He defused bombs in the Balkans, verified Syria's chemical weapons, and now advises boardrooms on the risks that could take them down.

In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Jerry Smith, OBE - a malicious risk and resilience specialist with over 35 years across the British Army, UK civil service, the UN, and the private sector, working in more than 40 countries on four continents.

Jerry traces his path from a reserve SAS selection at 19, through bomb disposal tours in the former Yugoslavia, to serving as senior UN advisor and negotiator leading the verification and removal of Syria's declared chemical weapons and earning an OBE for services to international arms control. He is now Senior Partner at Blackthorn, a London-based malicious risk management firm where he advises private organisations on security, insurance, and supply-chain resilience.

In this conversation we get into:

●      Why Jerry insists his OBE stands for "Other ‘persons' effort" - and the team behind the Syria chemical weapons mission

●      What reserve SAS selection at 19 taught him about resilience and "digging deep"

●      The hidden cost of siloed risk management - and the ATM supply chain story that proves it

●      Why leaders need SMART objectives as a tool for accountability, not just goal-setting

●      The three traits - creativity, flexibility, resilience - Jerry uses to navigate a more volatile, multipolar world

From the conversation

"OBE is other persons' effort - most people would say it's a team effort, and it just happens to be the person that's at the front that gets the thing." - Jerry

"I've had a lot of rejection, which is actually okay. Part of that whole resilience thing is that rejection, as long as it doesn't kill you, you just have to try and take learning from it." - Jerry

"If you've got good security, you've got good resilience. And if you've got good resilience, you've got good shareholder value." - Jerry

"Everyone's got a backstory, and you just need to understand what that is before you judge. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes." - Jerry

----------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt. I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you - or someone you know - I'd love to talk.

Website: https://theresilientedge.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

New episodes every two weeks. Follow. like and subscribe so you don't miss one.

Sharpen your resilient edge. 

----------------

Connect with Jerry Smith

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerrysmithobe

She was a Red Cross caseworker in Manhattan after 9/11 while her own apartment burned down. Two decades later she's scaling a UK solar company on grit, Kaizen, and "eating glass."

In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Amanda Spicer - co-founder and director of YourECO, a UK commercial solar business. Amanda's career began in disaster relief with the American Red Cross after 9/11, before moving through pharmaceuticals and biotech (GSK and beyond) and eventually into clean energy, where she's spent the last five years building Your ECO's culture and systems using a Kaizen-style continuous improvement model.

In this conversation we get into:

●      What it was like to be a 23-year-old Red Cross caseworker in Manhattan after 9/11 - while her own apartment had just burned down

●      The shift from "just don't stop" to "keep going, but rest when you need to"

●      Why vulnerability is a leadership superpower, and how psychological safety shows up (or doesn't) in high-growth teams

●      The five-year reality of systemising a scaling SME - and why "point to your bench" matters more than the trophy

From the conversation:

"Good things happen to people that put themselves forward." - Amanda

"My definition of resilience is the ability to fail fast and reset... I'm not judging you for your mistakes ever. I'm judging you for your reset." - Amanda

"I used to say just don't stop... I kind of changed that to keep going but rest when you need to." - Amanda

"Clear is kind... just clarity of what you're saying to your mentor. Because words have power." - Amanda

—----------------------------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

That's exactly what I created The Resilient Edge for.

I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you, I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt. New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one.

If this episode was useful, a review wherever you get your podcasts makes a real difference - it helps more people find the show.

Sharpen your resilient edge.

----------------------------------

Connect with Amanda Spicer:

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajspicer/ 

Website: https://www.yourecouk.com/ 

Website: https://www.reduceourcarbon.org/

From a Silicon Valley hack house to mine action in Gaza, Dave Luke breaks down risk, resilience, and why "hat, haircut, tattoo" might be the best decision-making framework you've never heard of.

Picking up from Part 1, Charlie Peschardt continues his conversation with Dave Luke - Army officer turned entrepreneur, and founder of Artios Global, a humanitarian and mine action consultancy working everywhere from Gaza to Côte d'Ivoire.

Dave and Charlie dig into what commercial acumen really means, why capital of every kind (financial, technical, and emotional) has to be balanced, and what's next for a broken international aid system. Part one is out now - go back and listen if you haven't already.

In this conversation we get into:

• The difference between financial literacy and true commercial acumen
• Capacity resilience vs. systemic resilience - and why emotional capital is the most underestimated resource in any business, and what that means for leaders managing energy, not just strategy
• The "hat, haircut, tattoo" framework for matching the speed of a decision to the size of its consequences
• What's actually broken in the international aid and development system - and how the sector might find a resilient path forward
• Storytelling, buoyancy, and critical thinking - the skills Dave believes will matter most in an AI-accelerated world

From the conversation:

"Businesses don't fail, people give up." - Dave

"Strategy is about choosing what not to do, and resilience is about applying the correct capital at the right time." - Dave

"Sometimes you actually have to do something to generate the opportunity to get feedback." - Dave

"You've got hat decisions and haircut decisions.Then there's tattoo decisions. Tattoo decisions are for life." - Dave

"Hug everyone. And don't try to grow up too quick." - Dave

----------------------------------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

That's exactly what I created The Resilient Edge for.

I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you, I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt. New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one.

If this episode was useful, a review wherever you get your podcasts makes a real difference - it helps more people find the show.

Sharpen your resilient edge. 

----------------

Connect with Dave Luke:

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daluke/ 

Website: https://www.artiosglobal.com/

He led paratroopers into Afghanistan, ran an Ebola response as a civilian for the first time in his life, and once took a career-defining job interview sat in a towel, googling "Liberia" mid-call. What Dave Luke learned about ego, vulnerability, and building a life - and a business - around service instead of rank.

In this episode, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Dave Luke - Royal Engineer officer turned humanitarian country director and co-founder of Artios Global, a mine-action and capacity-building consultancy. Dave's path took him from paratrooper training and two operational tours, through a self-imposed "lose yourself to find yourself" stretch as an expedition leader and yoga instructor, into running an Ebola response in Liberia with no army rank to hide behind - and eventually into building his own business from scratch.

In this conversation we get into:

• What a green laser pointer taught Dave more about the illusion of confidence
• Why he now sees leaving the military - and joining it - as two of the best decisions of his life, right up there with getting married
• How leading a yoga class and a mountaineering expedition of total strangers rebuilt his approach to leadership
• The "buoyancy" principle borrowed from Daniel Pink - and how it shapes the culture at Artios Global
• Why being a "good bloke" might be the most underrated leadership strategy there is

From the conversation:

"Be very careful using a laser pointer, because people think you know what you're talking about." - Dave

"It turns out you have to be a human and talk to someone like another human, and understand their incentive to actually want to work with you, not for you." - Dave

"Buoyancy is you always get kicked back. But the point is always coming to the surface, to look for more opportunities." - Dave

----------------------------------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

That's exactly what I created The Resilient Edge for.

I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you, I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt. New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one.

If this episode was useful, a review wherever you get your podcasts makes a real difference - it helps more people find the show.

Sharpen your resilient edge.

----------------

Connect with Dave Luke:

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daluke/ 

Website: https://www.artiosglobal.com/ 

She responded to the Boxing Day tsunami, built cash systems in the BVI after back-to-back hurricanes, and represented 3,500 UN staff through one of the most turbulent years in UNICEF's history. What Zehra Rizvi learned about resilience, accountability, and why "leading with love and kindness" can be a winning strategy.

In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Zehra Rizvi - humanitarian veteran, cash programming pioneer, and self-described "dogmatic" believer in personal growth. Zehra has worked with the Red Cross, the UN, governments, and independent consultancies across conflict zones, natural disasters, and institutional crises.

In this conversation we get into:

• How Zehra became the accidental aid worker — and what a filmmaking and anthropology degree has to do with disaster response
• The real difference between being a consultant and a staff member, and why moving between the two is harder than most people expect
• How cash systems built after Hurricane Irma quietly became the backbone of the BVI's COVID response years later
• Why resilience depends as much on the right person in the right chair as it does on systems and structures
• What chairing the UNICEF New York Staff Association during mass layoffs taught her about trust, transparency, and psychological safety

From the conversation:

"Don't let somebody else's insecurity make you shine any less than you do." - Zehra

"Before you anything, centre yourself in love and kindness, and then see where that goes." - Zehra

"I want to fail fast forward. That is going to be my mantra - let's see what happens." - Zehra

"I've never felt that helpless in my whole entire life. I had a front-row seat to what was happening, and I don't know how you keep doing what you're doing without completely losing your mind." - Zehra, on working in Jerusalem

----------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

That's exactly what I created The Resilient Edge for. I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you - or someone you know - I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

Or connect with Charlie directly

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt. New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one. If this episode was useful, a review on makes a real difference and helps more people find the show. Sharpen your resilient edge.

Connect with Zehra Rizvi https://www.linkedin.com/in/zehra-rizvi-2623b527/

Zehra’s Humanitarian Cash Programme https://cash-hub.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/BVI-JCP-RCRCM-Case-study_BRC18-289_A4_WIP7_AW_Final.pdf

He promised his dying father he'd keep the family care home alive - then built a tech startup to help the entire sector.

In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Dave Lim - Founder & CEO of Care Champion, a SaaS product company dedicated to improving care delivery in Care Homes.

Dave shares his journey as a former corporate product and marketing leader who left a comfortable career to keep a promise to his father and ended up building care-planning software from the ground up.

Dave's journey took him from running his father's care home through the post-COVID crisis in the sector, to launching a tech startup with no roadmap, all while raising two young daughters.

In this conversation we get into:

• The brutal, traction-starved early days of building Care Champion - and the advice that kept him going
• Moving from "managing tasks" to "delegating outcomes" with his team
• Why organisations confuse compliance with culture, and what real resilience looks like
• The value of stewardship as a key element of leadership
• Why how you do things matters as much as what you achieve

From the conversation:

"If you know you're doing all the right things and you're putting in all the work, just keep going - because eventually, luck will swing your way." - Dave

"Resilience is simply the ability to keep going no matter what... but without the willingness to learn, resilience can easily look like stubbornness." - Dave

"You give them the destination and let them figure out the best route.." - Dave

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face - and a genuinely resilient organisation trains and empowers employees from the ground up so they can adapt when that punch lands." - Dave

"How you do things in life matters just as much, and if not more, than what you achieve." - Dave

----------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt. I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you - or someone you know - I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

Website: https://theresilientedge.com/ 

New episodes every two weeks. Follow. like and subscribe so you don't miss one.

Sharpen your resilient edge. 

----------------

Connect with David Lim

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidlim20/ 

Website: https://www.carechampion.co.uk/ 

From working in the mainstream media to attending a talk about social enterprises overseas to launching one.

In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Andrea Gamson - social entrepreneur, author of Social Starters: Make Changing the World Your Business, and founder of Netshift and Regenerous.

We cover how Andrea started a global social enterprise, why a master's degree in regenerative economics radically changed her worldview, and how she helps businesses and leaders work with purpose.

In this conversation we get into:

• How a freelancing experiment became a global social enterprise
• Burnout as a signal of misalignment and how her "six Ps of purpose" framework helps
• The mutual respect between corporate executives and grassroots social entrepreneurs
• What regenerative economics means, and how it reshaped Andrea's leadership & business
• Why resilience is about what you do after you fall down
• The case for "seventh generational thinking" - and why every leadership team should try it

From the conversation:

"If you haven't done.. the deep work of alignment...it's tricky when it gets tough. And then you've got to decide: do I really commit to this?" - Andrea

"The beautiful thing about growth - there is a messy part, where a culture of growth needs to have failure in it." - Andrea

"Be curious. Follow your instincts. If the word 'too' is in front of it - too bold, too wild, too crazy - that's probably exactly what you need to go and explore." - Andrea

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

Or connect with Charlie directly

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt.

New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one.

If this episode was useful, a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference - it helps more people find the show.

Sharpen your resilient edge. 

----------------

Scott Galloway Talk “How The US Is Destroying Young Peoples Future”

https://www.ted.com/talks/scott_galloway_how_the_us_is_destroying_young_people_s_future 

----------------

Connect with Andrea Gamson

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreagamson/ 

Website (and buy the book!): https://andreagamson.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreagamson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@regenerousmentoring 

Sign up for the Inner Quest: https://course.andreagamson.com/

"Be More Buffalo" might be the best business strategy you've never heard of.

In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Nick Spicer - Army officer turned entrepreneur, CEO of Your Eco Solar, and founder of Veterans in Solar. Nick's journey took him from the quiet villages of Buckinghamshire to the front lines of Iraq, before committing to a brutal commercial apprenticeship, and eventually into building a renewable energy business from scratch - with a young family and no safety net. Oh, and he once accidentally triggered an emergency rescue beacon in the Sahara Desert. Mid-marathon.

In this conversation we get into:

• What the military never taught Nick about commercial reality - and the entrepreneur who did
• Why vulnerability is a superpower, and what happens when leaders refuse to practise it
• The "Be More Buffalo" philosophy - and how it shapes the culture at Your Eco
• What a thousand-mile canoe race through the Yukon taught him about resilience, anxiety, and never quitting
• Why the best leaders know when their leadership style is no longer what the organisation needs

From the conversation:

"Leadership is providing a vision, a beacon. And understanding when your leadership style is not effective.” - Nick

"I hate losing. But it's not losing - I just don't like to not complete what I started." - Nick

"Vulnerability as a superpower…really resonates. You don't know what you don't know. But when you do know, you can do something about it." - Nick

“Resilience is knowing that you're going to find a way through.” - Nick 

----------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

That's exactly what I created The Resilient Edge for.

I'm Charlie Peschardt. I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you - or someone you know - I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

Or connect with Charlie directly

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt.

New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one.

If this episode was useful, a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference - it helps more people find the show.

Sharpen your resilient edge. 

----------------

Connect with Nick Spicer:

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickspiceryoureco/ 

Website: https://www.yourecouk.com/ 

Website: https://www.reduceourcarbon.org/

He thought a category 5 hurricane, a pandemic, and a government corruption inquiry would break the force - instead they built it. In this episode of The Resilient Edge, Charlie Peschardt speaks with Mick Matthews - former Commissioner of Police in the British Virgin Islands, deputy chair of the BVI Ports Authority, and now consultant with Unite BVI.

Mick served 39 years in policing across Kent, Gloucestershire, Cyprus, and ultimately the BVI, where he led the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force through some of the most demanding consecutive crises any senior officer could face: Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a high-profile government corruption investigation. Since leaving the role in 2021, rather than retiring, he's stayed on-island and continued contributing to the territory.

In this conversation we get into:

• How stepping into a completely different culture humbled a seasoned senior officer - and what he did about it
• Why flattening the leadership gradient matters, and how Mick engaged his team
• The importance of TRUST in high performing teams
• The moment during Hurricane Irma when Mick thought the roof - and his life - was coming down
• The importance of being ready and present BEFORE stepping into to lead the crisis response
• What 39 years in policing taught him about values, trust, and why a badge doesn't mean you have all the answers
• Being headhunted by Sir Richard Branson
  And
• The one piece of advice he'd give to a two-year-old navigating the world we're building

From the conversation:

"Resilience is knowing you're going to get knocked down — but having the ability to dust yourself down and be motivated enough to get back up and keep going." - Mick

"You don't manage or lead organisations from a desk. You can't work out what frontline staff need unless you go to the coal face yourself and have a look." - Mick

"I've never believed that the badge means you know everything. I was still learning as Police Commissioner." - Mick

"You've got to be a little bit humble. Don't come charging in saying - it's all right, everybody, I'm here to save you all." - Mick

----------------

If this conversation resonated, it's probably because you're navigating something similar - pressure, complexity, a decision that matters, or a transition you haven't quite figured out yet.

That's exactly what I created The Resilient Edge for.

I'm Charlie Peschardt. I work with individuals, leaders, founders, and organisations who need clarity in complexity, order from uncertainty, and direction under pressure. If that's you - or someone you know - I'd love to talk.

Find out more at  https://theresilientedge.com/ 

Or connect with Charlie directly

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliepeschardt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientedgecoaching/ 

The Resilient Edge is hosted by Charlie Peschardt.

New episodes every two weeks. Follow or subscribe so you don't miss one.

If this episode was useful, a review on your Podcast platform makes a real difference - it helps more people find the show.

Sharpen your resilient edge.