DRI International Assembles Global Think Tank on 'Future of Resilience'

New York, NY- June 9 - Today, DRI International, the world's foremost business continuity certification and education nonprofit organization, announced the formation of the "Future Strategic Vision Committee," a global think tank that will unify a wide-range of professional bodies and membership organizations to share leading insights on matters facing risk managers, emergency responders, crisis management, business continuity and other resilience professionals.

"Over the last four or five years, it has been DRI's goal to create as much outreach as possible," said DRI President Al Berman. "You can see the results of these efforts in our academic outreach and in our work with groups, such as RIMS [Risk and Insurance Management Society] and IFMA [International Facilities Managers Association], this committee is a group with no borders."

Lyndon Bird, former Chair (2000-2003) and Technical Director (2006-early 2015) of Business Continuity Institute (BCI), joined DRI this month and will serve as the Committee Chair to further develop the global "think tank" and build on issues of business continuity, risk and security operations surrounding cyber security, supply chain, insurance, community, resilience and GRC, among other key matters facing the industry.

"DRI’s excellent reputation, global reach and status as a not-for-profit position the organization and this new committee for success," said Bird. "While there are deeply-held intellectual views in terms of business continuity, risk and security operations, there is a challenge to break down 20 years of resistance, boundaries and frameworks. However, we also need to bring together leading thinkers in these fields to see where the individual disciplines are going and how we can work together to expand our knowledge."

Having spent almost 30 years in business continuity as a consultant, presenter, educator, author, and business manager, Bird will continue working with other professional bodies and membership organizations on the international basis to ensure development of activities that are consistent with the future direction of the resilience community as a whole.

"I could not think of a person who would be more qualified than Lyndon Bird, as he has dedicated himself to this profession and has been helping to envision what the future of business continuity would be," Berman added. "We share the same philosophy in determining what the issues of the future are and how we can prepare for them."

About Lyndon Bird, Committee Chair, DRI Future Strategic Vision Committee
Bird has worked exclusively in business continuity since 1986 as a consultant, presenter, educator, author, and business manager. He has spoken at and chaired conferences throughout the world and has contributed features, articles and interviews to most leading business and specialist publications. He has been interviewed by a wide range of broadcasters, including the BBC, Sky News, Bloomberg TV and CNBC on continuity and resilience topics. Bird helped found the Business Continuity Institute in 1994 to promote and develop the emerging BC discipline as a professional field of activity and was a member of the original BS25999 Technical Committee. He was voted BCM Consultant of the Year in 2002 and given the BCM Lifetime Award in 2004 by Continuity, Insurance & Risk Magazine. He is currently Editor of the Journal of Business Continuity and Emergency Planning published in the UK and the U.S., an advisory board member for the U.S. publication Disaster Resource Guide, and his new book "Operational Resilience in the Financial Sector" has recently been published by Incisive Media.

About DRI
Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI) is the leading nonprofit that helps organizations around the world prepare for and recover from disasters by providing education, accreditation, and thought leadership in business continuity and related fields. Founded in 1988, DRI International has 13,000+ certified professionals in more than 100 countries and conducts native-language training in more than 50 countries, offering in-depth courses ranging from introductory to masters level, as well as specialty certifications. The organization's annual DRI Conference brings together leading business continuity professionals from both the public and private sector to share best practices and participate in continuing education and volunteerism. Through its Collegiate Conferences series, DRI is helping to create the business continuity professionals of tomorrow, partnering with universities to introduce students and faculty to this rapidly-growing field through day-long networking and educational programs. As a recognized expert resource, DRI acts in an advisory capacity to international organizations and government institutions worldwide, helping to create industry standards and promote greater resiliency through public-private partnerships. DRI is an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization.