Met Office Board

It does this by supporting and challenging our Executive in order to assist it in delivering against agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  

The Board is led by an independent, non-executive Chair and has additional non-executive members.  The Chief Executive, Chief Scientist, Chief Finance Officer, Chief People Officer and Services Director are also standing members of the Board.  Other Met Office directors attend meetings on a rotating basis, depending on the central topics of discussion.

The Non-Executive Directors of the Board are encouraged to assist in raising external awareness of the Met Office and its work, and to build beneficial external relationships.

Rob Woodward, Non-Executive Chair

Rob was appointed as Chair of the Met Office Board in July 2018 having previously held leadership positions across both the public and private sectors.

Prior to joining the Met Office, Rob was CEO of STV Group plc for nearly 11 years where he led the successful transformation into a pre-eminent digital media group. Prior to STV, Rob was Commercial Director at Channel 4 Television and was previously a Managing Director with UBS Corporate Finance and the lead partner for Deloitte's TMT Industry Group in Europe. He is currently Senior Independent Director of the FTSE100 Vistry Group, the UK’s leading provider of affordable mixed tenure homes. He is also Chair of the marketing analytics provider Ebiquity plc and Lumi Gruppen AG, a leading education provider in Norway. He is also Chair of Court at Glasgow Caledonian University.

 

Penny Endersby, Met Office Chief Executive

Professor Penny Endersby is an outstanding scientist, engineer and inspirational leader who has made significant contributions to the delivery of life-saving science and services in defence and security and weather and climate, both in the UK and internationally. She was appointed Chief Executive at the Met Office in 2018 and President of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in 2023, the first woman to fill either role.

Prior to joining the Met Office, Penny had a distinguished career at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), where she was instrumental in building up Dstl’s capabilities in cyber and data science research and increasing their pipeline of innovative research and intellectual property. She was awarded the 2021 Society Medal by the British Computer Society, became an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2021 and awarded CBE in 2024.

Penny is a visiting professor in the Electronics and Computer Science Faculty at Southampton University and an honorary professor of Physics and the Environment at the University of Exeter. Penny is chair of the Dartmoor National Park Steering Group, a place where she spends much of her free time.

 

Hunada Nouss, Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit & Risk Assurance Committee

Hunada is an experienced finance and business leader with a particular interest in driving performance improvement and change in complex organisations. Her career spans private sector businesses, notably Diageo plc and Burger King Corporation and the public sector, having held Director General Finance roles in Whitehall.

Hunada is currently a non-executive director across a range of organisations, supporting strategic change and organisational performance.

Alongside her role for the Met Office, she is Senior Independent Director and Audit & Risk Committee Chair for Market Operator Services Ltd (the market operator for the supply of water to businesses). She also sits on the Audit Committee of the Royal Society and is Chair of the Audit Committee for the Covid-19 Public Inquiry.

Hunada has also worked extensively in the education sector including a Board role for the Education and Skills Funding Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Education, and as a Council member for City, University of London (recently renamed City St George’s). She is currently an honorary Rector for City St George’s, University of London, and sits on the Remuneration committee of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and is a school governor.

 

Professor Jordan Giddings, Non-Executive Director

Jordan is an experienced leader of innovation and change in systems, data, cyber and technology domains with a background in academia, the private sector and government, recognised both nationally and internationally. Driven by cutting edge challenges at the intersection of government, industry and academia, he is particularly focussed on enabling innovation through multidisciplinary and cross cutting teams. His areas of particular interest and expertise include dual use and emerging technologies, complexity and complex systems, transdisciplinary research and innovation, cyber, infrastructure, AI, autonomy, and data sciences to build long term, co-created capabilities across government and the private sector.  

Jordan has experience as both a Board member and Chair across a wide range of commercial sector and Government organisations. He now works primarily as an independent adviser. In addition to his role as Non-Executive Director for the Met Office, Jordan is a science and technology adviser to the UK MOD and National Security Community, and an adviser to a range of physical science and data science led start ups and scale ups. He also supports a number of boutique strategy consultancies. He is a visiting Professor at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at UCL and other academic institutions.

Professionally, Jordan is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Chartered Physicist and Chartered Scientist. Jordan holds an MA Degree from the University of Oxford in Physics and a PhD from the University of London in High Energy Particle Physics.

 

Stephen Belcher, Chief of Science and Technology

Stephen became Chief Science and Technology Officer of the Met Office in October 2016.  Before this he was Director of the Met Office Hadley Centre.  Stephen has a varied background in academia where he is an expert in atmospheric and oceanic science.  In particular, the turbulent motions of the winds and ocean currents.

As Chief Science and Technology Officer Stephen:

• Leads the science and technology work done at the Met Office
• Represents our scientific and technical work to those outside the Met Office

Stephen is a visiting professor at the University of Reading where he worked prior to joining the Met Office.

 

Simon Brown, Services Director

Simon joined the Met Office in September 2020.  He has a background in the water industry in both technical and leadership roles.  These experiences developed his passion for customer service and operational delivery.

As Services Director, Simon has accountability for the delivery of Met Office Services to users.  This includes:

• Our observation network (land, sea and space).
• Operational forecasts and the National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS).
• Hazard monitoring.
• Production and maintenance of user products and digital services such as the website.

 

Charles Ewen, Technology Director and Chief Information Officer

Charles Ewen is the Director of Technology, Chief Information Officer and Senior Information Risk Officer. He is accountable for all aspects of Information Technology and sponsors the Data and Digital, Cyber Security and Knowledge and Information professions at the Met Office.

He undertook a degree apprenticeship with the RAF, graduating with a Higher National Diploma in Electronic Systems and serving for eight years before working in systems design and engineering in the defence sector. He spent several years leading operational technology teams in the US, UK and Asia. He is a Fellow of the BCS and has completed the Major Programmes Leadership Academy at the University of Oxford Said Business School.

Charles has worked for the Met Office in a variety of senior technology roles since joining as Head of Web and Media in 2008. He became Director of Technology in 2014 and leads a large and capable team delivering world-class IT capability. He is accountable for integrating cutting-edge supercomputing, cloud adoption and modernising ways of working supporting our world-leading science and services.

 

Nick Jobling, Chief Finance Officer

Nick joined the Met Office in 2004 and is a Chartered Accountant.  Before joining the Met Office he worked across a broad range of financial disciplines.  This experience was in the sectors of high-tech manufacturing and telecoms.

As Chief Financial Officer, Nick is responsible for the delivery of financial advice, planning, control and support to the organisation. As well as finance, he leads:

• The Enterprise Portfolio Office,
• Change Management,
• Property and Commercial, and
• Procurement.

 

Tammy Lillie, Chief People Officer

Tammy is responsible for the People directorate which encompasses all the aspects of the people lifecycle at the Met Office, communications, and engagement across all audiences. She is committed to making the Met Office an employer of choice and is passionate about realising the potential of people to continually drive the organisation forward, keeping staff well-informed, well-led, resilient to change and clear on purpose. 

Tammy has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Masters degree in Environmental Engineering as well as a Teaching Degree for Higher Education. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personal Development. She is a member of the Institute of Directors, and also holds an Advanced Diploma in Coaching. 

Graduating from University College and Imperial College, London, with engineering degrees, the first half of her career was spent in ship building design and teaching merchant seafarers before she moved into human resources, using engineering principles to embed HR transformation into organisations through talent, leadership, and cultural change.    

 

Lisa Browne, Prospect Union National Negotiator

Lisa is a Negotiations Officer for Prospect trade union. The Met Office is one of the Prospect branches that Lisa works with to negotiate with the employer to secure agreements on terms and conditions and other matters that further members’ interests. She also provides individual and collective representation and advice to members and branches in order to meet their needs and ensure successful outcomes.

 

Adam Jackson, Representative for Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Adam is a Senior Civil Servant and the Director of the International Research and Innovation Directorate within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). He is a development economist by background, having worked as an economic adviser to the Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone in his earlier years, and for the UK’s Department for International Development in Bangladesh.

He has since then worked in HM Treasury, the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Currently, he leads the Directorate that develops international science partnerships, research establishments and infrastructures, research security, research talent, and the government’s work with the National Academies.

 

Anusha Shah, Non-Executive Director

Anusha is a leading chartered engineer, thought leader, keynote speaker, panellist and a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion and fairness. As well as Anusha’s role as Director, Resilient Cities at Arcadis, she is also currently President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). She is a Visiting Professor at King's College London and Honorary Professor with University of Wolverhampton. She is the Past Chair of the Thames Estuary Partnership Board and was Non-Executive Director of Thomas Telford Board (ICE’s Business wing), Past Chair of ICE London and Past Co-Chair of ICE London & South East Diversity Task Force.

With over two decades of leadership and management excellence on numerous high-profile engineering and environmental projects in the UK and internationally, she is driven by a desire to make societies inclusive, safe, climate resilient and sustainable. Anusha sits on various industry NetZero and Climate Change groups including London Climate Change Partnership. She is recipient of several awards including 2020 - Top 50 UK Women Engineers in Sustainability Award.

 

Professor Alan Thorpe, Non-Executive Director

Alan joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in November 2019. His previous full-time roles have included: Director-General of ECMWF, Chief Executive of NERC, Director of the Hadley Centre, and Professor and Head of Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. Currently he holds part-time roles with the World Bank, Spire Global, and as a visiting professor at the University of Reading. For much of his career he was a research scientist in weather and climate. He was awarded an OBE for services to environmental science in the 2018 New Year Honours List.

 

Dr Andy Samuel, Non-Executive Director

Andy joined the Board as Non-Executive Director in September 2023.

During his eight-year tenure as Chief Executive of the UK's North Sea Transition Authority Andy played a pivotal role in conceiving and delivering on a fresh vision for the UK Continental Shelf.

With a keen focus on climate change and the opportunities arising from the global energy transition, Andy's work underscored the substantial potential for carbon reduction within the North Sea region. This includes carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and offshore wind energy.

Andy serves on a number of boards and helps companies formulate and deliver on their energy transition strategies and projects.  He co-chaired the Aberdeen Maggie’s cancer charity for five years.

He holds an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and a PhD from London University and was awarded a CBE for his services to the Energy Sector. Andy lives on a North Devon coastal farm, where he and his wife are enhancing the biodiversity. When not working, he enjoys surfing and spending time in nature with friends and family.

Catherine Bremner, Non Executive Director

Catherine joined the Board of The Met Office in 2023 and is Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

Catherine is a highly respected leader within green finance, with over 25 years of experience in sustainable development, finance, strategy and change management. She is chief strategy officer at Impax Asset Management. She is responsible for overseeing the firm’s strategy, client and digital change projects and AI strategy, working with the CEO.

Catherine has a wealth of experience across government organisations. She was Director of international energy and climate finance at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). In this role she was Chair of the UK climate and energy G7 Presidency in 2022, which was the first G7 to agree to Net Zero commitments, and also Head of Climate Science and co-sponsor for the Met Office Hadley Centre climate science programme.

Catherine’s previous positions include: Vice-chair of the International Energy Agency, Trustee of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Global head of environmental sustainability at ANZ bank and Chief operating officer at Low Carbon Australia.