Alex Pilkington

I am a former Major in the Royal Marines with 30 years’ international leadership experience of up to 2500 personnel. I have held Partnership and Board Director roles in global companies and organisations, most recently as a Group Chief of Staff, a (statutory) Director of Operations and a National Security and Resilience Advisor to an international aid provider in Afghanistan. Prior to this I was a Partner and Regional Director at a multinational Risk Management Company (based in Baghdad) and (national) Operations Director (in Iraq). In my last role, I helped create a £13M business within the first year of trading. I have developed my leadership approach through experience in complex and diverse organisations, specialising in operational systems design, continual improvement strategies, risk management systems, quality assurance and holistic direction of large, diverse programmes in complex, benign and high-risk environments. I have specialist experience in commercial operations Directorships, policy and process design, programme management and consultancy, crisis management, elite personnel training and contract/government-level consultancy. I have been lucky enough to travel widely and develop a successful record of sensitive change-management, high-level consultancy, negotiation and timely, innovative problem-solving set against politically and time-sensitive backgrounds. I have been exposed to diverse operating environments demanding the shaping of fast-developing organisations, fluid commercial, legal and governmental issues associated with difficult operations in fast-changing situations. I have a personal ethos grounded in honest, analytical leadership and a robust but personable approach to commercial operations built on a foundation of openness, ethics and integrity.