James Lythe
crisis management specialist
James Lythe MBA, MBCI, MICPEM is a crisis management specialist, working to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of crisis management teams. During the last ten years James has delivered projects across a variety of sectors in over 30 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
James holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Cranfield School of Management, a combined honours degree from Exeter University and has been awarded diplomas in business continuity and crisis communications. James is a member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI), and the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (MICPEM) and is an accredited mediator (RSPP) and qualified trainer. He has provided comment on crisis management and business continuity issues at globally recognised conferences and on television and radio news including the BBC and Bloomberg. James speaks French and Spanish.
James is a positive, open and engaging presenter who can communicate serious and important concepts to a wide range of audiences. James developed his understanding of team leadership, managing under uncertainty and decision making under pressure serving as an officer in the British Army over seven years. He adopts a pragmatic approach to crisis plans, focusing on providing tools that can be applied effectively at the critical moment.
Highlights:
Development and delivery of a cyber-crisis programme for a global financial institution
Implementing a crisis management plan and training programme for a food manufacturing organisation
Delivering board level crisis management exercises for a telecoms company
Developing and delivering crisis management training for a multi-site retail organisation
Delivering contingency planning training for the Volvo Ocean Race
“When I looked at my diary this morning and saw that we had a business continuity exercise my heart sank; in fact, this was the most useful couple of hours that I have spent in a long while.”
Senior partner, multinational law firm.
Membership of professional bodies/additional qualifications
MBCI (Business Continuity Institute)
MICPEM (Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management)
RSPP Accredited Mediator. Alternative Dispute Resolution (Regent's School of Psychotherapy & Psychology)
Publication
The right stuff: decision making in a crisis (awarded third place in the Business Continuity and Resiliency Journal's Business Continuity Paper of the Year Award). Volume 2, Edition 1
Foreign languages
French (advanced), Spanish (fluent)