Bob Smith, CBCP, M.S. Law, is a senior consultant at Guidepost Solutions with extensive domestic and international experience in emergency management, crisis management, continuity planning, operational resilience, emergency communications, and public safety leadership. He brings a multidisciplinary background that spans state and local government, K-12 education, federal homeland security programs, public safety communications, and global corporate environments. Throughout his career, Mr. Smith has built, led, and improved emergency management and public safety programs designed to strengthen organizational preparedness, protect life safety, preserve essential operations, and support effective decision-making during complex incidents.
Mr. Smith’s leadership experience includes directing a county public safety agency serving more than 400,000 residents with a $30 million operating budget and responsibility for emergency management, 911, emergency medical services, beach patrol, animal control, and community paramedicine. In that role, he served as County Incident Commander for multiple large-scale disasters, including Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, and coordinated preparedness, response, and recovery activities across public agencies, elected leadership, emergency responders, and community stakeholders. His public-sector work also includes managing district-wide emergency management, risk management, and safety programs for a large school system with 28,000 students, 5,000 employees, and 45 campuses.
In the private sector, Mr. Smith has designed, implemented, and managed global emergency management, crisis management, and operational resilience programs for complex organizations with significant life-safety, business continuity, technology, and reputational risk considerations. His work has included leading global incident response, developing corporate emergency plans and threat annexes, conducting geopolitical risk monitoring and analysis, coordinating crisis communications, and designing training and exercise programs for teams operating across multiple regions. He has supported preparedness and response activities for high-profile events and large-scale operations, including the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Iditarod, and other domestic and international events requiring careful coordination among corporate leaders, public agencies, venue operators, and emergency response partners.
Mr. Smith also brings substantial experience in continuity of operations, business continuity, disaster response, critical infrastructure resilience, and public safety communications. He has provided emergency management and homeland security subject matter expertise in support of U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiatives and has served as a liaison to federal agencies on emergency communications, disaster preparedness, continuity planning, and critical infrastructure issues. His work with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International included managing association efforts related to disaster preparedness, continuity of operations, crisis management, and critical infrastructure resilience, as well as authoring emergency communications curriculum and textbooks used to train public safety professionals.
As a consultant, Mr. Smith applies this experience to help organizations assess risk, develop practical emergency and continuity plans, strengthen incident management capabilities, improve crisis communications, and design realistic training and exercise programs. He is particularly effective at translating complex emergency management requirements into clear, actionable procedures that can be implemented by executives, operations teams, public safety personnel, school administrators, technology leaders, and frontline staff. A former firefighter and emergency medical technician, he brings a practical, field-informed perspective to planning and preparedness, with an emphasis on operational usability, stakeholder coordination, and measurable improvement.
Mr. Smith holds a master’s degree in law and policy, a bachelor’s degree in emergency management, and an associate degree in public safety and telecommunications, and he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in project management. He is a Certified Business Continuity Professional and holds additional credentials in continuity of operations, HSEEP, ITIL, and NIMS/ICS. He has authored multiple public safety communications and emergency response textbooks and was recognized by LinkedIn as a “Top Voice in Emergency Management” in June 2024. His combination of executive leadership, operational response experience, continuity expertise, and instructional background enables him to support clients with emergency management solutions that are strategic, practical, and grounded in real-world incident experience.
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Bob is an avid kayaker and has kayaked rivers and lakes in West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, Alaska, Colorado, and California in addition to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. This sometimes includes kayaking partners in the form of his two dogs Memphis and Seti.
