Benefit from applying the knowledge built on years of real-world experience to the specific threats and challenges that you and your enterprise are facing.
Authoritative expertise: Unique national security and resilience specialism, derived from multinational, multidisciplinary experience spanning the commercial, public and third sectors, as well as multiple industries and organisational structures.
Proven leadership experience: Proven career-long track records of managing high stakes scenarios, offering a diverse range of lessons learned at the sharp end and demonstrating that good leadership is essential to an effective security posture.
Strategic perspective: Insight from both defensive and adversarial viewpoints, based on a developed understanding of the strategic threats to organisational and national wellbeing.
Alison Norwood BSc MA
Operations and Marketing
An expert in international security and analysis, Alison further refined her skillset with a degree in Psychology and a masters in Terrorism Studies and now specialises in commercial and business security and intelligence.
Alison spent the first 20 years of her career working across a number of political desks within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office focusing on security and analysis. Following the arrival of her family, Alison began her academic studies and holds a BSc (hons) in Psychology from The Open University and an MA in Terrorism, Security and Society from King’s College. She also worked part time in the NHS within the Child Protection team.
Alison has been working in commercial and business security and intelligence since 2018. She uses psychology as a tool within her work and is a member of the British Psychological Society including the Cyberpsychology and Defence & Security sections.
Alison joined the C-RW team in 2022 and brings her operational, cyber and psychology expertise to the role. She particularly enjoys challenging barriers to good cyber hygiene and how group psychology can be used to solve issues in cyber, including online behaviours and messaging.
Alison also works within training both as a role player in set piece scenarios and as a content creator and delivery.
Alison has been working in commercial and business security and intelligence since 2018. She uses psychology as a tool within her work and is a member of the British Psychological Society including the Cyberpsychology and Defence & Security sections.
Alison joined the C-RW team in 2022 and brings her operational, cyber and psychology expertise to the role. She particularly enjoys challenging barriers to good cyber hygiene and how group psychology can be used to solve issues in cyber, including online behaviours and messaging.
Alison also works within training both as a role player in set piece scenarios and as a content creator and delivery.
Andrew Brear
Information and Intelligence
A career diplomat specialising in intelligence and security across the globe. Broadly experienced across various agencies of national security, Andy’s expertise lies in cross-cultural communication and in intelligence capacity building.
Serving in operational, liaison and leadership roles, Andy has over 20 years of experience as a British diplomat specialising in intelligence and security. He was deployed to Pakistan and Afghanistan several times between 1999 and 2011 and held diplomatic posts in Northern and Southern Europe, Latin America, and South Asia. In the late 1990s, Andy was seconded to the Ministry of Defence in a counter-terrorism operational role and later to GCHQ as an operational adviser. He also served as a Deployable Civilian Expert of the British Government’s Stabilisation Unit.
An expert in cross-cultural communication, intelligence capability building, and the application of security technologies, Andy has delivered security advisory services to governments in Europe, the Middle East, East Africa and the Gulf.
Carol Wilkins
Business Manager
Carol’s extensive knowledge in Administration and Finance means she can deal with any eventuality in her field of expertise and provide first-class support to Othrys.
Carol is a highly effective administrator possessing a rounded skillset, deep experience and a proven record of success. Over a 40-year career she has developed high emotional intelligence to go with her discretion, characteristics that helped her to function as a well regarded, long-term executive assistant to two CEOs.
A personable individual, Carol enjoys the workplace and interacting with her colleagues, principals and clients. Her positive attitude, attention to detail and conscientious nature also make her a team-player as her ability to diligently see tasks through to completion are highly valued.
In addition to her general administrative skills, her financial administration is also excellent. Advanced book keeping, account reconciliation, payments, cash-flow management and online accounting are all strengths that she deploys across a number of challenging roles.
A personable individual, Carol enjoys the workplace and interacting with her colleagues, principals and clients. Her positive attitude, attention to detail and conscientious nature also make her a team-player as her ability to diligently see tasks through to completion are highly valued.
In addition to her general administrative skills, her financial administration is also excellent. Advanced book keeping, account reconciliation, payments, cash-flow management and online accounting are all strengths that she deploys across a number of challenging roles.
Dominic Prentis
Head of Legal
A corporate governance and regulatory legal expert of 20-years’ experience, who is bilingual English-French and also works for a significant London law firm giving advice into the London Stock Exchange.
A French-English bilingual lawyer for nearly 20 years, Dominic has wide-ranging transactional and operational experience in the CIS, Africa and Europe. He advises companies and their owners on cross-border transactions and operations, working closely with local counterparts to ensure that commercial objectives are achieved in compliant with applicable laws. He advises listed companies and London Stock Exchange advisers on corporate governance and regulatory issues.
Gerry Defries
Head of Finance
Gerry is a fellow of both ICAEW and BIM and runs his own chartered accountancy practice. He continues to be part time FD on several boards and looks after the financial function at Othrys with a creative and independent mentality .
Gerry is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) and a Fellow of the British Institute of Management, with Corporate Finance qualifications and deep experience in that field.
As well as running his own thriving Chartered Accountancy firm successfully for 45 years, he has been part time FD on several boards boards and spent 10 years specialising in turnarounds , floating one on AIM.
His input at Othrys combines technical skills in commercial analysis, financial controls, governance and general management with a creative and independent mentality able to visualise change strategies that inspire trust and buy-in from stakeholders at every level. Gerry is acting as a part-time, interim advisor pending an appointment to the Board.
As well as running his own thriving Chartered Accountancy firm successfully for 45 years, he has been part time FD on several boards boards and spent 10 years specialising in turnarounds , floating one on AIM.
His input at Othrys combines technical skills in commercial analysis, financial controls, governance and general management with a creative and independent mentality able to visualise change strategies that inspire trust and buy-in from stakeholders at every level. Gerry is acting as a part-time, interim advisor pending an appointment to the Board.
Jim Sloane
Senior Advisor
Jim spent much of his highly successful career working with large complex organisation to help define and implement strategic change.
Jim has over thirty years’ experience in consultancy, working for a number of multinational and UK based organisations. He specialised in the telecommunications and technology sectors advising clients on major strategic issues, assisting in leading programmes to help change and reposition those clients.
Jim is an experienced strategic consultant used to dealing at the most senior levels of the clients he advises. Jim was a partner at Deloitte for almost twenty years as well as being a Vice Chairman.
He also held senior national and international management roles in Deloitte and was on the Board of Deloitte Consulting. He was responsible for all the service lines globally within Deloitte Consulting, as well as leading the various industry programmes. He also led the industry programmes during the major growth years of the firm in the UK.
Jim retired from Deloitte in 2011 but was asked by the firm to remain as a consultant. He supported Deloitte’s with partner development and client facing programmes. Since retirement from the firm, he has also taken on a number of directorships in the environmental NGO sector, with the aim of bringing the benefits of the private sector to NGOs in terms of transforming their day to day operations to have greater impact.
Jim acts as a coach to business and NGO leaders, bringing coaching skills allied to his own experience as a business leader of a global company. He works with clients in the UK, Europe and Asia, as well as coaching Deloitte partners around the world.
Jim is an experienced strategic consultant used to dealing at the most senior levels of the clients he advises. Jim was a partner at Deloitte for almost twenty years as well as being a Vice Chairman.
He also held senior national and international management roles in Deloitte and was on the Board of Deloitte Consulting. He was responsible for all the service lines globally within Deloitte Consulting, as well as leading the various industry programmes. He also led the industry programmes during the major growth years of the firm in the UK.
Jim retired from Deloitte in 2011 but was asked by the firm to remain as a consultant. He supported Deloitte’s with partner development and client facing programmes. Since retirement from the firm, he has also taken on a number of directorships in the environmental NGO sector, with the aim of bringing the benefits of the private sector to NGOs in terms of transforming their day to day operations to have greater impact.
Jim acts as a coach to business and NGO leaders, bringing coaching skills allied to his own experience as a business leader of a global company. He works with clients in the UK, Europe and Asia, as well as coaching Deloitte partners around the world.
John O’Callaghan
Strategy and Risk
John has over thirty years of experience in managing risk and technology in international environments for government, business, academic and the not for profit sector.
John leads Othrys’s strategic risk management practice, drawing on his thirty years’ experience in international security and politics, technology programme delivery, and leadership.
John has led major programmes in government to apply emerging technology to international and national security issues, and has developed a deep understanding of the interaction of technology and security risk. He has worked in multiple global regions and advised senior government and private sector leaders on political, security and technology strategy.
With Othrys, John has led expert teams to provide innovative solutions to complex strategy, risk, and operational challenges for clients in a wide range of sectors and global environments.
John is a visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, and has led research into the effective management of security risks to science and technology development in western universities and research communities.
John has led major programmes in government to apply emerging technology to international and national security issues, and has developed a deep understanding of the interaction of technology and security risk. He has worked in multiple global regions and advised senior government and private sector leaders on political, security and technology strategy.
With Othrys, John has led expert teams to provide innovative solutions to complex strategy, risk, and operational challenges for clients in a wide range of sectors and global environments.
John is a visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, and has led research into the effective management of security risks to science and technology development in western universities and research communities.
Nick Catliff
Chief Executive
An award winning (BAFTA, Emmy) media executive with a track record of business success, Nick applies his commercial acumen and creative skills to challenge groupthink and lead Othrys as the CEO.
Nick is a highly experienced media executive and business leader. A BBC graduate trainee he worked as a producer and journalist in News, Current Affairs and Documentaries before moving into independent production as co-founder and MD of Lion Television.
He grew Lion from a start-up to become a highly respected international production company with bases in London and Glasgow as well as a US subsidiary based in New York. Lion built a reputation as a producer of high-quality factual content working with broadcasters and digital platforms in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia and has won many industry awards including BAFTA, Royal Television Society and Emmys. He led Lion as it became one of the founding companies of All3 Media which, through acquisition and organic growth, is now one of the largest production groups in the world.
Nick left Lion in 2021. As chairman of the Indie Training Fund and as a board member of the training organisation ScreenSkills Nick has taken a leading role in issues around diversity and inclusion in the screen-based industries. Nick has an MBA from The Berlin School of Creative Leadership.
Nic Miller
Chief Information Security Officer
A cyber-security expert from GCHQ and the National Cyber Security Centre, Nic is now a commercially successful leader in digital security with experience as CISO for a multi-billion dollar hedge fund.
With over 15 years spent working in cyber security, both within GCHQ and the private sector, Nic is an experienced cyber security leader with specialist expertise in building highly effective cyber security programmes within small to medium sized companies.
Having started his career at GCHQ, inside the precursor to the National Cyber Security Centre, Nic has also previously held the role of Chief Information Security Officer for a global, multi-billion dollar hedge fund. He now acts as a virtual CISO, advising firms on security strategies and cyber risk.
Having started his career at GCHQ, inside the precursor to the National Cyber Security Centre, Nic has also previously held the role of Chief Information Security Officer for a global, multi-billion dollar hedge fund. He now acts as a virtual CISO, advising firms on security strategies and cyber risk.
Nick Watson
Networks and Intellectual Property
Nick specialises in the optimisation and leveraging of expert networks in the fields of national security, technology and intellectual property (IP) .
Nick is a former senior British diplomat and Arabic-speaker who served in a range of Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and Egypt. More recently, Nick spent nine years as a partner at Hakluyt, a network-based advisory business, including three years in Tokyo working with leading Japanese companies and three years running the firm’s Middle East business.
Nick’s career in both the public and private sectors has been based around the development, structuring and leveraging of professional networks as a basis for providing high quality insight, advice and judgement to senior decision-makers. He has recently founded a company that takes a network-based approach to providing impartial, expert advice on technology innovation and its protection. Other areas of interest include coaching and mentoring, education and cross-cultural communication. He acts as board adviser to Adeptis Group, a recruitment business specialising in cyber security, and also sits on the Council of the University of Sussex, its governing body and on the Advisory Council of UC Berkeley’s AMENA Center for Entrepreneurship and Development.
Nick’s career in both the public and private sectors has been based around the development, structuring and leveraging of professional networks as a basis for providing high quality insight, advice and judgement to senior decision-makers. He has recently founded a company that takes a network-based approach to providing impartial, expert advice on technology innovation and its protection. Other areas of interest include coaching and mentoring, education and cross-cultural communication. He acts as board adviser to Adeptis Group, a recruitment business specialising in cyber security, and also sits on the Council of the University of Sussex, its governing body and on the Advisory Council of UC Berkeley’s AMENA Center for Entrepreneurship and Development.
Olly Hyde-Smith
Director Projects
Olly is a political scientist and brings over 15 years’ experience in risk management, security, and resilience consulting.
Olly is a political scientist with over 15 years of experience consulting in risk management, security, and resilience across various sectors. His expertise includes leading projects in geopolitical and threat intelligence, crisis management, business continuity, and enterprise risk strategy. He has worked with clients from industries such as technology, financial services, consulting, and energy.
Olly specializes in combining research, analysis, and scenario planning to address risks like cyber threats, supply chain challenges, and regulatory issues. With a strong background in threat intelligence and risk modelling, he integrates geopolitical and economic data to identify patterns and trends, helping businesses make informed decisions.
Joining the Othrys team in 2024, Olly brings extensive experience in managing and resourcing consulting teams and delivering results. As Director of Projects, he works closely with clients to simplify complex risks into clear, actionable insights, aligning resources and strategies to build resilience and support business goals.
Olly specializes in combining research, analysis, and scenario planning to address risks like cyber threats, supply chain challenges, and regulatory issues. With a strong background in threat intelligence and risk modelling, he integrates geopolitical and economic data to identify patterns and trends, helping businesses make informed decisions.
Joining the Othrys team in 2024, Olly brings extensive experience in managing and resourcing consulting teams and delivering results. As Director of Projects, he works closely with clients to simplify complex risks into clear, actionable insights, aligning resources and strategies to build resilience and support business goals.
Phil Jones
Non Exec Director
Lieutenant General (Retired) Phil Jones is a widely experienced military leader with vast first-hand knowledge of high-risk jurisdictions. A true strategic thinker, Phil brings insight along with a large network of connections in support of Othrys.
Phil Jones served for 36 years in the British Army, departing the service as a Lieutenant General. With over 15 international deployments, including three secondments to the UN and two to NATO in leadership roles, he gained operational experience in most of the major military campaigns of the past 30 years. Senior positions included Brigade Commander in Northern Ireland, Military Advisor to the UN in Afghanistan, Military Attaché in Washington D.C., Director of the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Programme, the first Chief of Staff to the new UK Joint Forces Command within the Ministry of Defence, and Chief of Staff for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Command for Transformation.
Phil has extensive experience in international affairs and diplomacy; strategy development and implementation; strategic leadership of change and transformation; planning, leading and managing campaigns; international governance, stabilisation and peacebuilding.
Phil has extensive experience in international affairs and diplomacy; strategy development and implementation; strategic leadership of change and transformation; planning, leading and managing campaigns; international governance, stabilisation and peacebuilding.
Richard Stephens
Counter-ransomware operations and plans
A long-term military officer with extensive experience of special operations, Richard has led organisations in the private sector and is retained as an expert by the Lloyd’s of London insurance market.
Richard Stephens is a senior leader of broad national and international experience who has worked extensively across the fields of security, risk and intelligence in the public and private sectors.
Over a 23-year career in the specialist military Richard commanded teams from 12 to 1000 people on operations in hostile environments. He has led cross-departmental think tanks for the UK Government, has authored policy for several overseas administrations, he has conducted complex investigations for the Lloyd’s insurance market and helped to establish a leadership development programme in Iraq for oil executives. He has directed war crimes investigations in Syria and has established a law firm in the City of London that specialised in high-risk jurisdictions. Latterly he was managing director of a global risk advisory firm.
Richard was awarded MBE for his leadership on counter-terrorism operations. He has a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King’s College, London and a Master of Science (Distinction) in Leadership and Management, his research area being Middle Eastern leadership. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, is a Chartered Manager and a Henley Business School accredited executive coach.
Over a 23-year career in the specialist military Richard commanded teams from 12 to 1000 people on operations in hostile environments. He has led cross-departmental think tanks for the UK Government, has authored policy for several overseas administrations, he has conducted complex investigations for the Lloyd’s insurance market and helped to establish a leadership development programme in Iraq for oil executives. He has directed war crimes investigations in Syria and has established a law firm in the City of London that specialised in high-risk jurisdictions. Latterly he was managing director of a global risk advisory firm.
Richard was awarded MBE for his leadership on counter-terrorism operations. He has a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King’s College, London and a Master of Science (Distinction) in Leadership and Management, his research area being Middle Eastern leadership. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, is a Chartered Manager and a Henley Business School accredited executive coach.
Seamus Tucker
Technology and Innovation
Seamus had a career working on national security issues for the UK Government. Since 2018 he has been active in the tech start-up world focused on cyber security and digital transformation.
Seamus spent 30 years working for the British Government. He served overseas with the Foreign Office in Eastern Europe, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and the United States of America. He specialised in national security issues, counter terrorism, organised crime, and nation state threats. He also served on secondment in the Home Office where he led both the Science and Technology Unit and CBRNE Unit in the Office for Security and Counterterrorism. He spent his final years in government service in leadership positions, focused on cyber security and digital transformation.
Since leaving government service in 2018 Seamus has been involved in an advisory position with several tech start-ups. In 2020 he formed his own start-up, Monarch, which focuses on cyber security for critical national infrastructure.
Seamus is a graduate of the Civil Service High Performance Development Scheme and of the Ministry of Defence High Command Staff Course. He received an OBE for services in Afghanistan in 2001 and a CMG for services to National Security in 2019.
Since leaving government service in 2018 Seamus has been involved in an advisory position with several tech start-ups. In 2020 he formed his own start-up, Monarch, which focuses on cyber security for critical national infrastructure.
Seamus is a graduate of the Civil Service High Performance Development Scheme and of the Ministry of Defence High Command Staff Course. He received an OBE for services in Afghanistan in 2001 and a CMG for services to National Security in 2019.
Tim Cook
High Trust Search
An expert in executive search, specialising in cyber security leadership for international, blue-chip companies. Having worked for some of the biggest names in the business, Tim now runs his own consultancy with offices in London & Dubai.
Based in London, but operating internationally, Tim Cook has 20 years of executive search and assessment experience, covering both Egon Zehnder and Russell Reynolds where Tim co-led the Global Cyber and CIO Practices before setting up Kafue Consultants.
Tim is focused on helping clients understand what good looks like in digital as well as cyber security leadership. He has previous experience in both large and small-scale technology companies, from time spent at Fujitsu Services and Cherwell Scientific, where he was the CEO. Earlier in his career, Tim served in the UK MOD. Tim’s work has covered Cyber as well as CIO, CTO and other senior digital roles in analytics. He has worked across most sectors and geographies on both search and assessment projects. Tim invented a maturity model for cyber security leadership called CIRO (Cyber and Information Risk Officers) to help organisations and individuals understand what good looks like in cyber leadership, this has been widely used internationally in search and assessment assignments.
Tim has a degree in English Literature, a postgrad diploma from the LSE, an MBA from London Business School, and an MSc from UCL.