Charlie Maclean-Bristol is one of the Founders and Directors of PlanB Consulting. He is also the Training Director of Business Continuity Training Ltd., a UK-based training provider accredited by the Business Continuity Institute.

A former Infantry Captain in the British Army, Charlie Maclean-Bristol held several emergency planning, business continuity and crisis management positions within the energy and utility industry before founding PlanB Consulting in 2007. Over the past eleven years, Charlie has delivered business continuity consultancy in 6 of the world’s 7 continents, frequently providing full business continuity roll-outs to organisations of all sizes and in all sectors. His public sector work in the UK is of particular note, having delivered consultancy and training for numerous city councils and government departments.

Charlie is a former Business Continuity Institute board member and one of the very few Fellows of both the Emergency Planning Society and the Business Continuity Institute. He has won several industry awards for his contributions to business continuity, including Business Continuity Consultant of the Year, Industry Personality of the Year from the Business Continuity Institute and lifetime achievement from the CIR. Charlie makes frequent appearances as a subject matter expert at conferences, as well as on radio and television. He is also a keen writer, having penned a weekly business continuity blog for the last eight years and been published in several academic journals. He has also written a book entitled “Business continuity Exercises: Short exercises to validate your plan” which was published in October 2020. Book is available here

Charlie’s passion and commitment to organisational resilience stretch beyond professional excellence and into academia as well: he holds a postgraduate diploma in Emergency Planning and Disaster Management from the University of Hertfordshire. He is also a module leader at Glasgow Caledonian University, delivering lectures and tutorials on resilience, continuity and crisis management for an MSc programme.

Outside of his work with PlanB Consulting, Charlie has served for the last ten years on the board of Directors for Project Trust, an educational charity that sends young people overseas on social care, teaching and outward bound projects for 8-12 month placements. He is also a keen rugby and squash player.

Qualifications and Certifications:

• PgD Disaster Management and Emergency Planning – University of Hertfordshire
• MA (Hons) History and International Relations – University of Aberdeen
• CBCI with Merit

Awards:

• CIR Awards – Lifetime Achievement 2020 (Winner)
• BCI European Awards – Industry Personality of the Year 2018 (Winner)
• CIR Awards – Lifetime Achievement 2018 (Finalist)
• BCI European Awards – Business Continuity Consultant of the Year 2016 (Highly Commended)
• BCI European Awards – Business Continuity Consultant of the Year 2015 (Finalist)
• BCI European Awards – Business Continuity Personality of the Year 2015 (Finalist)
• BCI Global Awards – Business Continuity Consultant of the Year 2011 (Finalist)
• CIR Awards – Business Continuity Consultant of the Year 2011 (Winner)
• CIR Awards – Business Continuity Consultant of the Year 2009 (Finalist)
• CIR Awards – Business Continuity Manager of the Year 2005 (Finalist)
• Find out more

Publications, Media Appearances and Other Achievements:

• “Business continuity exercises; Quick exercises for validating your plan” Published by Rothstein Publishing
• Business Continuity Institute Good Practice Guidelines 2010, 2013 and 2018 – Contributing Author
• The “Definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management Edition 3” – ‘Business Continuity and the Supply Chain’
• Co-authored the “The BCI Guide to… Exercising Your Business Continuity Plan” 2015
• Wrote the “Supply Chain Continuity Management” and “Validation” courses adopted by the BCI.
• Appearances and interviews on Radio Scotland, BBC Scotland, Newsnight Scotland and LBC Radio.
• Continuity Central Essay Competition 2013: “The Business Continuity Manager in 2017 – How You Can Avoid Obsolescence” – Shortlisted, Top 3.
• Numerous other articles published in Continuity Central and trade magazines.