Senior Executives in Crisis Leadership

Security & Defence

Course overview

This intensive four-day programme brings together King's College London's world-leading expertise in security studies and strategic affairs with PwC's global experienced Crisis Leadership Centre advising organisations through their most challenging moments. Participants will learn from former senior government advisors, leading academics and industry practitioners who have navigated crises at the highest levels; gaining the frameworks, tools and practical experience to lead decisively when it matters most.

23 June 2026 - 26 June 2026

Places: Available

Delivery mode: In person

Melbourne House, 44-46 Aldwych London, WC2B 4LL

Application deadline: 01 May 2026

Places: Available

Apply now

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Course features

This programme is delivered over four consecutive days at King's College London's Melbourne House, combining expert-led seminars, interactive case studies, opportunity to visit a UK Government response centre and an extended wargaming exercise. Participants will also attend a workshop dinner featuring a keynote address from a prominent key note speaker.

Our expertise

King's College London brings together world-leading expertise in security studies, international relations, and crisis management. The programme is delivered in partnership with PwC’s Global Centre for Crisis and Resilience, a global network of 1,300+ crisis and resilience professionals across 80+ countries helping thousands of organisations globally as their trusted business advisor before, during and after crisis, combining academic rigour with practical industry experience.

Faculty include Sir David Omand (former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator), Professor Jon Bew (former UK Government Chief Foreign Policy Advisor), Professor Christopher Hobbs (former Director of the King's Institute for Applied Security Studies) and Dr David Banks.

Delivering alongside King’s faculty members are senior practitioners from PwC, including Dr Claudia van den Heuvel (PwC Director and founder of PwC’s Crisis Leadership Centre) and Alex Sagovsky (PwC Director, Crisis, Resilience and Geopolitical Risk), Pallavi Gulati (PwC Director, Crisis and Resilience) as well as a number of guest speakers, including Lord Gavin Barwell (Former Chief of Staff, UK PM) and Rick Cudworth (Resilience first).

Entry requirements

Whilst open to all, the programme is designed for senior executives in the private sector with responsibility for resilience and crisis management, including C-Suite and C-Suite -1/-2 positions. It is also relevant for senior officials in government and the public sector. Typical participants will include:

Chief Risk Officers
Directors of Resilience, Business Continuity and Crisis Management
Senior leaders with strategic responsibility during crisis situations
Government and public sector officials with equivalent responsibilities

Participants will be motivated by improving their understanding of crisis leadership for implementation within their own institutions, networking with peers facing similar challenges and forming links with other experts in this field.

Further information

Programme Content

The course comprises four full days of instruction, interactive sessions and practical exercises on the following topics:

Topics	Details
Geopolitical disruption and emerging technology	An examination of the contemporary geopolitical landscape and how macro-level disruption creates conditions for organisational crisis, alongside analysis of emerging technologies and their associated risks and opportunities.
Cyber security and supply chain resilience	Analysis of evolving cyber threats and their implications for organisations, combined with strategies for building robust and adaptive supply chains.
The lifecycle of a crisis	A framework for understanding how crises emerge, escalate and resolve, including horizon scanning and scenario planning techniques for detecting risks and issues as they emerge, providing leaders with conceptual tools for anticipating and navigating each phase.
Resilient crisis leadership	Understanding the psychology of crisis, and practical approaches to maintaining effective leadership under extreme pressure, including sensemaking, setting strategy, and decision-making amid uncertainty and incomplete information.
Collective resilience	Strategies for supporting teams through prolonged periods of stress and pressure, maintaining wellbeing and high performance during crisis response and recovery.
Strategic communications	Techniques for delivering effective internal and external communications during crisis situations, managing stakeholder expectations and protecting organisational reputation.
Emerging stronger from crisis	Strategies for organisational recovery and how to leverage crisis experiences for long-term institutional strengthening.
Practical application	Use of case studies with leading crisis practitioners, a field visit, fireside discussions with the UK's foremost crisis experts, and an extended wargaming exercise introducing participants to wargaming methodologies as tools for crisis preparation and strategic planning.