David Carson
Managing risk in projects and programmes

David Carson is a Chartered Accountant and Divisional Director for Policy and Support at the Central Procurement Directorate. His responsibilities include leadership of the Centre of Excellence for Programme and Project Management which provides support for the successful delivery of the portfolio of programmes and projects throughout central government. This includes provision of the Gateway Review process. David’s career has been spent mainly in the public sector; his previous roles include spells as Director for Public Transport Performance at the Department for Regional Development, and as Director of Finance at both NI Water Service and Causeway Health and Social Services Trust.

Stephen Collins
Business continuity planning for the financial services sector

Stephen Collins was appointed Head of the Business Continuity Division at the Bank of England in May 2005. He has worked in a wide variety of areas in the Bank, in particular in recent years on international and financial stability matters. He has been particularly involved in the Bank’s relations with the European Central Bank and with the introduction of the euro. Stephen has worked twice at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, first as Personal Assistant to the Managing Director and latterly as the UK’s Alternate Executive Director.

Anne Donaghy
Developing the Northern Ireland Emergency Planning Strategy

Anne Donaghy is Chairperson of the Local Government Emergency Management Group and is Chief Executive of Ballymena Borough Council, a role she took up in early 2009 and which includes responsibility for corporate relations and providing strategic direction for all Council activities. Her role also involves developing corporate policy and ensuring Council strategies, policies and programmes are delivered on time and on budget. Anne trained as an environmental health officer at the University of Ulster and has held positions in Armagh City and District Council and Antrim Borough Council.

Professor Dominic Elliott
Why is business continuity management important for all organisations?

Dominic Elliott is currently Paul Roy Professor of Business Continuity and Strategic Management at the University of Liverpool’s Management School. He has research interests within the areas of organizational learning from crisis and Business Continuity. Of particular interest currently is his interest in examining learning and crisis from different perspectives. He has recently published a collection of readings in crisis management

Alan Elwood
Why is business continuity management important for all organisations?

Alan Elwood is Director of Business Continuity Management Services at Emergency Planning Solutions (EPS) and an Associate Course Director for the UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College. He is the Secretary of the Northern Ireland Forum of the Business Continuity Institute, a member of the institute’s Crisis Management Advisory Panel and is active in the British Standards Institute committee. Within EPS, Alan’s work has revolved around helping clients to plan for, mitigate, respond to and recover from major emergencies threatening business operations. He possesses a wealth of experience in consultancy, having supported a wide variety of organisations through the full spectrum of the BCM life cycle.

Dr Carolyn Harper
Planning for the swine flu pandemic

Dr Carolyn Harper is Director of Public Health for Northern Ireland. She is a Director in the Public Health Agency which was established on 1 April 2009 under RPA within health and social care. She is a Public Health Doctor and was formerly Deputy Chief Medical Officer for safety and quality. Her current responsibilities include health protection, including emergency planning, health and wellbeing improvement, service development, screening programmes and the HSC R&D function.

Sharn McAulley
The value of business continuity management certification: BS25999

Sharn McAulley is a Business Development Manager for the British Standards Institution, a role she has had for over two years. Sharn currently deals with businesses across all sectors in both Northern Ireland and Scotland, delivering assurance to customers with standards-based solutions. She also works on the development of BS25999 the Business Continuity Standard as it grows in popularity.

Russell Price
Managing reputational risk: A key organisational tool

Russell Price is the Chairman of the Continuity Forum. He has been involved in business continuity and disaster recovery for 20 years and his direct experience has made him a passionate advocate for corporate responsibility and business resilience. His experience of terrorism, business continuity and disaster management has been gained internationally; Russell was closely involved in the restoration efforts following the attacks on the Baltic Exchange, Bishopsgate and Canary Wharf Terrorist bombings as well as the events of 9/11 and 7/7.

Gill Ringland
Beyond crisis: Achieving renewal in turbulent times

Gill Ringland is well known globally as an author, consultant and speaker on scenario planning and strategy. Since 2002 she has been CEO and Fellow of SAMI Consulting which specialises in working with organisations to improve decision making and implementation, based on views of the future, “robust decisions in uncertain times”. Her book “Beyond Crisis” with Oliver Sparrow and Patricia Lustig will be published in March 2010. Rupert Pennant-Rea, formerly editor of The Economist and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has written: ‘In today's stormy waters, beware the guide who promises to take you safely back to port: that way lies the scrap-yard. If instead you want to know how countries, companies and individuals can master the winds and the waves that will dominate the next decade, this is the book for you.’

Patrick Woodman
A Decade of Living Dangerously: The Business Continuity Management Report 2009

Patrick Woodman leads the Chartered Management Institute’s research into Business Continuity Management. The most recent report in the series, A Decade of Living Dangerously, was published in March 2009 in partnership with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat at the Cabinet Office and was the tenth report in the series. As Senior Public Affairs Officer, Patrick works across CMI’s research and public affairs agenda.