In an exclusive interview with SJUK, Andrew McInerney, CEO, Track24, discusses how managing risk through trusted team culture – not just technology – secures clarity, purpose and safety in complex environments.
I believe my experience can be broken down into four key sectors:
One: Of course my career has been diverse – but the differences are perhaps less dramatic than they seem.
I spent 25 years in the Royal Marines, leading in combat, then moved into Whitehall, then into business, then back into the public sector during COVID and then returned to private ventures again.
But through all of that, what has been consistent is that I’ve always been a team leader, developing into more strategic leadership as time went on.
The core principles I learned early on – in the Royal Marines – haven’t changed.
They’ve stood the test of time. After all, those values were honed over centuries for a reason; they’re fundamentally sound.
Two: Leadership, for me, is about values – being a servant leader rather than an autocrat. I don’t presume to be the smartest person in any room.
My job is to choose the right people, build the strongest possible team and give them purpose – one they believe in.
If you can’t impose or dictate that purpose, you must collaboratively define it.
And clarity, for this, is essential: What do we mean, what does each person do, how do we judge progress?
Communication, mutual understanding and challenge is central to this and it is my job to push the team to be the best they can be.
There’s a quote from Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, which really resonates with me, he said rather than getting rid of people when they’re not performing, he’d rather “torture them to greatness.”
He doesn’t mean to “torture” in the literal sense of course – but to push people into growing with the business. That’s what I aim to do in my line of business.
Three: Strategic thinking in fast-paced, tech-centred environments isn’t about reacting all the time – it’s about making space to look ahead.
If you have a team pulling together with purpose, then alongside them you must carve out headspace to look forward, to have a vision, to plan.
Strategic thinking must be grounded in what the team is doing every day.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have strong mentors all through my journey – people who have guided me, rehearsed scenarios with me and challenged me.
I’ve maintained those relationships throughout, from a diverse set of people in terms of age, background and experience.
They keep my thinking sharp and have pushed me to stay curious.
Four: Delegation becomes essential as a business scales. My specialty has often been navigating the shift from start-up to scaleup.
At first, when you’re employee number one, you make every decision – whether it’s planning the company strategy or deciding which keyboard to buy.
But as things grow, you need a team you trust – where they trust you and they trust each other.
Communication, challenge and commitment: Those are pillars. Once you have them, you can delegate.
And when delegation works, speed increases – everyone can work concurrently, instead of bottlenecking decisions through one person.
Crucially, this must be built on a servant leadership mentality. That means you don’t allow one domineering voice – especially not the highest paid person’s opinion – to dominate everything.
Instead, you create space for mutual input, for less senior employees, for the best idea to carry weight, not just the most senior voice.
This kind of leadership supports delegation because it distributes authority and responsibility, not just tasks.
Then comes the role of curiosity. Always looking at new technologies, new methods and asking: “What does this mean in our context? Is it useful or just novel?” and by doing so you can contextualise new things, test them, apply them where they add value – not just adopting technologies for novelty’s sake.
That vigilance helps you avoid stagnation, keeps the team alert to external change and ensures that delegated work is not just efficient, but forward-looking.
So, we call it 4D Communications. The “4W” are at the core: When, where, who and what.
AtlasNXT is purpose designed to deliver that – to reduce noise, increase signal and provide ‘Urgent Clarity’, with the goal being to lower the cognitive load on operators.
People need to do less thinking, process less information, so that they can step above the ‘noise’ and focus on doing their job.
Our tools are designed to help people excel – users shouldn’t have to learn to use the tool; it should almost disappear into the background.
Because we’re all overwhelmed by communication – so many channels, so much noise – the risk is that the right message gets lost.
That’s why we’ve designed AtlasNXT so the right message reaches the right person, at the right place, at the right time, then it not only reduces cognitive load and makes the end-user more efficient but it also saves time, effort, money and increases productivity – it means that when you hear an AtlasNXT notification, you’ll know it matters. It won’t be just another alert in a crowded feed.
If instead you’re doing broadcast comms without carefully tailoring who, where, when, then you’re just transmitting – you’re not being precise.
That matters tremendously, especially in high-risk environments.
Track24 brings over two and a half decades of experience operating in high-risk environments.
We’ve consistently delivered at the highest levels of the Four R’s – Range, Reach, Risk and Rigor.
This legacy is built on real-world impact: From supporting the UN in Gaza, assisting the BBC in conflict zones like Afghanistan and Ukraine, to securing upstream operations in remote oil and gas fields.
We’ve even facilitated the world record breaking team’s journey from London to Everest and back in less than a week, providing critical security and situational awareness throughout.
If operations can be supported in such extreme environments, they can certainly be enabled in major global cities like London, Paris and New York.
Our focus is on precision in 4D communications – delivering the right message to the right person, at the right place, at the right time.
This approach reduces cognitive load, increases productivity, lowers costs and boosts engagement.
Because when teams feel supported and informed, they’re more engaged – and that, in turn, reduces business risk.
Track24’s AtlasNXT is purpose-built to translate our extensive experience in high-risk environments into a versatile tool for any setting.
Whether it’s navigating the complexities of conflict zones, offshore operations or generic business travel, we’ve designed AtlasNXT to adapt seamlessly to various risk landscapes.
Risk is dynamic; it can emerge unexpectedly, like wildfires in California or unforeseen incidents in Portugal.
These events might not only pose physical threats but can also lead to business disruptions, delays or cyber-threats.
Understanding this, AtlasNXT empowers organisations to manage and respond to risks effectively, regardless of the environment.
Traditional travel management systems often approach risk from a logistical standpoint, focusing on itinerary tracking and booking confirmations.
While these systems can indicate where employees are scheduled to be, they don’t account for real-time changes such as flight delays, route alterations or unforeseen incidents.
Similarly, HR systems maintain records of employee assignments but may not provide immediate visibility into actual locations or real-time situational awareness.
This disconnect can lead to gaps in duty of care, especially during emergencies.
AtlasNXT bridges this gap by offering a comprehensive, real-time situational awareness platform.
It provides a ‘single pane of glass’ for duty of care, ensuring that organisations can monitor and respond to incidents swiftly and accurately.
By integrating dynamic location tracking, real-time alerts and multi-channel communication tools, AtlasNXT ensures that organisations have up-to-date information on their personnel’s whereabouts and can act promptly when needed.
Before: Planning and preparation, including risk assessments and pre-journey advisories
During: Active monitoring and real-time communication to ensure safety and operational continuity
During an Incident: Rapid response capabilities to address and mitigate emerging threats
After: Post-incident analysis to learn and improve for future operations
This structured approach allows organisations to manage risks proactively and efficiently, even without the extensive preparation typical in high-risk environments.
Perceived risk varies among individuals and regions.
What might be considered a normal level of risk in one area could be perceived differently elsewhere.
AtlasNXT is designed to be adaptable, providing the necessary tools without being intrusive.
It operates on a privacy-by-design principle, ensuring that it is only active when needed, offering continuous duty of care without intrusive monitoring.
In essence, AtlasNXT functions like insurance for an organisation’s brand, reputation and operational integrity.
It’s a tool that enhances operational efficiency and safety, ensuring that organisations can navigate risks confidently and maintain their brand’s trustworthiness.
So, okay – you might have notice I started with privacy first.
That’s a foundational design decision with AtlasNXT. When organisations move from using multiple tools into one system, privacy isn’t just an afterthought or an add-on – it’s baked into the architecture.
That way, whether you’re in a high-risk environment or not, our system behaves differently, appropriately.
In a high-risk environment, yes, you’ll accept giving location information (for security and duty of care) all the time. It makes sense.
But in everyday situations where perceived risk is much lower, you don’t want your location visible.
So, the system is built so your location is revealed only in two cases: Consent (you press a button or initiate “Overwatch”) or an Event (for example, entering a digital geofence that your organisation defines relevant).
If neither of those conditions occur, the location is invisible, backgrounded.
This design builds trust: Employees know that the tracking is not “always on,” and not used for micromanagement, but only when needed.
It’s not a tracking tool – it’s a duty of care tool. It respects privacy while enabling safety.
Outside of the interview we have had a conversation about AI – its benefits, the fast pace of its growth and how we use it to cut through noise.
At Track24, what matters is letting decisions be made deliberately. AI is not replacing people – it’s sharpening what we can do.
At Track24, our business is SaaS. AI is just part of the software – an advanced, modern tool.
Since we started building AtlasNXT, 3-4 years ago, we’ve embedded automation and AI.
With the rise of generative AI, we’ve added a “copilot” style functionality. While you’re in AtlasNXT, AI works alongside you – you don’t have to move elsewhere.
Here’s how it works: AI absorbs data, handles routine tasks, reduces effort and eases mental load.
It acts like a virtual team member – it speeds things up, lowers cost, reduces the need for ultra-senior operators, because much of the experience and context is already built into the AI.
What we don’t do: Let AI autonomously take over. Every action that matters (sending a message, making a judgment call, deciding on incident responses) is proposed by the system, but you choose what happens.
You can edit, accept or ignore what the AI suggests.
The result is greater efficiency, fewer resources wasted and reliable outcomes – but always under guidance that ensures quality, responsibility and care.
AI does the heavy lifting, humans call the shots.
Precision communication is fundamental: Delivering the right information to the right person at exactly the right time and place.
At its core, AtlasNXT is a location-based service engineered to enable that exact outcome.
Targeted messaging via geofencing is essential: Rather than broadcasting companywide updates that overwhelm everyone, communications are restricted to those directly impacted.
This ensures that messages are not ignored or relegated to “junk” and that the right recipients receive the right message.
By employing precise communication, engagement improves significantly.
When employees see that alerts are relevant and timely, they recognise that their welfare is taken seriously.
This reinforces trust, enhances employer loyalty and strengthens duty of care.
At the same time, precision reduces the risks associated with communication overload-by limiting noise, we reduce distraction and potential error.
The integration of automation allows a single operator to manage multiple teams efficiently.
This dual benefit (lower operational cost and higher performance) comes from combining targeted communication with streamlined processes.
In summary: Precision is the tool; relevance, clarity and reduced risk are its effects.
With over 21 years of delivering service – operating in 147 countries and supporting governments, NGOs, media organisations, commercial businesses and security providers – Track24 have developed hardware and software solutions to meet global duty‑of‑care challenges.
AtlasNXT builds on that legacy as a unified, intuitive platform: A single pane of glass for managing safety, communications and risk.
AtlasNXT delivers value in two major ways:
The future is central to what we’re building.
If you’re able to see what’s coming, you can prepare in advance: Inform your people, engage them and protect them.
What we do is plan, deliver, respond, assimilate information, then review.
Moving toward anticipatory safeguarding means anticipating events – such as: The weather, team movements, operational changes and seeing where they might overlap and steering ahead of problems.
With real predictions e.g. tracking a weather system, forecasting where teams will be – we can put risk mitigation in place before incidents happen.
That’s where AI plays a key role. It filters out noise, highlights what matters, so that decisions are informed, rigorous and timely.
Risk isn’t static. The environments we operate in change – severity, scope, complexity all evolve.
With anticipatory tools, we can observe those shifts in real time and adapt our response accordingly.
Ultimately, what we aim to enable is leadership with confidence: You can look ahead, reduce the likelihood of bad outcomes, recover quickly if they occur and learn continuously.
That foresight isn’t just insurance – it becomes a competitive advantage.
