Olton Solutions Advisors
Admiral Lord Michael Boyce GCB OBE DL, Special Advisor
Lord Boyce joined the Royal Navy in 1961, qualified as a submariner, and subsequently commanded two conventional submarines, a nuclear attack submarine and the Submarine Training Squadron. Away from the underwater world, amongst other duties, he commanded the frigate HMS BRILLIANT, and was Director of the Naval Staff and Senior Naval Officer Middle East. After joining the Flag List in 1991, appointments included Second Sea Lord and Commander in Chief Fleet. He became First Sea Lord in 1998, Chief of Defence Staff at the beginning of 2001 and retired in May 2003.
He is currently a non-executive director on VT Group and Atkins plc boards, as well as being involved with a number of charities, including being Chairman of the RNLI, Chairman of the White Ensign Association, President St John Ambulance (London District) and a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum.
Lord Boyce was elevated to the peerage in June 2003; and was appointed Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle in July 2004.
Tim Ryan, Special Advisor
Tim Ryan is the Chairman of SCi plc an appointment that he has held since June 2006. He was appointed a non-executive director of the company in October 2001.
His former positions include head of corporate and investor relations at SkyePharma Plc, one of the world’s leading drug delivery companies, and director of corporate communications at NTL. He is now the Chairman of Bell Pottinger International.
James L. Pavitt, Special Advisor
A Principal of The Scowcroft Group, James draws on more than 30 years of experience in the Intelligence Community to provide strategic advice and risk assessments to clients in the financial services, defence, information technology, homeland security and counterterrorism fields, among others.
As the Deputy Director for Operations at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), he managed more than one-third of the CIA’s globally deployed personnel and nearly half of the CIA’s multi-billion-dollar budget. His responsibilities involved unparalleled cooperation with leaders of the intelligence and security communities in capitals throughout the world. As head of America’s Clandestine Service, he led the CIA’s operational response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. As Chief of the CIA’s Counter proliferation Division, he managed and directed intelligence operations against sophisticated global weapons proliferation networks. Working closely with the Department of Energy and its National Laboratories, he worked to identify new technologies required to identify and halt the proliferation of these weapons. He spent many years abroad as a member of the Clandestine Service.
James served as Senior Intelligence Advisor to President George H.W. Bush as a member of the National Security Council team from 1990 to 1993. He has had extensive experience in assessing and representing critical national security issues at meetings with the President, Cabinet, Congress, U.S. policymakers, heads of foreign intelligence services and senior government officials around the globe. Early in his career, he served as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He received a B.A. in History from the University of Missouri and was a National Defence Education Act Fellow at Clark University. James is a recipient of the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
William Green, Special Advisor
William is the Managing Partner and founder of TD International, LLC (TDI) in 1999; a company founded upon the conviction that a discreet, strategic advisory and risk management firm can better respond to the needs of global investors and international corporate clients than large information industry companies. Prior to founding TDI, William served for two years as President of Parvus International, a business intelligence firm. William managed the restructuring of the firm and developed a marketing strategy that resulted in a doubling of the firm’s revenues and its ultimate acquisition by a larger entity.
A former U.S. diplomat specializing in multilateral affairs within the United Nations, NATO and the European Union frameworks, William served in Geneva and Paris and participated in the management of the Anglo-American and U.S.-Canadian intelligence relationships.
William received his M.A. in International Economics and European Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC and Bologna, Italy, and his B.A. in History from Holy Cross College. William is fluent in French.
Michael Higgins, Special Advisor
In addition to his advisory role with Olton, Michael Higgins is currently the Non-Executive Chairman of Thomson Inter-media, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Michael spent the previous 10 years as a Partner at KPMG following 12 years at Charterhouse Bank, the last 8 as a Director. Michael qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse. Michael remains a Senior Adviser with KPMG and also advises a number of private media and technology companies.
