Bringing Decades of Intelligence and Security Expertise for Global Success
When talking about intelligence and security nowadays, cybersecurity is usually the first thing on our collective minds. However, “old school” intelligence services that integrate and overlap with cybersecurity capabilities are crucial to safeguard confidential information. With extensive experience within the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), Tim Bosch (CEO) and Bob Dirkse (COO) teamed up to found Birdwatcher Group in 2022. While Bob was working in Ukraine before the invasion of February 2022, Tim visited and both decided over a long lunch to bring their network, decades of expertise, and capabilities together. These unique traits set Birdwatcher Group apart from traditional intelligence consultancies. Birdwatcher Group today has positioned itself as a critical partner for organisations navigating the ever-evolving security landscape.
Birdwatcher Group operates on three foundational pillars: security sector reform, investigations, and intelligence technology solutions. Their security sector reform services assist governments in reshaping and strengthening their intelligence frameworks through hands-on training and consultancy. Birdwatcher Group’s investigative services span complex cases such as corporate espionage, fraud, and corruption, using their deep intelligence expertise to deliver results in highly sensitive situations. Their third pillar offers innovative hardware and software solutions, supplying clients with the tools they need. This ranges from advanced jammers to intelligence software platforms to stay ahead in an increasingly technology-driven world. Tim added that they “are a one stop shop, so we combine things that others normally do not combine.” The combination of services together with Tim and Bob’s unique backgrounds mixing management and operational experience allows them to bring something truly special to the table.
Birdwatcher Group’s strength lies in the founders’ unique intelligence and security backgrounds, which provide them with deep, well-established connections across the global intelligence community. They have built a team of six here in The Hague and also operate a branch out of Armenia. Birdwatcher Group operates a network-based organisational structure which enables them to partner with external experts and maintain an agile core team. “The global network is something we are quite proud of,” Tim mentioned. With plans to scale in the future, they are actively evaluating whether to grow organically through strategic hires or to partner with investors to accelerate expansion. Their goal is not to scale beyond their means but to be able to cope with work they see as critical to their business and mission. “It’s not all about size, but it's about enough people to keep on learning, to have an ecosystem where we can learn from each other,” Tim shared.
Birdwatcher Group is succeeding through their network but they are also growing and benefiting from the intelligence and security ecosystem. When we sat down to talk to Birdwatcher group, they were interviewing applicants for an internship position for which more than seventy students applied from Leiden University’s Intelligence and Security Studies. These connections with universities allows Tim and Bob to strengthen their ecosystem ties and learn from the next generation of experts. Bob talked about how they “come from a different era [and these students] bring other things to the table, which we find very interesting.” Beyond universities, Bob commented on their ambition to be “the missing link between governmental agencies and private companies.” Birdwatcher Group endeavours to be a platform for all of these entities, strengthening the ecosystem within The Hague and the Netherlands.
Birdwatcher Group joined HSD Campus after searching for a new office in The Hague. They had heard of the concept but saw it as more focused on cybersecurity companies, and even though they have cyber capabilities, Birdwatcher Group is more classically aligned with intelligence and security services. After meeting with Nabile Benali, Campus Manager at HSD Campus, Tim thought “How could we have missed this concept? Because we completely belong here, and all the companies here are relevant for us.” and that it is “never too late to realise that [HSD Campus] is the place we belong.” They were already partnered with another company at the campus, Akasec, and hope to work closely with other members of the community in the future. Tim and Bob want to make sure their doors are always open to meet other members of the community and ecosystem. They invite everyone to stop by, especially if they would like to meet their two office dogs.
