Chief Executive of the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC), and previously NOC Chief Scientist, John is an experienced research leader whose personal research is on ocean modelling for climate and hazard prediction and understanding. Since joining NOC in 2020, John has championed the embedding of digital approaches to furthering science, including digital innovations and has been key to thought leadership in his field and in shaping the research landscape. He has contributed extensively to science leadership at national and international levels, and has recently served as a Steering Committee member of the Global Ocean Observing System.

Prior to joining NOC, John was at the Met Office where he led the ocean modelling research team and the Head of Ocean Forecasting R&D, having come from Plymouth Marine Laboratory where he worked on shelf-seas ecosystem models.

John graduated with a BSc in Marine Environmental Chemistry from the University of Southampton before gaining his MSc and PhD in Oceanography at Bangor University. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Met Office and a Senior Research Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute.