My Red Couch Talk with Robert Durnford
Robert Durnford joined Thomson Reuters in September 2018 and spent his first 3½ years working in Physical Security before moving into Resilience in July 2022. He was promoted to Vice President in April 2024, and in his current role, he is responsible for Physical Security, Environmental Health & Safety, Crisis Management, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery, with the function’s purpose being to reduce the impact of disruptive events to Thomson Reuters.
Robert started his career in the British Army, commissioning into the Royal Engineers and specializing in counter-improvised explosive device operations, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He left the Army in 2012 and worked in a range of roles across Corporate Security, Crisis Management, Risk Management, and Resilience before joining Thomson Reuters.
Robert holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and an MBA from the Open University. He is based in Zug, Switzerland.
🛋️ My Red Couch Talk with Robert Durnford
Robert Durnford is the VP of Resilience at Thomson Reuters. From his childhood in the French Alps to commanding Royal Engineers in Iraq and Afghanistan, Robert’s life has been defined by navigating “disruptive events.” Today, based in Zug, he helps global organizations stay steady when the world gets shaky.
In our talk, we explore why “Resilience” isn’t about being a superhero—it’s about consistency, empathy, and the moral courage to lead with authenticity.
✨ The Bilingual Edge: How growing up in France shaped Robert’s global mindset and how he’s passing that gift to his son in Switzerland.
✨ Crisis as a Shared Responsibility: Why Global Mobility and HR are now at the front lines of crisis management post-COVID.
✨ The Captain America Leadership Style: Why empathy and motivation are more powerful than “brawn” or a title.
✨ Consistency > Volume: Robert’s “Secret Sauce” for resilience—small daily habits in sleep, hydration, and reflection that outperform massive, one-off efforts.
✨ The “Cycling” Solution: How physical movement and “unplugging” allow the brain to solve complex leadership problems.
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