Met Office Board

It does this by supporting and challenging our Directors 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, Managing Director - National Capability, Managing Director - Products & Services, Managing Director - Enabling and the Chief Financial Officer are also standing members of the Board.  

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.

Simon Thompson, Non-Executive Chair

Simon started his appointment as Chair of the Met Office Board in December 2024, having previously held a number of senior leadership positions in the finance, natural resources and energy sectors.

Prior to joining the Met Office, Simon served as chairman of 3i Group and Rio Tinto and as a director of Anglo American. Committed to public good science and sustainability, Simon currently serves as a director of the British Geological Survey and is a Defra-appointed member of the Peak District National Park Authority.

He is also a Senior Advisor to Rothschild & Co. and a member of the Energy Transition Commission. Simon’s academic credentials include a MA in geology from Oxford University, a PhD in history from King’s College London and an Honorary Professorship at the University of Exeter, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economics.

 

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 previously served as Chair of the Dartmoor National Park Steering Group, a place where she spends much of her free time.

 

Lynn Mawdsley, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

Lynn is a respected leader with extensive financial and commercial expertise across a broad range of industry sectors.

Alongside her Met Office appointment, Lynn is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit and Risk for Ordnance Survey Limited. Her last executive role was as Chief Executive Officer of Interserve Support Services, a strategic government supplier, leading the business through the Covid-19 pandemic and a sale process. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has a degree in Arabic and Spanish from the University of Exeter.

 

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 Belcher is Chief Scientist at the UK Met Office with responsibility for leading the research, development and operations of the Met Office’s work on weather and climate.  The Met Office team of more than 900 research scientists, engineers and technologists has earned a world-wide reputation for excellence in weather and climate science and the translation of this science into weather and climate services for daily weather forecasts, emergency response (for example to volcanic eruptions), and into climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Stephen represents the Met Office on science and technology to UK Government as a member of the UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor network led by Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Dame Angela McLean, ensuring that the Met Office programme fits properly into the wider UK and international environmental science landscape. He is a trustee of the Science Museum, chair of the World Meteorological Organisation’s Science Advisory Panel and a visiting professor at the Universities of Reading and Exeter. He was awarded a CBE in the 2026 New Years Honours for contributions to climate science.

 

Simon Brown, Services Director

Simon started his career in the water industry, having graduated from the University of Birmingham with a Geography and Geology degree and a Masters in Water Management and Technology. He spent 13 years working in the private sector for the leading FTSE100 water company, Severn Trent, undertaking a number of technical, commercial, programme and strategic performance roles across the water and waste businesses.  Simon moved to work in the Water B2B sector in 2016, firstly as part of the senior leadership team for setting up the largest company in the market - Water Plus. In 2018, he took up Executive accountability for the design and set up of Water Plus’s transformation directorate and led an 18-month programme focussed on business and system improvements, digitalisation and a review of the IT infrastructure.

Simon joined the Met Office in 2020 as Director of Services leading on organisational resilience, improving employee management, improving Health and Safety maturity and improving the Met Office Service Management approach. In 2025 following a Senior Leadership redesign, he was promoted to Managing Director of Products and Services. This role is accountable for all our customer facing activity from Sales through to service delivery and ongoing relationship management, with a revenue of over £350m. A digital transformation of this area is underway to drive more value for customers and delivery of social economic benefits by exploiting the data and science through our modelling capability.

Simon sits as UK Head of Delegation at EUMETSAT and is a member of the National Space Strategy and Delivery Board as well as the National Risk Severity Assessment Steering Group.  He is accountable for the Met Office’s National Risk which it owns on behalf of the UK Governance. He has been executive lead for the Bullying and Harassment and Caring Networks and is the current sponsor of the Social Mobility initiatives across the Met Office, a subject close to his heart.

Simon is also a trustee of the South Staffordshire Charitable Trust which supports those who need support with their water bills.

Elizabeth Harris - Interim Managing Director - Enabling and Simplification Programme Director

Appointed as interim Managing Director - Enabling Domain in January 26 Elizabeth is responsible for ensuring that the capabilities delivered through the Domain do so effectively and efficiently. She will also be responsible for formally standing up the Domain as the Simplification Programme is implemented. Elizabeth is also leading the Simplification Programme, which is delivering outcome 15; Simpler to work for, Simpler to work with of our 2025-30 strategy. This is a fundamental transformation of the Met Office.  Previously Elizabeth was our Programme Director and both professionalised the capability and significantly increased the maturity of our delivery.    She is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IET, and also a Chartered Project Professional, with decades of experience leading the delivery of cutting-edge research within government.

Elizabeth started her career as an electronic engineering apprentice, which gave a good practical grounding in engineering. A first degree by day release and a Masters in Systems Engineering followed while working in several areas of technology research and equipment procurement in the Ministry of Defence.

Alongside her internally focussed activity Elizabeth represents the Met Office at the Association of Project Management South West Group and is an active reviewer for Government high risk Major Projects

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.

 

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.

 

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

Cath is Director of Thames Programme Delivery, Environment Agency, responsible for leading the Thames Estuary 2100 Strategy and delivery of the Thames major programmes, driving investment across the River Thames and Thames Estuary to ensure future flood resilience.  

Outside of the Environment Agency, Cath is on the Board and Renumeration Committee Chair of the Met Office, and on the Adaptation Working Group of the Climate Change Risk Forum.

With over 25 years of experience in sustainable development, finance, strategy and change management, Cath is also a highly respected leader in green finance. Cath was previously at Partners in Performance, part of Accenture as a Principal Director and Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at Impax Asset Management. Before joining Impax in 2021, Cath spent five years at the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, including acting as Director General, responsible for around 500 staff tasked with developing the UK’s Net Zero Strategy and International Climate and Energy policy. She also chaired the UK Government’s Climate and Energy G7 Presidency in 2022.  

Dr Florence Rabier, Non-Executive Director

Florence joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in January 2026. Florence is a strategic leader in weather and climate science, with over 35 years’ experience driving innovation, operations, and governance in meteorology. As Director-General of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for 10 years, she steered major expansion and transformations, including a radical development and implementation of AI weather prediction models, formed global partnerships, and delivered high-quality services to 35 member and cooperating states.  

She is recognised globally for pioneering contributions to AI, Earth System forecasting and satellite data assimilation, with a strong record of board service, programme leadership, and engagement with meteorological services, UN, space agencies and scientific bodies.

 

Lindsay Jamieson, DSIT Representative

Lindsay Jamieson is Deputy Director for Science and Innovation Sponsorship in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). She works with a number of DSIT’s partner organisations including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Advances Research and Innovation Agency (ARIA) and DSIT public sector research establishments (National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Intellectual Property Office (IPO)) ensuring effective government sponsorship and supporting strategic policy links between the department and its arms-length bodies. Lindsay has previously worked in a range of other civil service departments, including leading on civil nuclear infrastructure and capability requirements in DESNZ (formally BEIS), working closely with the National Nuclear Laboratory. Before that she spent a number of years working on EU affairs, first in the Cabinet Office then working as a Diplomat in the UK Representation/Mission to the EU in Brussels. Lindsay’s civil service career began in the Intellectual Property Office supporting businesses to understand the value of their IP.