HAELO is a RegTech business focused on developing GRC technology for use in the financial sector to assure compliance and safeguard against threat of cyber-attack. Having in place a robust well considered cyber posture is essential, however concentrating solely on technology is not enough and boards of directors must consider the entire business entity and ecosystem in which it operates.
Contending with the vagaries of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) in large organisations is challenging. Company directors are expected to deliver shareholder value and assure regulatory compliance, however the organisation and environment in which they operate are in a continual state of flux, which introduces emergent conditions. Aligning and maintaining the attention and effort of all actors on common goals and outcomes is an issue faced by every organisation. Conventional approaches to organisational design typically place people in functional silos within hierarchical structures, constrained by finite organisational layers and spans of control neglecting the randomness and tension created by complexity.
Organisations are complex adaptive systems and therefore difficult to characterise and design. Inherent organisational complexity is not widely considered during organisational design, therefore consequential effects of emergence is often neglected from the outset. Human based organisations are dynamic living things and emergent circumstances will arise regardless of how well the organisation is modelled and simulated. Legislating every possible human interaction and eventuality is unrealistic, therefore the effectiveness of an organisation relies on its agility to detect and respond to emergent situations.
Organisational performance is predicated by people, and the system in which they operate, therefore simplifying complexity can reduce the effect of uncertainty. There are many examples of organisations failing to meet expectations resulting in regulatory breaches, fines, dismissals, insolvency and financial losses e.g. in December 2021, the FCA fined HSBC Bank plc £63.9 million for deficient transaction monitoring controls across the period 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2018. It is reasonable to assume the reasons for the breach were unintended, however, it is also reasonable to assume that evidence and cues existed prior to the breach that was not acted upon.
HAELO is all about human intelligence (HUMINT), and placing people in the data loop, connecting them and using people powered intelligence to provide early detection of emergent threats. Close coupling decision makers with human curated insight near sources of emergence can shorten detection and response cycle times reducing potential exposure to risk effects. Making it easy for leaders to achieve oversight of the entire organisation is essential, HAELO enabling them to put insight and foresight in plain sight™.
For over 25 years, HAELO’s Founder Mick O’Connor CEng CDir, has managed and directed complex projects and operations across numerous industries, from shipbuilding to spaceports, and learned what works and doesn’t work in reality when complexity and unpredictability need to be accounted for. You can’t predict the future, but you can detect anomalies.
Complexity and unpredictability is natural, but too often we see static or rigid frameworks, policies and regulations that fail because they’ve been designed for the future based on events in the past.
Throughout his career, he’s experienced this and the stress and anxiety that can come with it when things go wrong. In 1995 as a Senior Construction Engineer for AMEC, Mick learned the importance of Verification and Validation (V&V). However, found that there lacked a holistic view through existing project management theories, so developed a data architecture using a spreadsheet which turned out to be hugely successful.
In 2000, when he was an Integration & Improvement Manager for BAE Systems, he developed the spreadsheet to be more visual and then in 2005 while Directing and Governing Missile Systems for QinetiQ on behalf of the MoD, integrated techniques utilised by the military into his own methodology.
Over the next 15 years, Mick has been a Programme, Business, and Major Projects Director for multinational companies such as QinetiQ, Airbus, and SSE and gained a deep personal understanding of what works and doesn’t work, especially the limitations of KPI’s and RAG reports when complexity and unpredictability need to be accounted for.
This led him to developing his methodology and spreadsheet into a software application that uses humans as sensors – generating people powered intelligence. The software focuses on Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance – or GRC for short – but unlike legacy enterprise systems Mick found a way to simplify compliance, enable proactive risk management, and stimulate agile governance.
HAELO was founded in 2016 to realise the untapped potential of contextualised human intelligence.
Providing decision makers with a holistic, contextualised data mosaic representative of the operating reality can increase detection of emergent circumstances and reduce response dwell times.
We are seeing governments shifting from traditional set-and-forget regulations to iterative and user-centred design practices, including experimental regulation, such as prototyping and testing and outcome-based regulation.
HAELO is now developing our software into a RegTech solution, as we see how it can support this shift from ‘reactive’ to ‘dynamic’ regulation enabling regulatory formation and compliance to more effectively evolve with changing market dynamics.
HAELO IO® provides anomaly detection software that provides an early warning to decision makers when threats and opportunities emerge, in real time, and at your fingertips.
Mick O’Connor CEng CDir
Mick loves solving complex problems, the more complex the better. He has worked in a variety of roles and industries and prides himself upon his ability to coalesce teams around converting abstract problems into workable solutions,
He is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Director, Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Fellow of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland. He is the IoD Chartered Director Ambassador for Glasgow and West of Scotland, Master of the Glasgow Incorporation of Hammermen, PhD candidate and the Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University.
HAELO draws upon his 40+ years career from an apprentice welder straight from school to successfully leading operations in Space, Defence, Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Oil, Petrochemical, Construction, Aviation, and Manufacturing Industries.
Anthony Gerrard FRSA
Anthony loves to challenge the status quo and is accomplished at gaining a deeper understanding of the linkages, relationships, interactions, and behaviours among the elements that characterise large complex systems. He approaches problem-solving as a process of understanding how things influence one another as part of a whole, and views ‘problems’ as part of a wider, dynamic system.
He has a passion for using technology to tackle complex problems and has collaborated on numerous projects involving Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain), Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence.
Anthony is certified by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), and guest lectures on Global Social Entrepreneurship at Glasgow Caledonian University. In 2015, he was highly commended for Social Entrepreneur of the Year and recognised for Outstanding Contribution by a Young Business Leader; and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (The RSA), and his varied background includes a career in Marketing and Promotions before going on to study Accountancy and Law at University.
Dr Jillian Ney
Dr Jillian is a Digital Behavioural Scientist and the UK’s first Doctor of social media in the UK. She is an author, speaker and trainer.
Jillian was voted one of the 10 most influential women in digital marketing under the age of 30 by The Drum in 2012, she was shortlisted as the Most Inspiring Young Business Leader in 2014 by the People Make Glasgow Inspiring Cities Awards. Dr Jillian was also voted as a data influencer in the DataIQ 100 list and Hottopics.ht Global Data Influencers list in 2020.
Jillian has delivered two TED Talks: Connectedness and the Digital Self, and Social Media: The Value Lies in the Data. She has also presented her work on social intelligence at Social Media Week, SXSW, NATO, 10 Downing Street as well as global marketing conferences and private events. Her first co-authored book, Advanced Marketing Management: Principles, Skills and Tools was published by Kogan Page in 2018.
She is founder of The Social Intelligence Lab, the professional community and learning centre for the use of social data to solve complex business problems.
