Dossier

Frederick J. Ayres

Current Posture LIVE
StatusDEPLOYABLE
Primary LocLHR / LON
ClearanceSC (Eligible)

Risk Investigations & Operational Due Diligence. Critical Infrastructure Resilience. Supply Chain Defence. Geopolitical Intelligence. Tier-1 financial services and cross-sector infrastructure experience. Creator of Fracture Point Analysis™ (FPA) — a proprietary methodology for assessing the survivability of critical infrastructure and supply chains under stress.

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Operation HistorySelect node to expand
Lloyds Banking GroupJun 2023 — Present
Risk & Resilience Investigations
Senior Audit Analyst
City of London, United Kingdom

Delivering assurance across critical automated controls, operational resilience, and third-party risk within one of the UK's largest financial institutions. Producing end-to-end assessments independently, from scoping and evidence gathering through to executive-level findings presentation.

Infrastructure Resilience
Trading Platform Migration — Tier-1 Data Centre
Performed resilience testing on the operational transition of the LBCM capital markets trading platform between Tier-1 data centre facilities. Verified physical integrity, failover synchronisation, SLA monitoring, and stressed exit planning.
M&A Due Diligence
Acquisition ODD — £390M Financial Services Target
Conducted the Business Continuity assessment for the £390M acquisition of Embark Group. Assessed the survivability of critical assets during integration, ensuring no degradation of service during complex pension asset migration.
Supply Chain Crisis
Critical Supplier Insolvency — Impact Assessment
Tracked governance and operational impact of a critical supplier entering administration. Assessed activation of contingency arrangements and evaluated dependencies across affected operations.
Commercial Resilience
Vendor Lock-in & Stressed Exit Assessment
Conducted forensic contract reviews to identify vendor lock-in risks. Assessed the operational reality of stressed exit plans — verifying that LBG could physically migrate data and services away from failing suppliers in a contested environment.
RSM UKJan 2022 — Jun 2023
Cross-Sector Critical Infrastructure & Technology Risk
Technology Risk Consultant
Leeds / City of London, United Kingdom

Operated within a cross-border Technology Risk practice covering critical infrastructure across finance, legal, energy, and construction sectors in the UK and the Netherlands. Partnered directly with the firm's Technology Risk Partner on major engagements including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Critical National Infrastructure
Nuclear New-Build — NIST Cybersecurity Review
Conducted NIST Cybersecurity Framework review of Laing O'Rourke's UK IT estate, whose operations portfolio included the Hinkley Point C nuclear new-build programme. Assessed cybersecurity posture and IT resilience across the organisation.
HFT Infrastructure
Tier-1 Data Centre Reviews — UK & Netherlands
Executed on-site security and resilience reviews of Equinix LD5 (Slough) and Equinix AMX4/AMX5 (Amsterdam Science Park). Assessed physical integrity, access control, and Smart Hands security protocols of HFT environments. Deployed solo to Amsterdam for the AMX4/AMX5 review.
Strategic Assurance
Cross-Sector Technology Risk
Delivered complex IT risk assessments across diverse regulatory environments. Focused on data integrity and system resilience, ensuring digital infrastructure was robust against silent failure and data corruption.
Proprietary MethodologyFracture Point Analysis™
FPA
Fracture Point Analysis™ (FPA)

A structured, repeatable framework for assessing the resilience of critical infrastructure and supply chains. Three-phase methodology (Expose the Mirage → Map the Blast Radius → Stress the Exit) applied across six domains, 36 assessment categories, and 180 diagnostic questions. Includes a five-level maturity model. Comparable in structure to NIST CSF and ISO 31000, but purpose-built for operational/physical infrastructure risk, physical-digital interfaces, vendor concentration, and geopolitical exposure.

→ View full methodology
Published Analytical WorkIntelligence & platform
Published Analysis
Parables of Risk

A series of published long-form analyses on systemic risk across global supply chains, critical infrastructure, and geopolitical flashpoints. Topics include Hormuz chokepoint vulnerability, phosphate supply concentration, wet bulb threshold risk, fleet replacement capacity, and financial warfare vectors.

→ View analyses
Live Platform
Intelligence Platform — Pulse, Atlas, Markets

Built and maintain a live operational intelligence platform. Pulse provides real-time monitoring of orbital assets, kinetic threat detection, and maritime chokepoint volume tracking. Atlas maps critical energy infrastructure, trade routes, chokepoints, undersea cables, and conflict zones. Markets monitors commodity prices, freight indices, and systemic friction indicators.

→ Pulse→ Atlas→ Markets
Active Analysis
X — @FrederickAyres

Publishing weekly analysis on commodity risk, geopolitical developments, and infrastructure vulnerability. Long-form threads and commentary across the defence, OSINT, and commodity risk communities.

→ Follow on X
Domain ExpertiseDemonstrated capability & active development
Demonstrated
Physical Asset & Infrastructure Risk
Direct hands-on experience assessing the resilience of nuclear new-builds, Tier-1 data centres, HFT environments, and capital markets infrastructure.
Operational Due Diligence & M&A
Conducted survivability assessment on a £390M financial services acquisition. Experienced in stressed exit planning, vendor lock-in analysis, and business continuity.
OSINT & Geopolitical Intelligence
A decade of active open-source intelligence practice — live event monitoring, AIS vessel tracking, conflict monitoring, and geopolitical pattern recognition.
Supply Chain & Third-Party Risk
Tracked governance and operational impact of critical supplier insolvency. Forensic contract review for vendor lock-in. Assessed the operational reality of exit plans.
Active Development
Commodity Markets & Trade Finance
Strong macro-level understanding of commodity flows, pricing dynamics, and trade corridor vulnerabilities — developed through independent OSINT-driven research and analysis.
Sanctions & Export Controls
Active monitoring of OFAC designations and EU sanctions packages through OSINT practice. Understanding of how sanctions regimes affect asset liquidity and trade flows.
Gulf & EMEA Regional Dynamics
Deep study of GCC trade architecture, Vision 2030 infrastructure programmes, ADGM/DIFC regulatory evolution, and the UAE's role as a global re-export hub.
EducationAcademic foundations
MSc Cyber Security, Threat Intelligence & Digital Forensics2020 — 2021
University of Salford
Distinction

Dissertation: Analysis of ISO 27001 implementation barriers within SMEs. Graded by a CGI Director of Cyber Security Services.

BSc (Hons) Computer Science (AI & Cybercrime)2017 — 2018
York St. John University
2:1 (Upper Second Class Honours)

Dissertation: Analysis of human risk vectors and cognitive vulnerabilities in unsecured digital networks (Social Engineering).

CertificationsIn progress & planned
Completed — 2021
SWIFT CSCF
SWIFT Customer Security Programme. Mandatory security controls for financial messaging infrastructure.
Completed
CISA ICS/SCADA Cybersecurity
Industrial Control Systems security awareness. ICS/SCADA threats, vulnerabilities, and defence-in-depth strategies for critical infrastructure.
In Progress — Q2 2026
OPSWAT ICIP (Introduction to Critical Infrastructure Protection)
OT/ICS cybersecurity fundamentals. Critical infrastructure protection for operational technology environments.
In Progress — Q1 2026
Google Cloud Digital Leader
Governance of distributed infrastructure. Cloud-native security and resilience frameworks.
Affiliations & IntelligenceNetworks & practice
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Member. Subscriber to Foreign Affairs.
Project Owl — OSINT Community
10-year active member specialising in live event monitoring and open-source intelligence.
Ampleforth College Network
Old Amplefordian. Formative military leadership training under former UK Special Forces instruction. Focused on operational discipline, small-unit tactics, and mental resilience.
Currently open to new mandates
London · Gulf · EMEA — Risk Investigations, Operational Due Diligence, Geopolitical Intelligence, Supply Chain Defence
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