The risk advisory firm Sibylline, founded in 2010 by military veteran and serving British Army Reserve officer Justin Crump, reports winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2020.
The firm says that it continues to recruit in the face of Covid-19, including opening a new Latin Americas arm in Brazil, and is expected to exceed 100 staff by the third quarter.
Justin speaks of lessons from the military, including front-line operational tours in Iraq and the Balkans: “Operating in the world’s toughest environments means that we have built a fantastic team, with a great ethos, always going the extra mile for each other and our clients. Our work is very trust-based and we advise some of the biggest organisations in the world, at a very senior level. In addition to teamwork, this means integrity, professionalism, flexibility and innovation are key – and these are all things I learned in the military.”
Risk advisory services are in demand as businesses seek to cope with Covid-19, although budgets are clearly under pressure, and clients are being highly selective. Justin says: “Our annualised revenue increased by a third in the last month, with a series of notable multi-year contract wins, despite Covid-19. We have always prided ourselves on close relationships with our clients, being true partners, and I think that this has set us apart from others as organisations look to rationalise their suppliers and focus on the most impactful risk advisory support at this critical time.”
Sibylline has made its predictive analysis and reporting around Covid-19 free. Justin says: “The virus has brought forward about ten years of global change in just a few weeks, posing unparalleled challenges. The team unanimously felt that it was more important and ethical to help those trying to mitigate risks and seize opportunities in this difficult market than it was to capitalise on the apparent opportunity.
“This underpins our core values and our view that it is long term relationships that count, not just seeking to make a quick buck. After all, everyone wants your business when you have money, but how many firms are there for you when you have nothing – yet need the help most?”
Instead of a planned tenth birthday celebration at its London HQ near Vauxhall (pictured, visited by Professional Security for the December 2019 print edition of the magazine, ahead of the consultancy’s launch of its 2020 risk forecast), the team will instead be drinking a toast from home. Justin doesn’t mind: “As a small but global firm from day one, we have always had to work flexibly – and this time of challenge underscores our entire purpose. Making complexity simple for decision-makers is why we exist and so I feel everything over the last decade has just been leading to this. Now we have to work out what the next ten years will bring – and any corporate intelligence specialist who doesn’t appreciate that predictive challenge is in the wrong business!”
He adds: “I would just like to thank those who have made this possible – not only our fantastic team worldwide, but also friends and advisors who have given us so much support. In particular I’d like to highlight Heropreneurs, the leading charity for military entrepreneurs, and its founder Peter Mountford. He has always championed just how much veterans bring to the table, and I think this Award really honours that trust and vision.”
Background
Sibylline, founded in 2010, is a global strategic risk advisory firm based in London with subsidiaries in the US, Singapore and soon Brazil; the company has 75 staff in 16 locations. Services include quantitative and qualitative geopolitical analysis, corporate investigations and due diligence, consulting on how to embed intelligence approaches in a client organisation, training of intelligence analysts and managers, and the supply of fully embedded teams operating in-house. The stream of Covid-19 reporting is available via registration on the company website. Visit www.sibylline.co.uk.
About Justin Crump
With degrees from the University of Durham and King’s College, London, he was initially a corporate finance analyst at an investment bank before being called up for military service after 9/11. This started a security focused career that led to founding Sibylline. He continues to serve as a Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank commander with the Royal Wessex Yeomanry in the UK. He is also on the board of the Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals, AIRIP, and mentors the next generation military professionals starting in business through Heropreneurs.
His 2015 book, “Corporate Security Intelligence and Strategic Decision-Making”, was published by CRC Press and described in review in Professional Security as ‘altogether impressive’.
Justin was among the speakers at Consec in October 2019, the annual conference of the Association of Security Consultants (ASC).
