Industry Voice: Stuart Wallace

After 34 years in the Royal Marines, Stuart made a big move into the world of organisational resilience, crisis management and security. It’s been an eye-opening experience that has challenged him in new and interesting ways, and he was happy to tell us all about it.

What did the world of work used to look like for you?

I joined the Royal Marines in 1987. I meant to join for three years but stayed for 34. Like many young lads, I joined to be a soldier, and then the leadership part became more important to me. I was promoted from Marine all the way up to Regimental Sergeant Major, which was a great honour. We deployed all over the world in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and to various conflicts. The MOD asks a lot of you and a lot of your family, but it always provides.

What were your plans when you left the Marines?

It’s embarrassing to say, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the age of 50. I’d been institutionalised. Leaving that safety blanket and coming out into the real world, I was massively out of my comfort zone. I recognised I had a lot of transferable skills but didn’t know how to transfer them. I took about nine months out to reassess and then decided to enrol on a distance learning three-year master’s degree in security.

How did you get involved with Inverroy?

I’d done a year’s course in business continuity prior to meeting Matthew Wardner [Inverroy’s Managing Director]. He Had started a crisis management company in 2015 and was looking to grow it. A mutual friend introduced us and recommended me.

I did a bit of work for him, including taking a bunch of geologists to the rainforest in Colombia for a week. My skillset was operating in hostile and remote locations, I had a whole list of skills I could apply. Then I worked as an associate doing business continuity.

Later Matthew asked me if I’d like to set up the security team. Security is a very competitive area with a lot of self-professed experts. I thought I knew my stuff when I started, but I had a lot to learn. Doing the master’s, and working with companies in the energy sector, really helped build up my knowledge.

And how has that side of the business evolved?

We started off providing security to the energy sector, doing security audits of buildings. Then we realised there were a few ways we could expand our offering. First, we added intelligence and information reporting on threats to businesses in the UK, which we could then supply to energy companies. Then we started to grow our overseas security management for companies travelling to Africa and Asia.

Now we’re breaking into e-learning, particularly travel management overseas, and counterterrorism for businesses to ensure they’re compliant with Martyn’s Law. Our client base ranges from non-profits and sport to food, energy, and finance, and it’s growing quickly. I like to say we have a golf club approach: whatever situation you can come up against, we have the right club to play away your troubles.

What are some of the challenges you’ve experienced?

Energy companies travelling to moderate to high-risk places, whether that’s Mozambique, Iraq, South America, Africa or Asia, should have some kind of security detail. But a lot don’t. People substitute safety for finance, thinking it will never happen to them. The greatest struggle is convincing companies to change that mindset and saying, ‘Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it won’t. So before it does, why don’t you put measures in place.’

How important is the e-learning part of the business?

It’s really growing, and we want to keep that momentum, making sure businesses understand why they’re doing it. Learning and development is huge – companies need to be educated. They spend so much time focused on finance that they can forget their duty of care to employees. Companies talk about their four business priorities – people, environment, assets, and reputation. But we always say, people are your greatest asset.

And what has been your focus, as far as developing new courses and materials?

People are stimulated in various ways to learn. Some read, some need visual aids, some like to listen. Your learning should reflect the audience you’re teaching. What most companies want are short bursts of information that people can pick up very quickly and use at work. The learning packages we provide for companies are more in that vein. And working with Reuzer to achieve that has been fantastic, particularly the high level of product and animation they’ve created for us.

What do you love most about this new chapter of your life?

I enjoy working with likeminded people and building and operating in a team. It’s interesting to try and carry over those military mindsets and skills and put them to use. The Royal Marines’ motto: ‘By sea by Land’ is reinforced by the mindset of the first to understand, the first to adapt and respond, the first to overcome and I think that’s what we do at Inverroy.

We listen, and we plan accordingly. Consultancy is not for everybody because clients are very different. They have different pressures placed upon them and different personalities. But I’ve felt rejuvenated since joining Inverroy.

What are the main differences working with businesses versus being in the military?

There are things you might have said or terminology you might have used in the Marines that you can’t in business. It’s a very different environment. But there are a lot of similarities. In the Marines, you were in hostile situations, and you had to think on your feet. If things went wrong, it was important to admit that it didn’t go well, but to think about how to make it better. And I’ve applied the same principle to Inverroy.

That constant learning is something which has followed me through my life. I’m not afraid to fail. Having courage to do stuff where you might fail will stand you in good stead. I always say to the team, ‘Don’t get comfortable. Constantly look to be better. Because if we don’t, the competition will swallow us up.’

Has your life changed in any other ways?

Working from home is a game-changer. The amount of time we save by doing that has meant I’m able to spend more time with my family, which has been brilliant. In the forces, you’re cocooned in this environment where all you’re aware of is the job. Whereas now I lift my head up from what I’m doing and look around me. I’m stopping, taking a breath, and thinking, it’s actually quite nice here!