Edward Minyard has over 35 years of experience in the consulting field with a keen focus on risk management, disaster recovery and processes related to business continuity. His certifications include: Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP); Certified by the Business Continuity Institute (CBCI); Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC); Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and others. For the past ten years, he has been actively involved in providing leadership during some of the largest disasters ever to impact North America.
Ed has served in leadership roles within several of the world’s largest consulting and technology companies, including Accenture and Unisys. As a Partner at Accenture, Ed was responsible for their Cyber Security Practice in the USA and Canada, as well as Business Continuity Planning for that same region. As Managing Partner, North America for the Emergency Management Practice of Unisys, he oversaw the delivery of Emergency Planning, Preparedness, Response and Recovery Services to key Unisys clients, including the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and The City of New Orleans.
Some notable accomplishments include:
Ed and his team were on the ground in New Orleans three days after Hurricane Katrina struck. He and his team reestablished communications for the Mayor and city government. They went on to build a temporary, 100 position Emergency Operations Center in the Hyatt Hotel, then managed that facility for the following sixteen months. In 2006, Ed and his team were the architects of the City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP).
In recognition of his efforts, on May 10th, 2006, Mayor C. Ray Nagin declared a Special Day of Honor in the City Of New Orleans, honoring Edward Minyard.
In August of 2008, Ed and his team returned to New Orleans, supporting the City’s Office of Homeland Security in preparing for Hurricane Gustav. A part of that mission was to deploy the CAEP developed post – Katrina. Ed and his team, on a pro-bono basis, were assigned leadership roles in the New Orleans EOC, and were also physically engaged at the Union Passenger Terminal, assisting citizens in the evacuation of the city. Immediately following the evacuation, Ed’s company, RF1, was activated by FEMA to build and operate large base camps in support of both Gustav and Hurricane Ike. He built and managed a 2000-resident facility in Port Allen, La., and a 500-resident facility in Galveston, Tx. The Galveston camp was active for over three months.
In 2010, Ed deployed to Haiti, 2 days after the major earthquake there. He and his team established a logistics program, resulting in the delivery of over 2.6 million meal rations over the course of only eight days. They then donated and deployed a satellite communications system for the National Hospital, providing them with the only means of communicating to the outside world.
Also in 2010, Ed and his team engaged with British Petroleum and St. Bernard Parish, LA, in responding to the Gulf Oil Spill. There, they were responsible for establishing and helping to manage Incident Management structure, based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS). Ed also personally served as the Security Unit Leader for the Hopedale Branch of the response.
In 2011, Ed and his team were asked to support a Non-Government Organization (NGO) in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. His role there was one of establishing the NIMS and ICS operational framework for the NGO and its partners.
Ed and his RF1 Team have been involved with Federal Agencies in hadling the migrant crisis at our Southern Border since 2014. These same agencies engaged RF1 to hadle significant elements of the response to the Covid-19 outbreak, beginning with the first airplanes to arrive from Wuhan. RF1 was among the first contractors for Operation Warp Speed and Operation Welcome Allies.
Ed has published three books, including two mystery novels. He is a collector of fine guitars, a meditation teacher and a Grandmaster (9th Degree Black Blet) in the art of Tae Kwon Do. He is an Inductee into the Official Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame and the USKIDO Federation Black Belt Hall of Fame.
