KCS Announces formation of its business Advisory Board

KCS Group Europe today announces the formation of a new Advisory Board, dedicated to supporting the work of the Group as it continues to both grow in key markets worldwide and excel in carrying out challenging and complex assignments.?Mr. Andrew Love?will chair?the?Board, and he will be joined by three of the UK’s leading business luminaries:?Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE, Rt Hon Brian Wilson CBE, and Ian Thomas OBE.

Together, this Board will be dedicated to exploring new opportunities in global business, making use of their considerable collective body of knowledge and experience. Ever since its formation, KCS Group Europe has ‘punched above its weight’ in terms of the Clients it works for, the depth and breadth of its investigative and intelligence-gathering capabilities, and the ultimate value it offers. Forming a Board with such a diverse yet complementary skillset, is the next logical step in ensuring that KCS Group Europe continues to go from strength to strength.

The primary objective of KCS is to create transparency for clients engaged with potentially contentious entities, in complex and difficult markets worldwide, while remaining at the cutting-edge of cyber-led and intelligence advances. The Advisory Board is the latest expression of this objective, providing a forum for not only expanding the Group’s footprint and being of value to yet more clients, but also gathering greater insight into how to do business effectively in diverse global markets – thus raising the value proposition to clients even further.

Commenting,?Stuart Poole-Robb, CEO of KCS Group Europe?said: “Strengthening our team is a fundamental part of business strategy, and it is vital to have experts in the field at the advisory level, just as we do in the specialist intelligence and cyber arenas, to dynamically propel the Group forward in better meeting the specific needs of partners, clients and customers. I am delighted that Tim, Ian and Brian have agreed to join the Advisory Board and raise the profile of the Group – and its key specialist skills and services – to a range of multinationals, corporations and Government bodies.”

All told, this is a key step in allowing KCS to go further, and better, in supporting clients in the current period of economic uncertainty – and further sets the Group apart from its competitors in the solidification of a small but highly specialised team that, at all levels, is laser-focused on providing intelligence-led assistance to those individuals and bodies most in need. With the Advisory Board directly supporting the management team and bringing their connections and experience to bear, it is envisaged that KCS Group Europe will excel even further in its field and solidify its position as a market leader in due diligence, intelligence and pro-active cyber support.

Lord Tim Clement-Jones?was Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (2017-18) and is Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence. He is Deputy Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on China and Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Digital Regulation, The Future of Work, Music, Performers Alliance, Publishing, Writers and Intellectual Property. He received a CBE for political services in 1988 and was made a Life Peer in 1998, serving now as the Liberal Democrat’s Digital spokesperson in the House of Lords and is a member of the Lords’ Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Planning.

Until 2018 Tim was a Partner of the global law firm DLA Piper and Head of UK Government Affairs. Former positions held include as London Managing Partner from 2011 to 2016, Chairman of its China and Middle East Desks, International Business Relations Partner and Co-Chairman of Global Government Relations. He is Chair of Ombudsman Services Limited, the not for profit, independent ombudsman service that provides dispute resolution for communications and energy utilities, a member of the Advisory Board of Airmic (the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce), and a Board Member of the Corporate Finance Faculty of the ICAEW.

Ian Thomas OBE?was appointed Senior Vice President of Fluor’s Corporate Strategy & Emerging Markets Group in July 2007 and Managing Director of Fluor Ltd., the company’s operations in the United Kingdom, in January 2008. He joined Fluor in mid-2007 from international project management and engineering group AMEC plc, where for more than 10 years he was business development director and a member of the senior management committee reporting directly to the chief executive officer.

In 2006, he was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by The Queen in Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours List for services to British business interests in Southeast Asia. He is also a member of numerous international business associations and organisations. Ian retired from Fluor at the end of 2015 and took up an advisory role with Fluor Corporation until the end of 2017. His current interest, Kingwood Consulting, is advising various organisations on energy and infrastructure projects. Ian also sits on the Supervisory Board of Meridiam, one of the world’s largest infrastructure funds, based in Paris.

Rt Hon Brian Wilson CBE?served as a Labour MP for 18 years and held five Ministerial posts under Tony Blair including UK Trade Minister and UK Energy Minister. Brian continued to take an interest in trade issues and was a member of the UK Board of Trade and wrote an influential report on Scottish exporting for the Scotland Office. An award-winning journalist, he continues to write extensively, particularly on political and energy issues. Since leaving politics in 2005, he has been a director of Celtic Football Club and has written the club’s official history, with occasional updates! He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde and an Honorary Fellow of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Living on the isle of Lewis, he is chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides.

In 2012, Brian was named UK Global Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors and was made a CBE in the 2020 New Year honours list for services to business and charity in Scotland.

These Advisory Board members thus straddle the worlds of politics, business, culture, media and the law with ease and are ideally placed to increase the reach and value of KCS Group Europe in all these areas. The Group considers their appointments vital for the future upward development of the business and looks forward to working closely with all three in the months ahead.

www.kcsgroup.com