The Risk Advisory Group, Europe’s leading integrated risk management consultancy, today announces the appointment of General Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of the General Staff, as a non-executive director with immediate effect. His role will be to assist in TRAG’s further strategic development and to act as an international ambassador for the group in addition to providing strategic client advice through The Risk Advisory Group and Janusian.

Mike Jackson joins Nigel Turnbull (Chairman), Chris Batterham and Philip Keevil as a non-executive board member of The Risk Advisory Group. Bill Waite, Group Chief Executive of The Risk Advisory Group, said:
“In the last nine years we have built Europe’s leading risk management consultancy helping clients to manage business, operational, regulatory and security risk. Our success has been led by the highly professional and experienced staff that we have recruited. 

Mike’s appointment adds significantly to that strength. He is an internationally respected figure whose army career demonstrates an acute political awareness, strategic insight and operational experience.  His knowledge, skill and experience will help us grow our business effectively in the coming years.”

Mike Jackson said:
“I am delighted to accept the offer to become a non-executive director of The Risk Advisory Group. The Company, and its political risk and security subsidiary Janusian, have an excellent reputation among financial institutions and multinational corporations here, in the United States and in the Middle East. The Risk Advisory Group’s people have very high standards and are driven to succeed. I very much hope that I can add value to their business and what they are trying to achieve.”

For further information contact:

Bill Waite
The Risk Advisory Group
Tel: +44 (0)207 578 0000 

Notes to editors:
General Sir Mike Jackson
General Jackson was born in 1944, and was educated at Stamford School, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Birmingham University. Commissioned from Sandhurst into the Intelligence Corps in December 1963, he studied for an in-service degree in Russian Studies from 1964 to 1967. After graduating, he spent two years on secondment to the Parachute Regiment and subsequently transferred from the Intelligence Corps in 1970. During the early 1970s he served in Northern Ireland, and with the TA in Scotland.

He attended the Staff College in 1976, after which he spent two years as the Chief of Staff of the Berlin Infantry Brigade. He then commanded a parachute company for two years, once more in Northern Ireland. After a six-month course at the National Defence College at Latimer in 1981, he joined the Directing Staff at the Staff College. His two-and-a-half year tour at Camberley included a ten-week attachment to the Ministry of Defence during the Falklands conflict.

He commanded 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment from March 1984 to September 1986. Throughout his period of command the Battalion was part of the NATO Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (Land), a role which included three winters spent in Norway on arctic training. For just over two years, until the end of 1988, he was the Senior Directing Staff (Army) at the Joint Service Defence College, Greenwich. Following the Higher Command and Staff Course at Camberley in early 1989, he then spent six months on a Service Fellowship at Cambridge writing a paper on the future of the British Army.

He moved back to Northern Ireland in late 1989 to command 39 Infantry Brigade for two and a half years. 1992 and 1993 were spent in the Ministry of Defence as Director General Personnel Services (Army). He commanded the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division from March 1994 to July 1996. In August 1995 he was selected to assume command of UNPROFOR in Bosnia at the end of that year; in the event, after the success of the Dayton talks, he spent the first half of 1996 in Bosnia commanding IFOR's Multinational Division South West. He assumed the appointment of Commander ACE Rapid Reaction Corps in the rank of Lieutenant General in February 1997, following a brief assignment as Director General Development and Doctrine.

He deployed with ARRC HQ as Commander Kosovo Force to Macedonia in March 1999 and subsequently commanded Kosovo Force in Pristina from June to October 1999. He was Commander in Chief Land Command from 2000 to 2002, and assumed the appointment of the Chief of the General Staff on 1 February 2003, leaving this position as head of the British Army in late August 2006.

General Sir Mike Jackson was awarded the MBE in 1979, the CBE in 1992, the CB in 1996, the KCB in 1998, the DSO in 1999 and the GCB in 2004. He is married with three children. His interests include music, reading, travel, skiing and tennis.