Member since May 2025
Ann Marie van den Hurk is an executive cyber crisis readiness advisor who prepares leadership teams to stay operational and credible during high-visibility cyber and AI-driven incidents.
She is the creator of the CrisisOS5™ Framework, operationalized through the CrisisOS5™ Incident Command System, which prevents decision paralysis in the first critical hours of disruption. By establishing decision authority and alignment in advance, CrisisOS5 enables executives to act decisively, communicate with discipline, and protect business continuity while facts are still emerging and pressure is public.
With more than 30 years of experience advising organizations through reputationally sensitive incidents, Ann Marie brings a practitioner’s perspective shaped by real crisis environments where hesitation, not technology, determines financial, regulatory, and leadership outcomes. She is the author of Social Media Crisis Communications: Preparing for, Preventing, and Surviving a Public Relations #Fail (Que, 2013) and a former nationally distributed business columnist.
I’ve always been a connector—of people, ideas, and possibilities. That thread runs through everything I do, from helping executives lead through cyber crises to guiding teams toward calm when chaos hits. I’m endlessly curious about how technology shapes human behavior and how, in turn, humanity must shape technology with empathy and wisdom.
When I asked ChatGPT to sum up someone born in 1970, it described me better than I could myself: “A visionary truth-seeker driven to explore, create, and lead, learning to balance boundless freedom with grounded follow-through—turning inspired ideas into lasting impact.” That’s my north star. My passion is helping others bridge the digital and human—safely, kindly, and with purpose.
Being Irish, I was born with the gift of gab—and storytelling is how I make sense of the world. I share my journey from public relations to cybersecurity, weaving in the lessons of resilience, reinvention, and courage it took to start over after 50 in a male-dominated field. My stories shift with the audience and the energy in the room, but the heart is always the same: showing that it’s never too late to lead, learn, or take the mic.
I’ve always been the quiet observer—until curiosity handed me a microphone. After college, I dreamed of working at the UN, but a recession changed my plans. I answered a blind newspaper ad and found myself at a Girl Scout Council, where a coworker studying counseling asked me to take a personality test. The results said I should be an army officer, police officer, or broadcaster. Only one felt right.
I walked into a local radio station, offered to volunteer, and soon hosted A Room of One’s Own, spotlighting women’s voices and stories. That experience unlocked my love of storytelling and led me into public relations—and eventually crisis communications, where calm, clarity, and connection matter most.
What began as chance became purpose: helping leaders and organizations find their voice when it matters most.
Being Irish, I was born with the gift of gab—and storytelling is how I make sense of the world. I share my journey from public relations to cybersecurity, weaving in the lessons of resilience, reinvention, and courage it took to start over after 50 in a male-dominated field. My stories shift with the audience and the energy in the room, but the heart is always the same: showing that it’s never too late to lead, learn, or take the mic.
I’ve always been the quiet observer—until curiosity handed me a microphone. After college, I dreamed of working at the UN, but a recession changed my plans. I answered a blind newspaper ad and found myself at a Girl Scout Council, where a coworker studying counseling asked me to take a personality test. The results said I should be an army officer, police officer, or broadcaster. Only one felt right.
I walked into a local radio station, offered to volunteer, and soon hosted A Room of One’s Own, spotlighting women’s voices and stories. That experience unlocked my love of storytelling and led me into public relations—and eventually crisis communications, where calm, clarity, and connection matter most.
What began as chance became purpose: helping leaders and organizations find their voice when it matters most.
