DENNIS FLYNN, OBE

3VERS EXEC

Dennis’ first career was as an officer in the British Army with a focus on international crisis
management and anti-operations. His military appointments included Deputy Director of the UK’s Defence
Crisis Management Centre, commander of a unit on anti-terrorist operations, and Director of the Army
Centre for Anti-Terrorism Training. He was awarded the OBE for distinguished operational leadership.
Dennis was selected from amongst the best in his year group to be the first British officer to attend the Italian
Army’s prestigious senior officer course at the Scuola di Guerra near Rome. During this time at the Scuola di
Guerra he qualified as an Italian/English interpreter and subsequently served as the UK’s Liaison Officer to
the Italian Army.

Following his military career Dennis founded a consulting firm providing crisis management and resilience
services to top-tier companies and government agencies around the world.
In the private sector he directed consulting teams for global clients including; Avon Cosmetics, Citizens
Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Diageo, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Rothschild, Schroders, Societe
Generale, Standard Investments, Virgin Money and Zurich Financial Services.
Project leadership experience in the public sector included; cyber-readiness training support to Government
Agencies prior to the London Olympics, financial services sector market-wide exercises in the UK and
Singapore, testing crisis plans for the Irish Aviation Authority, developing contingency plans for (and training
leadership teams at) the UK and Scottish Houses of Parliament, supporting risk-culture change at the BBC,
and running Ministerial-level crisis simulation exercises for the UK Government.

In 2015 Dennis exited the consulting firm to begin a full-time academic and research programme to better
understand why, in challenging conditions, some people and teams appear more resilient, and more able to
sustain higher performance levels than others, and he now holds an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology.
Positive psychology is the science of the conditions, behaviours and processes that contribute to the
flourishing and resilience of people, groups, and institutions.

Dennis advises companies on personal resilience and crisis team performance, and on crisis and resilience
planning. His resilience advisory and coaching clients include; a multi-national retail group, the leadership of
start-up firms, a UK Government Department, an international financial services firm, and the leadership
group a national political institution.
Dennis is a Visiting Lecturer in Crisis Management and Applied Positive Psychology for MSc and MBA
students at Imperial College in London and an award-winning conference speaker. He also provides pro
bono personal resilience support for British military veterans living with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder.

Outside work his interests include trekking in remote hill areas. In 2017 he successfully completed a 13-day,
300km coast-to-coast self-supported challenge trek across the Scottish Highlands.. Dennis is also a keen
downhill skier, an activity in which he has more enthusiasm than skill.