Greggonomics – Thirty Years in ADR

Today I’m celebrating thirty years in ADR – three decades of people, problems, and the conversations that connect them.

1995 was quite a year. Not just because it was the last time Everton won a trophy, but because it’s the year I began what’s turned into a thirty-year journey in ADR.

October 1995: The Accidental Beginning at CIArb

On 16 October 1995, aged 25, I started work as an admin officer at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) in London. A couple of days earlier I had turned up for my interview. I can admit it now, I sort of cheated. The Secretary General’s PA gave me a typing test – she left the room for just long enough for me to press F5 (Wordperfect spellchecker) and the result was a completely error-free page of type. See, I did learn something useful at uni!

So my ADR journey began – in the same week or fortnight as me and Ellie (my then to-be wife who is still suffering me all these years later) bought our first house together. It was all going on!

I didn’t know what arbitration was. Mediation was barely a thing. Adjudication hadn’t yet appeared. But I found my way into a world that’s kept me busy ever since. I spent 13 years at the CIArb and most of it I look back fondly upon – certainly most of the people.

From Admin Officer to Global Mediator

Since I joined CIArb, I’ve been lucky enough to work in more than twenty countries, speak at hundreds of events, and train hundreds of people in the skills that sit behind good dispute resolution. I’ve also been involved, one way or another, in helping more than 100,000 parties at least attempt to resolve their disputes. That’s a lot of stories, a lot of people, and a fair few stories!

I had great times at CIArb and then for six or seven years at Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) before setting up Hunt ADR, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s helped along the way – colleagues, clients, students, and friends.

And of course, my much much better half, Ellie. While I was dining with ambassadors, watching ice hockey in Atlanta, walking with a tortoise up Mount Olympus, ascending Mont Blanc, being entertained by a Prince in Tunis or wandering through markets in Kowloon, Ellie was at home with Rob, Alice, and William – shaping them into the incredible adults they are now. Nothing I’ve done would have happened without Ellie.

The Unchanging Core: People and Communication

Thirty years later, ADR looks very different – new laws, new tech, new expectations – but the core of what it is hasn’t changed: people, problems, and communication. If anything, the need for calm, clarity, and conversation feels more important now than it did in 1995.

So here’s to the next chapter – and to everyone who’s been part of the first one.

That’s enough nostalgia for one day. Until next time, Gregg.

This article was originally published as the second edition of the Greggonomics newsletter on LinkedIn. To receive these updates directly to your inbox, you can Subscribe on LinkedIn or join our dedicated community over on Substack.