UKCR
About John
John Samuelson
Director
John is an experienced professional with a focus on crisis management, most recently with the FCDO/DIT where he was responsible for building defence and security trade between the UK and Switzerland.
John previously worked with Team Rubicon UK in international disaster response, deploying on Black Summer bushfire relief missions in Australia (Op Tiger/Op Richter).
He also served with FCDO CMD on the UK surge response to the Afghan crisis following Op Pitting, contributed to policy on the war in Ukraine, and is a member of a UN OCHA working group developing guidance on PMXCs.
John is a Cornish Ambassador with the Cornwall Development Company promoting local business and development.
Prior to this he worked in the City with a number of firms, serving on the boards of a number of early-stage companies, and acted as a strategic advisor for project and business development across multiple sectors, with a deep understanding of developing countries and emerging markets.
“I am a strong believer that national resilience starts with individuals being empowered and upskilled to help their own communities. The modern-day civil resilience models I have seen operating firsthand in France, Switzerland and Australia are successful and can be adopted here in the UK.
Our Dunkirk spirit is still very much there, as we have seen during the pandemic, we just need to empower and guide individuals in the UK to provide greater community resilience.”