Professor Andrew Silke will fill the new position, which is co-funded by Pool Re, for an initial five-year period

Pool Re and Cranfield University today announced the appointment of Professor Andrew Silke as the Professor of Terrorism Risk Management and Resilience at Cranfield University.

Silke will be responsible for the establishment of the Centre for Excellence in Counterterrorism, providing thought leadership in catastrophic and unconventional terrorism loss assessment and mitigation, with the aim of improving the resilience to the UK economy.

He currently holds a Chair in Criminology at the University of East London where he was the Head of Criminology, and the Programme Director for Terrorism Studies. He has a background in forensic psychology and criminology and has worked both in academia and for government.

He has over 100 publications, including several books, with his most recent including Prisons, Terrorism & Extremism: Critical Issues in Management, Radicalisation and Reform (2013) and Terrorism: All That Matters (2014). His latest book, The Routledge Handbook on Terrorism and Counterterrorism, will be published in March 2018.

Pool Re has already announced its intention to extend cover to include physical damage from cyber terrorism.

Julian Enoizi, chief executive of Pool Re said: “The appointment of Professor Andrew Silke represents the important first step towards building a world-leading resource into the study and analysis of terrorism, risk mitigation and resilience. The horrific events in London and Manchester this year have emphasised the scale and complexity of the threat.”

Sir Peter Gregson, vice-chancellor and chief executive of Cranfield University, said: “Cranfield University is delighted to be working with Pool Re on this important topic. Cranfield’s strengths in defence and security are widely recognised. This new chair that Pool Re is supporting augments our existing expertise and ensures UK government and industry has enhanced access to world-class expertise.”

Silke will be assuming his new position on the 31st January 2018.