–
Company Overview
Alastair Lee started The Continuity Advisor as a personal website in 2014 to help Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) by providing free business continuity templates.
While working at a few larger organizations such as Virgin Media and Guardian News & Media, Alastair realized he could improve the effectiveness and efficiency of delivering business continuity training to staff by creating an e-learning platform.
An e-learning platform reduced travel, saved accommodation costs, improved the consistency of information provided, meant staff with busy schedules could watch training materials at their convenience and allowed staff to refresh their knowledge at any time.
After winning an award for Transformation of the Year, Alastair created his first e-learning platform using Google to deliver business continuity training to staff in New York and Sydney. Alastair then created a similar platform while working at Virgin Media to deliver training to staff across different UK office locations.
In 2021 Alastair launched The Continuity Advisor Limited to offer business continuity e-learning content for all businesses. The Continuity Advisor decided to always keep the core templates free so that we could continue to help SMEs and remember the importance of how we began.
Qualifications and Recognition
Alastair Lee has an MSc in Disaster Management, with distinctions in Business Continuity Management and Urban Disasters. He achieved a merit in the certification exam with the Business Continuity Institute in 2011 and has an International Certificate in Risk Management (with merit) from the Institute of Risk Management. Alastair is a Member of the Business Continuity Institute and has successfully completed the ISO 22301 BCM Lead Auditor course with the British Standards Institute.
Alastair has won, been shortlisted and nominated for multiple awards over the years. He has been interviewed by Databarracks for thebcpcast season 2 which focuses on crisis management and has blogs published on the Business Continuity Institute website, including How to identify and monitor external threats and How to look after your mental health following crises.
Personal Story
Alastair Lee, MSc MBCI | Director
15 years ago my folks turned on the tv and watched a hurricane sweep through Washington State on the news. They were living in a small place north east of Seattle and were also affected by the storm. I had recently finished my degree and was wondering what to do with my life when my folks called and suggested I should do an MSc in disaster management as I’ve always enjoyed helping people and I unexpectedly found an interest in natural hazards after being in a couple of dust storms in Australia, a snow storm and the aftermath of a hurricane in the US (which knocked out our power for a couple of weeks with temperatures around -16C/3.2F).
Fast forward a few years and I completed my MSc, started a career in business continuity and had begun responding to crises. My family and friends would probably say I have an unhealthy obsession with business continuity as I absolutely love it (my brother even mentioned it in his best man speech at my wedding). I genuinely find both crisis management and business continuity fascinating. It’s this fascination that drove me to do the certification exam with the BCI (I’m now MBCI), get an International Certificate in Risk Management with IRM and complete the ISO 22301 BCM Lead Auditor Course with BSI.
I’ve now been doing business continuity for more than 14 years. Time goes so quickly it always surprises me. I’m proud to say I have won Transformation of the Year with CIR and have been highly commended for Operational Risk (Alarm) and Incident Management for the team response to Hurricane Sandy when it hit New York in 2012 (CIR). I was also interviewed by Databarracks for thebcpcast season 2 which focuses on crisis management (here’s the link if you want to listen).
I wish I could say I have some cool hobbies like sky diving, bungee jumping or swimming with sharks, but in my spare time in 2014 I started a personal website called The Continuity Advisor as I wanted to help SMEs start their business continuity management system by providing a number of free templates. I was surprised though when it hit 75,000 unique browsers and 40,000 downloads. I also played around with some cool animation software to create a video on YouTube called “What is Business Continuity?” to help anyone who is unfamiliar with the subject. That’s just passed 40,000 views (and I swear 90% aren’t me!).
It’s not all BC though, I’ve done a number of activities over the years to try and help people. I’ve supported those from disadvantaged backgrounds with applying for jobs and have supported people with cardiac problems who are soon to undergo heart surgery (something I personally went through and sympathize with – I’m all good now).
Now I continue to enjoy BC blogs from other professionals, value different opinions as these help me look at things from a different perspective, and keep up-to-date with tech developments. Plus I drink a lot of coffee and of course I make sure I deliver an amazing crisis and business continuity management system that adds measurable value to organizations – it is my passion after all!
If you want to talk risk, crisis management or business continuity then you can find me in London and reach me directly at alastair.lee@thecontinuityadvisor.com.