Stanley McChrystal is announced as keynote speaker in ISRM's virtual global conference 

The Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM) has organised a virtual global conference that will explore some of the strategic issues associated with the global response to Covid-19, as well as helping businesses address the challenges and opportunities that exist within the post-Covid-19 environment.


Dr Rubens says that the the post-Covid-19 reality will be characterised by multiple potential crisis scenarios. It is vital for organisations to gain an understanding of the challenges involved and put procedures and strategies in place to avoid the potential 'butterfly effect' of a crisis. Image: Vlastimil Šesták/123rf

Leading change management strategist, General (ret) Stanley McChrystal has been announced as a keynote speaker at the conference.

McChrystal will be present on day two where the discussion explores business resilience under the headline: What we need to learn in order to be resilient against future shocks.

As CEO and founder of the McChrystal Group, Stanley McChrystal specialises in delivering innovative and strategic solutions that help businesses transform and succeed in challenging environments.  A retired four-star general, he is the former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force. He is best known for developing and implementing a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan and revolutionising the interagency operating culture.

Dr David Rubens, CEO and founder of ISRM will chair the three-day event and says: “We are delighted to welcome Stanley McChrystal as keynote speaker for our conference. Not only is he a global leader with a wealth of knowledge to share, he has a unique and diverse range of experience gained both from his military years and from working with senior multinational corporations. His approach to developing leaders, empowering people and implementing strategy will provide a fascinating insight for all our attendees.”

McChrystal joins panel members Dr Robert MacFarlane, Deputy Director of the UK Cabinet Office and David Horobin, Head of Crisis Management of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy with the overall event chaired by Dr David Rubens.

The conference, which is free to attend and takes place over three days from July 27 to 29, brings together senior global thinkers, strategists and policymakers from leading institutes and organisations around the world.

Lord Toby Harris, ISRM President and Senior UK National Security expert opens the conference on day one, leading discussions around what Covid-19 has taught us about crisis management. The conference will be chaired by founder of the ISRM and CRJ Advisory Panel member, Dr David Rubens, who has been a prominent figure in supporting businesses during the pandemic through the delivery of weekly webinars on risk and crisis management that have been attended by more than 4,000 participants.

Dr Rubens says: “The Covid-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for all of us. It is an opportunity for us to examine every aspect of what we considered to be our crisis management capabilities and to learn lessons that will allow us to create genuinely resilient, risk sensitive and crisis-ready organisations for the future.

“The ISRM conference is truly unique in that it allows anyone with an interest in strategic risk and crisis management to benefit from the insights provided by some of the leading industry and sector thinkers in the world. The post-Covid-19 reality will be one characterised by multiple potential crisis scenarios. This conference will give participants a deep understanding of the challenges associated with those scenarios, as well as a range of frameworks, templates and methodologies that would allow them to prepare their organisations in the best possible manner.”

As well as Stanley McChrystal and Lord Harris, the line-up of speakers includes Dr Stephen Flynn, Founding Director of the Global Resilience Institute; Pascale Meige, Director Disaster and Crisis of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; David Horobin, Head of Crisis Management of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy; Dr Adel Alaraifi, Executive Director of the Risk and Resilience Institute, Saudi Arabia and Marcus Oxley, Founding Executive Director of the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR).

The ISRM’s virtual global conference is free to attend and takes place daily between 12:00hrs and 14:00hrs (GMT) from July 27 to 29. Register for the conference here. The full programme of speakers can be found here.