Understand & Communicate: General Sir Richard Shirreff – Strategic Inspiring leadership interview with Jonathan Bowman -Perks

General Sir Richard Shirreff KCB CBE

Sir Richard Shirreff was born in Kenya in 1955 where he spent his early years. Educated in England, he graduated from Exeter College, Oxford (Modern History) before being commissioned into the British Army. In his 37-year career, he commanded soldiers on operations at every level from platoon to division. This has included combat in the Gulf War of 1991 as a tank squadron leader and again in Iraq as a divisional commander, together with other operations in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Bosnia.

In addition, he had extensive staff experience at brigade, Army HQ and in the Ministry of Defence. He commanded NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and his final military assignment was NATO’s 4 Star Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR). In February 2016 he co-founded Strategia Worldwide Ltd, a company which builds resilience and protects value by understanding, testing and managing risk. In 2016 his novel ‘2017: War with Russia’ was published in the UK and USA. It became a best seller and has been translated into eight languages. He is an honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. Top leadership tip: understand and communicate.

Richard Shirreff has over 37 years of experience as an international leader and commander with exceptional diplomatic, managerial and political skills. He has risen to the highest rank in the British Army and NATO. Until July 2014 he was a member of NATO’s strategic command group and deputy to NATO’s US strategic commander with specific responsibility for engaging closely with theatre/operational commanders and Allied/Coalition nations to ensure integration of ends, ways and means in the pursuit of policy; the essence of strategy. As Operation Commander of the EU Operation in Bosnia-Herzogovina redesigned strategy and achieved buy- in from EU Policy Security Committee and EU Foreign Ministers.

A high achiever of international significance able to operate in the most complex environments under sustained political pressure, he has a record of unfailing achievement from the strategic to the tactical. A savvy influencer with considerable experience in successful pan-governmental negotiation. He speaks regularly on leadership, strategy and geo-strategic issues in the corporate sector and is establishing himself as an independent strategic consultant .

General Shirreff would be happy to discuss candidly the Ukraine crisis, the key decision point that NATO countries face today as a result of Russia’s activities, and where he envisages the policy direction to be in terms of military involvements.  His  will also cover the Islamic State and the wider Geo-Political.  He speaks frankly and will not just toe the British Policy line.