Dr Richard Davis

Richard was educated as an engineer and his first career was in the Army; his appointments included Chief of Staff of a brigade and Internal Consultant to major change and procurement programmes in Defence at Corsham and Abbey Wood. He then spent four years at AXA UK where he managed the process improvement programme and established the company’s portfolio management office (PMO). After a spell back in the Army running communication and media operations in Iraq, Richard then established himself as an independent change and programme management consultant, facilitating the transition from design to manufacture for the construction of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, preparing the Armed Forces for new overseas operations post Afghanistan, and directing the programme for online health services at NHS England.

In 2014, Richard moved to Cambodia to serve for Voluntary Service Overseas as Management Advisor to a Cambodian rural development NGO. On his return to UK in 2016, Richard completed a doctorate in Organisational Change at Ashridge and the following year joined the Infrastructure & Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office as a strategic delivery advisor, initially supporting the HS2 programme through to the beginning of the line’s construction, and latterly the Defence Major Projects Portfolio.

In November 2021, Richard became Programme Director of SKYNET 6 in MOD. SKYNET 6 is delivering all new UK Defence satellite communications capability out to the 2040s.