what we do
who we are
who we work with
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what we do
who we are
who we work with
work with us
contact

Who we are

We are global experts on identity and personal data

Beruku was founded because we believe that digital identity can make a positive difference to countries, industries and users. When you work with Beruku, you will appreciate our:

Expertise

Our team includes experts in digital identity, biometrics, cyber security, digital forensics and identity and document fraud. We also have commercial and regulatory experience in banking, insurance, asset management, and private equity. We have held senior roles in large consulting firms, conducting reviews on behalf of domestic and international regulators. We have been involved in writing identity standards that are used globally, giving us unparalleled understanding of how identity works beneath the surface.

Insight

We operate at the cutting-edge of the digital identity marketplace, working with all of the actors on the stage: governments, standards bodies, industry, providers and investors. This large, dynamic network allows us to see the way that the market is moving and to understand the policy, regulatory, and commercial levers that matter. We provide insight that gives our clients the clarity they need to move forward.

Global connectivity

People move around the globe and, accordingly, digital identity is a global business. International interoperability is the long-term goal of most national identity schemes and global standards bodies, and both countries and providers are putting in the building blocks to get there. We work with clients across the globe and are active members of global committees, from FIDO Alliance to Women in Identity to Kantara. We actively collaborate with a range of bodies, bringing our clients a global perspective wherever they are.

We help you see under the surface of identity. We are Beruku.

Alastair Treharne

Co-founder

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Julian White

Co-founder

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Alison McDowell

Co-founder

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Chris Allgrove

Advisor

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Gavin Burton

Advisor

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Naomi Baur

Advisor

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Alistair Malins

Advisor

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© 2020 - Beruku Identity Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Alastair Treharne

Co-founder

Alastair is an expert advisor on digital identity with a background in business, political and security risk, working on UK and international initiatives across the humanitarian, development, public and private sector. Alastair’s work has recently focused on digital identity, biometrics, identity fraud and cybersecurity. He has advised clients across industry including banking, insurance, asset management, and private equity; UK Government, United Nations and World Bank; US federal agencies including the US Treasury, the United States Digital Service, Department for Homeland Security; the Australian Government and European Commission eID activities.

Alastair is presently an expert digital identity advisor to the UK Government. He is a senior adviser to the UK’s Minister responsible for digital identity, the Director responsible for digital identity, and the NHS’s digital identity service. His roles include responsibility for the identity standards for the UK Government, and the UK Government’s trust framework for digital identity, which has included working with a broad section of UK and international financial services companies, institutions, and regulators. He has led the work with HM Treasury, JMLSG and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that has reflected digital identity best practice in global and national financial services guidance and legislation.

Alastair sits on a number of digital identity expert groups including as the UK Governments digital identity representative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Union eID/KYC expert group, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Biometrics Institute; and industry groups at the FIDO Alliance, Open Identity Exchange and Open Identity Foundation. He is also presently a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on digital identity.

Julian White

Co-founder

Julian is an expert advisor on cyber security, person identification and standardisation. Julian has been a certified information assurance expert working in the public protection arena within the UK public sector and related EU and global initiatives including identification, policing, border control, international police cooperation (including INTERPOL), and combating money laundering for 20 years, providing support and advice to programmes, Governments and other organisations in relation to digital services, cyber security and public protection.

Julian worked with the European Commission drafting the eIDAS Regulation on the use of cross border identification to enable EU residents to easily access and use the services being operated in another member state, was the editor for drafting the implementing acts that support it and was a member of the European Union eID/KYC expert group and eIDAS Cooperation Network. He is also supporting HM Treasury, JMLSG and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) work in reflecting digital identity in global and national financial services guidance and legislation.

Julian has been advising the United States Digital Service (White House Administration), 18F (General Services Administration) and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) on their digital identity services. He has also been working with international partners in ISO, the EU and the UN on international standards relating identity including the eIDAS regulation, ISO/IEC 29115 & 29003, FIDO, NIST 800-63, UNCITRAL and IETF VoT.

Julian sits on the OASIS Cyber Threat Intelligence Technical Committee to define open threat intelligence standards, the British Standards Institute (BSi) working group in identity, security and privacy, Biometrics Institute, and Open Identity Exchange and is working with the UK Government, national bodies and experts on defining test methodologies and assessment process standards for biometric identification systems. He is also presently a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on digital identity.

Chris Allgrove

Advisor

Chris has been working in identity and biometrics for 25 years, having initially received his PhD in electronics, specialising in the application of biometrics, from the University of Kent where he was a researcher in computer vision research group. Chris is presently an expert independent advisor to a range of UK and international clients on the user of biometrics in digital identity, as well as more widely around identity authentication.

Chris previously worked in the UK Government with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC, part of GCHQ) where he was Head of Identity in Government and managed the NCSC teams responsible for identity and biometrics.

Chris was an internationally-recognised subject matter expert in the field of biometrics. He headed a research team investigating the performance and vulnerabilities of biometric systems, in support of the work of the NCSC and GCHQ as the UK Government National Technical Authority.

Chris was the author of NCSC’s guidance on the use of biometric systems, and a subject matter expert contributing to NCSC’s password guidance, end user device guidance and other identity and cybersecurity publications. In addition to his work in the NCSC, Chris was also the co-chair of the Cross Government Identity Standards Group within the UK government and worked at the Identity and Passport Service advising on identity, biometrics and PIV cards.

Chris is an active member of the Biometrics Institute, an international body promoting the responsible and ethical use of biometrics, and has been a member of the UK national committee IST/33/5 on identity and biometrics, responsible for UK contributions to ISO SC27 WG5.

Gavin Burton

Advisor

Gavin Burton served over 25 years in the Metropolitan Police and was the operational lead of the Amberhill false identity team; the only team in national law enforcement dedicated to identity crime in the UK. Gavin received training from the National Document Fraud Unit in the examination of physical and copy documents and has also worked with many of the leading suppliers of identity document validation technology. He provides expert advice relating to counterfeit and forged identity documents, their criminal use, impact and the threats which affect the identity verification industry. Gavin is an advisor to the Association of Document Validation Professionals and is a certified L&D trainer with a focus on document inspection.

Alistair Malins

Advisor

Alistair has worked in the corporate finance and tech sectors for more than 12 years focusing on fundraising, venture investment and M&A advisory services. He founded Seed Ventures in 2019, an advisory business focused on the technology and digital sectors, and Second Estates, a technology-based property investment business in 2015. Prior to this Alistair worked at The Raine Group and helped set up their London office before spending six months in Silicon Valley. Alistair has also worked for a number of international Investment Banks including GP Bullhound, Jefferies International and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Alistair is a qualified solicitor, having trained at Slaughter and May, and studied Geography at Oriel College, Oxford and law at the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice.

Alison McDowell

Co-founder

Alison is a digital identity advisor providing end-to-end strategic advice on digital identity and personal data. Most recently, Alison has been working with the U.K. government on the development of a digital identity ecosystem, leading engagement and framework testing with key industry sectors. She also works with investors and commercial providers, helping them to understand the legal, regulatory and commercial landscape for identity solutions in the UK and internationally.

Before working with Beruku, Alison spent 20 years in financial services, both as a consultant and in senior commercial leadership roles in both banking and insurance. She has experience of diverse business contexts, having led large sales and operational teams, developed joint ventures and worked both sides of M&A transactions. She has led eight regulatory reviews on culture and controls in large financial institutions, covering both UK and European regulatory frameworks. She has also led co-sourced internal audits, leading the industry in developing benchmarking methodologies for new regulatory requirements.

Combining her strategic ability to understand businesses quickly with a strong focus on developing talent and capability in organisations, Alison has advised firms on strategy, organisational design, operating models, talent and leadership development. She works closely with senior leadership teams to help them to understand their cultures and manage change in their businesses.

She has worked with firms around the globe, from impact investors and financial services firms in Southeast Asia and Africa to some of the largest global banks in the US and Europe. She speaks frequently on the topics of digital identity and trust and is a member of the Women in Identity leadership team.

Naomi Baur

Advisor

Naomi is an advisor supporting Beruku clients in their strategic and technical transformations. Prior to Beruku, Naomi graduated with distinction from the LSE, with a Master’s in Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation where her research focussed on fraud risks and implications for the commoditization of digital identities. She previously worked in the USA on digital innovation projects in the advertising space where she led data and measurement initiatives to enhance digital product strategy and ultimately create value for clients and partners.