience in high threat environments domestically and offshore. This has included the conduct of security audits and threat assessments to ensure all aspects of internal and external physical protection of personnel, assets, and information comply with strategic security plans. He has conducted operational security planning and training for all management levels worldwide, including advice on executive protection planning, vital asset protection, disaster management, and contingency planning.

Stuart Aitken is the Technical Director of ITOPSEC based in London and Cardiff in the UK. Stu is a highly qualified IT security specialist with particular interest in IT service continuity, data security and systems monitoring. He is also an ISO 27001 qualified auditor and compliance expert. Stu served a full career with the UK military including working with SF. He held a number of prestigious appointments both in leadership/management and training roles including that of Regimental Sergeant Major. Stu has been providing high end technical IT training to a diverse range of clients including big name financial institutions. He has developed an extensive and impressive range of contacts in both the IT security field as well as in that of physical security. He has proven analytical and operational planning skills, great organizational flair and the ability to produce innovative solutions to problems.

Tim Allsop, after an initial career in Australian Special Forces, specialized in competency training for the oil and gas sector in Australasia. He understands the requirements and importance of having qualified personnel in major emergencies, having had first hand experience in owning and operating his own fuel company in East Timor through to conceiving and establishing the only internationally accredited Safety Training Centre for the offshore industry in Vietnam. For the past five years he has focused on competency training for key managers and staff in the Management of Major Emergencies. He has designed a customized simulator and Incident Management software to both facilitate internationally accredited training courses and to support management in the Control Room with the recording and response to information gathered during an emergency situation. He is the Principal of Command Solutions in Malaysia.