David Roberts,
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Resilience Officer
Our People
Sheila Roberts,
Chief Operations Officer, Chief Progress Officer
Dr Serhiy Kovela,
Chief Value Officer, Chief Technology Officer
“Achievements are undoubtedly a combination of inner strength and the support of those around me”
– David Roberts, CEO
David Roberts
This is the story of my evolution as a professional; one of personal resilience and making progress against the odds.
My Resilience Story
I studied Business and Industrial Technology for my first degree, focusing on the Nuclear Power industry, just a few years after Britain was recovering from its first Oil crisis; next came the 3-mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in 1979, with a planned $1bn clean-up plan, and then UK government decided to end the reliance on Nuclear in UK. Whilst I was still working to complete my course in 1980, my occupational options looked brighter towards Business than Technology.
I entered the UK Auto industry that year working in Marketing, but confidence and energy were at a low ebb, and I decided to pivot into Pharmaceuticals and Health. After earning an MBA I returned to university-life teaching Business and Consulting, before securing a number of executive healthcare positions, ultimately rising to Director of Health Services for British Forces Germany.
I began to realise my working life was driven by fulfilling a series of quite unpredictable, short-term organisation objectives, cycles of opportunities from which it would be necessary to move on. So, with some successes, however no solid basis for personal growth or the contentment of a family life, I realised the need to work through cycles of short-term gains. I decided to professionalise my capabilities to get things done in organisations and secure my own future.
It was a tough call to return from overseas, set up a new home, in a new town, and then create a start-up business in a new industry from ground zero; a growth mindset would have been great- but if you feel you are a little lacking in self conviction – and many of us are- then it helps to have a brilliant partner! Life’s doubters fell away as we built our business; twenty years later we are still learning, still sharing and still innovating new business practices in response to today’s volatile crises.
Current Achievements
Education:
1987 MBA – Finance and Marketing electives – Sheffield University
1980 BSc (Hons) Business & Science-Industrial Studies – Sheffield University
Current Roles:
ON-GOING CUPE International: Founder/CEO: Leading PPM Consultancy & Professional Services
2017/19 – Date ABC Non-Executive Director, Agile Implementation Partner and Active Member
2015 – Date Institute of Consulting –Fellow IC (2015); CMC Member (P4124581 since 2004)
2012 – Date APMG Registered Consultant & UK Organisation Standards Committee Member
Continuing Professional Development / PPM qualifications:
2022 APMG IPA International Infrastructure Business Case – Practitioner certification.
2020 CWB Resilience Practitioner
2020 CMI Chartered Management Consultant (Ch. MC) standard.
2019 APM Chartered Project Professional (Ch. PP) standard.
2019 APMG Facilitation Foundation certification
2019 APMG Agile Digital Services – Practitioner Level & Approved Trainer; Scrum Master
2018 ABC Agile Digital services: Private Beta Training Initiative.
2018 APMG Business IT Foundation certification
2018 APM APM-PMQ certification
2017 Axelos P3M3 Consultant Assessor & Registered PRINCE2 -2017 Practitioner (P2 since 2001)
2016 APMG Earned Value Management Approved Trainer – Re-Accredited to 2022
2015 APMG PRINCE2Agile, Agile Project & Programme Management Approved Trainer.
2014 APMG P3O – Practitioner and Approved Trainer
2014 APMG Better Business Cases Practitioner and Approved Trainer – Re-Accredited to 2024
2013 APMG MSP® Advanced Practitioner & Approved Trainer: (MSP since 2006 & Reaccredited.)
2013 APMG PRINCE2® Registered Professional: APMG Expert; Approved Trainer Reaccredited
2011 APMG MoP™ Foundation & Practitioner: Approved Trainer
2010 APMG Agile PM™ & MoV™: Registered Practitioner, Trainer & ATO APMG representative
Current Professional Roles & Executive Summary:
Director: CEO CUPE INTERNATIONAL: Co-Founder & CEO since 2001. Developed/trained PPM certification methods (see below); 20 years ongoing accreditation in consulting, professional practice, methods & CPD.
Non-executive Director: AGILE BUSINESS CONSORTIUM, Appointed September 2019:
Chartered Management Consultant & Chartered Project Professional: a Fellow since 2015 provided PPM audit & advisory services in Defence, Energy, Finance, Government, Logistics, Medical sectors, worldwide.
Certified Trainer since 2001. Multiple PPM methods; ongoing re-accreditation, professional practice & CPD.
APMG Examination Pass rate at Recertification Assessment January 2019: Foundation 97%; Practitioner 100%
Executive: Prior to 2001, Dir. British Forces Germany Medical Services; Dir. Strategy Welsh Office/NHS Trusts
Hopes for a more Resilient Future
Resilience and sustainability are now recognised as core to all our futures; but how are we going to achieve them with so many headwinds to progress? Application of Technology is a great enabler, and so is organisational ingenuity. Finding brilliant ways to collaborate in our everyday lives is becoming ever more important for businesses and organisations of all sizes in our ever more complex and connected world. Professional resilience will be key, and it is my purpose to explore how this can be done effectively in collaboration, and to share it to build a brighter future.
Sheila Roberts
This is the story of my evolution as a professional; one of personal resilience and making progress against the odds.
My Resilience Story
My development in the field of resilience started as a Sister (Chief Nurse) in Intensive Care. I realised that we needed more to support the families, staff, and organisation to deliver the level of care which we really wanted to provide. I did two things. The first was to undertake a counselling course – which has stood me in good stead, and I have used the skills gained in many settings. The other was to learn more about general management of healthcare to ensure we could invest in equipment and training to keep up with innovations and introduce better treatments. This, in turn, led to moving into general management, project management and then co-founding a business which has delivered consulting and training internationally for global organisations.
We have survived the dot com crash, financial crisis, changes to the accreditation process, supply chain disruption, unethical practices by those purporting to be partners and more recently the global pandemic. Through the more than two decades of being in business and working with organisations from international blue chip companies, to governments, to charities, to micro companies I have gathered an understanding of what works and how to make progress through both favourable and unfavourable conditions. There are times when survival is progress, times when innovation is critical and other times when it’s good to reap the rewards of your efforts.
The network of contacts I have made through our business led to working with others who have both academic and business backgrounds to produce the Business Resilience Framework. I have enjoyed the journey to identify those elements which contribute to greater Business Resilience and considering the things which have enabled a practical framework to build resilience to be developed.
Current Achievements
Professional Bodies
2019 – Present APM Chair of Examiners APM PMQ, PPQ and Risk Level 2
2018 – Present APM ChPP Assessor
2016 – 2017 AXELOS – PRINCE2 2017 Reference Group, Quality & Exam Reviewer
2014 – Present ASPECT – Treasurer and APMG Liaison, currently Chair
2014 – Present APM Full Member
2012 – 2014 APMG Exam Board – Accredited Training Organisations Representative
2001 – 2012 APMG Examination Panel – Member then from 2004 Examination Reviewer
Continuing Professional Development / PPM qualifications
2019 FitSM Trainer, Scrum Master Trainer
2018 ChPP Assessor, MSP Foundation, FitSM Foundation (Trainer application in process)
2017 PRINCE2 2017 version Approved Trainer
2016 Agile Programme Management Foundation APMG
2015 Change Management Practitioner (2015 version), Agile Business Analysis, Planning, Monitoring and Control, PRINCE2 Agile 2015 APMG
2014 Better Business Cases Practitioner APMG
2013 Change Management Practitioner, Facilitation approved trainer APMG
2012 Agile Project Management Practitioner APMG
2011 P3O Approved Trainer, Management of Portfolios Practitioner APMG
2010 Earned Value Management Approved Trainer, Management of Value Practitioner
2002 PMI Qualified (lapsed)
2000 PRINCE2® Approved trainer APMG
1999 Risk Management, University Hospital of Wales
1998 PRINCE2® Practitioner
1994 Senior Management Development Programme, University Hospital of Wales
1994 Diploma in Healthcare Management, Institute of Health Services Management
1994 Diploma in Management Studies, University of Glamorgan
1992 Further Education Teaching Certificate, Swansea College of Further Education
1992 -4 General Management Training Scheme II – NHS Wales
1991 Marketing for Health Services, Cranfield University
1981-92 Registered General Nurse, Certified in Counselling, Advanced Life Support, Cliff Rescue, Haemodialysis, Intravenous Therapy, Statistics for Research
Hopes for a more Resilient Future
All businesses need to be resilient to survive challenging VUCA conditions. At the same time they also need to make progress, not simply protect what is already in place. The Business Resilience Framework enables all organisations to implement foundations to ensure they have the right processes, practices, products and services in place to deal with the challenges which will inevitably arise. My objective is to support organisations and individuals to implement any or all the elements in the Business Resilience Framework to strengthen their level of resilience at the right pace for the situation. We can measure the baseline position and the level of resilience at points along the journey to ensure the value initiatives which are implemented are effective to both make progress and improve resilience. My vision is to translate implementation of the framework to become the way things are done by the organisation.
Dr Serhiy Kovela
This is the story of my evolution as a professional; one of personal resilience and making progress against the odds.
My Resilience Story
I studied Electrical Engineering for my first university degree, which coincided in time with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent break-up of supply chains across the newly independent former Soviet republics. As the initial course was no longer viable in my final year of study, I rapidly re-qualified as a Computer Engineer and Software Developer. It allowed me to do my capstone project for my Masters but also opened up the route to a Ph.D. in Computer Science. After getting my Ph.D. I concentrated on applied research in software engineering, running an independent research group.
As financial opportunities in the academic field were scarce in the newly independent Ukraine, I pivoted to capitalizing on the intellectual capital of my team by delivering commercial software projects for international clients. This experience made me understand that I lacked some basic business knowledge, so I pivoted again and took up a post at Kingston Business School as a lecturer in Business Information Systems while looking to do an MBA there.
I completed my MBA a few years later, subsequently expanded my teaching portfolio to Project Management, and became a specialist in Agile Project Management and Business Agility too. My further academic and practitioner work led to a fruitful collaboration with David and Sheila Roberts from CUPE International Ltd. and culminated in the invention of the Business Resilience Framework and the formation of Resilience Professionals Ltd. Resilience Professionals is a company specializing in Business Resilience training and consultancy, and as its Chief Value Officer, I am really excited about the next leg of the journey!
Current Achievements
Education:
2008 – 2010 MBA, Commendation – Kingston University London
2003 – 2004 PG Certificate T&L in Higher Education – Kingston University London
1996 – 2000 PhD Computer Science – Lviv Polytechnic National University
1991 – 1996 MSc Electrical Engineering, top 5% – Lviv Polytechnic National University
Professional Association Engagement:
2021 – present Volunteer – Project Management Institute, UK Chapter
2018 – 2019 Ambassador for Ukraine – Agile Business Consortium
2013 – 2019 Secretary, Entrepreneurship Panel – Worshipful Company of Information Technologists
2010 – 2011 Committee member, Central and South East branch – Association of MBAs
2009 – 2012 Executive Committee member, Young Professionals Group – British Computer Society
Professional Association Membership:
2021 – Present Member – Project Management Institute, UK Chapter
2021 – Present Member – Association for Project Management
2021 – Present Member – Chartered Association of Business Schools
2018 – Present Member – Agile Business Consortium
2016 – Present Member – Chartered Management Institute
2015 – Present Fellow – Higher Education Academy
2009 – Present Liveryman – Worshipful Company of Information Technologists
2010 – 2011 Member – Association of MBAs
2003 – 2011 Chartered Member – British Computer Society
Professional Awards and Qualifications:
2022 Accredited Business Resilience Trainer – APMG
2021 Certified Management & Business Educator – Chartered Association of Business Schools
2019 Accredited AgilePM Trainer – APMG
2019 AgilePM Practitioner – APMG
2019 Scrum Master – APMG
2019 Facilitation Practitioner – APMG
2017 AgilePM Foundation – Agile Business Consortium
2013 MSP Practitioner – APMG
2013 PRINCE2 Practitioner – APMG
2006 Chartered IT Professional – British Computer Society
Hopes for a more Resilient Future
In today’s world rife with crises, we are left with no alternative but to make Business Resilience a new paradigm for business management across the board. I see three key aspects to it – pervasiveness and connectedness of resilience-focused initiatives across the five levels of organization (from individuals to partners network), efficient operationalization of planning and execution of such initiatives, and the central role of leadership in establishing and facilitating the resilience-focused culture in the organization. My mission is to advocate for this critically important paradigm and work collaboratively with a broad range of partners to develop it further.
A word from our CEO – David Roberts
“I have had the good fortune to work in many business disciplines, companies, industries, countries; and met so many people. And I’ve collected quite a few certifications and experiences along the way. But as I reflect on what has been done, it is the willingness to learn from success and failures of yourself and others; to recognise when the force field of relationships around you is creating or draining your energy, and to adapt, which is needed to make progress.
Achievements, although given individually, are so often a reflection of what can be achieved with support of the people around us, in academic life, home life and organisational life. Achievements are undoubtedly a combination of inner strength and the support of those around me; this is my moment to say thank you to all those teachers, friends, colleagues and partners without whom my career path would have been less engaging, less interesting and certainly less exciting; it has been a very diverse journey of achievement, but one characterised by partnering as well as perseverance.”