NEW York has learnt a lot about business continuity from Guernsey. Chris Oliver, chairman of the island’s Business Continuity Institute, was asked to speak at the British consulate in New York in front of business leaders from some of the world’s best known companies.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, business leaders in the city have searched for expert knowledge in crisis prevention and management and have become very interested in the expertise that Guernsey can offer.

‘The event was specifically arranged for New York business leaders so that they can have an idea about what we are doing in Europe,’ said Mr Oliver.

‘Specifically in the UK there are those who have developed the first international standard in business continuity management.’

Mr Oliver said that New York’s business community was eager to learn from the island’s experiences.

‘Although some institutions in Guernsey are physically small compared to businesses in other cities, the sums of money they deal with are huge.

‘Because of this, the potential impact for an institution in Guernsey is so much larger than it is for a business that perhaps has two or three addresses in New York. So they are keen to learn of our preparations.’

He said Guernsey had had a wealth of experience in preparing for, and dealing with, difficult situations.

‘The Channel Islands have dealt with various crises. One of the most publicised was when we played host to companies recovering from Hurricane Ivan in the Cayman Islands.

‘Guernsey deals with and speaks to various jurisdictions around the world on some very niche subjects. Often our expertise is second to none and I think that is something for the island to be proud of.’

He added that he had noticed a significant change in the views of business leaders towards continuity.

‘The way they look at risk is very different post 9/11. There appears to be a thirst for knowledge from around the world. You often get to see a change of one particular business after it has dealt with a crisis. The difference with New York is you can see a change in an entire community. It’s changed the attitude of a whole city.’