The strategic skills of business continuity managers: Putting business continuity management into corporate long-term planning

Wei Ning Zechariah Wong, Principal Consultant, Crisis and Business Continuity Management, Atkins

Abstract
Despite its rapid development in the last two decades, business continuity management (BCM) as a discipline and a profession is still regarded by many as an operational entity of management. Two main issues are discussed in this paper: the role of BCM in strategic management and the strategic skills of business continuity managers. These issues are crucial as they represent the role of BCM in high-level corporate management. The paper discusses the importance of BCM in the long-term planning of organisational success and the preservation of future competitiveness. Finally, salient points that underpin the importance of its role in sustaining organisational performance are addressed.

Keywords
strategic management, strategies, business continuity management, business continuity managers

Wei Ning Zechariah Wong is a Principal Consultant for crisis and business continuity management at Atkins. He is responsible for providing business continuity solutions to major clients across different sectors. He has a diverse range of experience including business impact analysis, business continuity strategies development, scenario planning and business continuity management system audit. In addition, his areas of interest are corporate strategic management, business continuity management in the financial industry and resilience in complex systems. He is a Member of the Business Continuity Institute and a committee member of the British Standard Institution which develops the British Standard BS 25999. Wong is a qualified BS 25999 Lead Auditor and holds a doctorate in business continuity management in the finance sector from Salford University.

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