Prof. John Siddorn

Prof. John Siddorn is the Chief Executive of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), where he leads the organisation’s mission to gain a deeper knowledge of the ocean to address major challenges facing society and the natural world.   

Under his leadership, NOC is delivering on our vision to gain deeper knowledge of the ocean to help every living thing flourish through world, leading science, driving innovation in digital ocean technologies, autonomous systems, and data-driven approaches for the benefit of society and the planet, positioning the UK at the forefront of global marine research and environmental resilience.

John is an Honorary Professor at the University of Southampton, an Honorary Fellow at the Met Office.

He is Head of the UK Delegation to the International Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and has led the formation of Marine Science UK, the umbrella organisation, which he Chairs.  He has national and international representative roles and responsibilities including serving on the Governing Board for the National Partnership for Ocean Prediction, the UN Decade Digital Twins of the Ocean (DITTO) Advisory Board and the Ad Hoc Committee supporting the development of OceanObs ’29.

Before becoming Chief Executive, John served as NOC’s Chief Scientist, where he guided the organisation’s research. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at the Met Office, including Head of Ocean Forecasting R&D, and began his research journey at Plymouth Marine Laboratory as a biogeochemical modeller. 

International
Head of the UK Delegation to the IOC-UNESCO                               from 2024
European Marine Board Board Member                                            from 2024
Partnership for Observing the Global Ocean Board Member            from 2024
Digital Twins of the Ocean DITTO Advisory Board                             from 2024
             
National:
Chair of Executive Committee of Marine Science UK                         from 2026
National Research Organisations (NRO)                                             from 2026
Marine Science UK Executive Committee Chair                                  from 2025
National Partnership for Ocean Prediction Governing Board             from 2024

Previously:

Digital Twins of the Ocean DITTO Steering Committee                                            2020 – 2024
CoastPredict Steering Committee                                                                             2020 – 2024
Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Steering Committee                                 2019 – 2024
Alan Turing Institute Co-Director Research and Innovation Cluster: Digital Twins    2022 – 2023
WMO Study Group on Ocean Obs and Infrastructure Systems                                 2021 – 2022
UK Integrated Marine Observing Network                                                                2019 – 2022
Weather and Climate Science for Services (India) Science Lead                                2019 – 2021
Mercator Ocean International Management Board                                                   2017 – 2021
OceanPredict Advisory and Sponsors Board Chair                                                    2017 – 2021
IMarEST Operational Oceanography Special Interest Group                                     2017 – 2021
EuroGOOS Science Advisory Working Group                                                            2015 – 2021
EuroGOOS Members Committee                                                                              2014 – 2021
National Partnership for Ocean Prediction Executive Committee Chair                   2014 – 2021
North-West Shelf Ocean Observing System Steering Committee                            2009 – 2018
ICES Planning Group for Op Oc for Fisheries and Ecosystems Chair                        2010 – 2012
OceanObs’09 and OceanObs'19 Programme Committee                                        2009 / 2019
Healthy and Biologically Diverse Seas Evidence Group                                            2006 – 2010
GOOS Action Group                                                                                                 2004 – 2006