Michael’s public service career spanned 50 years, culminating in senior appointments in the Army (Maj Gen/DG) and Cabinet Office. He was Director UK Resilience Training, Doctrine and Standards for 14 years, a period that included the leadership and transformation of EPC, the creation of the UK’s resilience doctrine, exercise support to the 2012 Olympics and the delivery of resilience training in over 25 countries worldwide. Since 2019 he has worked as a consultant in strategic resilience advising a variety of governments and organisations.
Michael recently completed a risk and crisis management review of a key government agency and a strategy analysis of a large provincial police force. His last EPC project was the design, management, and delivery of the 4-year Oman Resilience Programme as the culmination of a 12-year relationship. His previous activities and achievements are too numerous to detail here.
Michael’s unequalled lifetime experience in the design, management and delivery of training and exercises underpins all his resilience activities and his relentless pursuit of quality. He displays a deep understanding of social, political and cultural contexts, as evidenced by the success of his international work. He is confident working at every level from ministers to incident commanders. His approaches to teaching have evolved in step with changes in the training environment: in 2020 he completed the University College London on-line teaching programme to permit continued delivery in Oman during Covid.
After almost 20 years’ association, Michael has a deep loyalty to the College and its purpose in enhancing UK resilience.
Outside work, Michael is a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, County President of the Royal British Legion, chairman of the Friends of Lister House care home, and a director of three companies. He enjoys country sports and gardening, and writes extensively on salmon fishing under the pseudonym MCXFisher. Michael is married to Julia, and they have three adult children and 6 grandchildren.
Qualifications
Michael is a qualified and experienced project and programme manager (APM and holds two national public sector awards in the discipline); completed the master’s-level programmes at the Royal College of Defence Studies (the UK’s foremost strategic institution, where he also taught), the Higher Command Course, and the Army Command and Staff Course.