Brian is Director, Risk & Regulatory Consulting. For 40 years he has developed risk-informed performance-based solutions to complex building and infrastructure challenges, consulted on building and fire regulatory systems and components, and undertaken research and taught courses in these and related areas. He has worked with and for governments, NGOs and the private sector in numerous countries. His prior positions include Managing Principal, Meacham associates; Associate Professor in Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2008-2017); Principal at Arup, where he led the Risk Consulting practice in the USA and globally (2000-2007); Technical Director and Research Director at the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (1995-2000); and fire safety engineer in the USA and Europe. Brian has served in numerous leadership positions in professional associations and codes- and standards-development activities, including as Chair of the ICC Performance Code Committee (current), Immediate Past Chair of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (current), Past Chair of the NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Risk Assessment Methods (current), Past President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Past Chair of the US TAG to ISO TC92 SC4 – Fire Safety Engineering, and Past Chair of the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee (IRCC). He is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Connecticut and Massachusetts, a Chartered Engineer (CEng) in the UK, a registered European Engineer (EUR ING), a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, a Fulbright Global Scholar (2016-2017) and a Fulbright Specialist (2024-2026).

Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of this volunteer organization, whose primary objectives are encouraging research into the science of preventing and mitigating the adverse effects of fires and providing a forum for presenting the results of such research.

Brian is Managing Principal at Meacham Associates, a firm that provides risk-informed performance-based solutions to complex building and infrastructure challenges, conducts building and fire regulatory system capacity assessments, and undertakes research in these and related areas. He has more than thirty years of professional experience helping governments, NGOs and the private sector address their challenges in these and related areas in numerous countries. https://meachamassociates.com/

I conducted research on performance-based building regulatory systems in Japan, Spain and Sweden, with a particular focus on how fire safety was regulated and how fire safety engineering was working within the regulatory structures.

Undertook research and taught in the areas of risk-informed performance-based approaches to regulation, analysis and design of buildings and critical infrastructure; egress and evacuation analysis; human behavior in fire; risk assessment and management; and fire detection, alarm and smoke management systems.

Led the Center for Risk and Security (CRS) at the George Perkins Marsh Institute. The CRS conducted in-depth studies of homeland security issues using a risk and decision analysis perspective. Focal areas included: terrorism; disaster and hazards management; law and human rights; resource allocation; critical infrastructure; social dimensions of risk; and international trade security.

Practice leader, Risk Consulting (global); business leader, Management Consulting (Americas); member, Consulting Sector Executive (Americas); risk consultant, management consultant, researcher, and fire safety engineer.

I was the first Technical Director of SFPE from 1995-1997. I transferred to Research Director from 1998-2000 when I was conducting research on use of risk concepts in performance-based building regulations.

Undertook fire safety engineering consulting in Switzerland and throughout Europe.

Held various positions, starting as Applications Engineering Intern, Applications Engineer, Systems Engineer, Product Manager, Systems Engineering Manager, and Manager of Systems Engineering Group.