Meghna Das, an accomplished leader, brings over 20 years of diverse sector experience across the UN, public, private, and charity sectors such as WWF, leading high-performing teams & driving impactful global & local initiatives including in the UK to help achieve results for children, climate action, sustainable environment, social impact and the sustainable development goals. A Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI), she also serves on the Board of the Society for the Environment and was recognised as one of the Top 100 Women in Sustainability in 2022. Her work is driven by a commitment to integrating climate resilience, stability, and sustainable development—ensuring children and communities can thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Maj Gen Andy Sturrock has been the DIO’s Director of Strategy and Plans since Jul 2023. He is responsible for providing a single strategy, policy and plans focus for the DIO whilst delivering Digital Data and Technology, Asset Management and Sustainability. He sits on both the DIO board and Executive Committee.

Having completed a Manufacturing Engineering degree at Cambridge, Andy commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1996. He spent his junior officer career in close support, general support and Territorial Army engineer units, including tours in Kenya, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. After completing an MSc in Defence Technology and the Advanced Command and Staff Course he undertook his first MOD staff appointment as SO2 Capability in Army Resources and Plans.

Command of 5 Field Squadron followed, including deployment to Iraq on Op TELIC 10 and re- rolling to armour. He was briefly an instructor at the Defence Academy on the Intermediate Command and Staff Course (Land) before promotion to lieutenant colonel. As an SO1 in the army strategy branch he worked as part of a small team charged with shaping the Army’s approach to the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010. And then commanded 39 Engineer Regiment, providing support to Op HERRICK, Op ELLAMY, Op KIPION, Op CATALINA, Op PROTEGO and Op OLYMPICS as well as numerous oversees and UK exercises and moving the Regiment from Waterbeach to Kinloss.

Promotion to OF5 brought a return to Main Building as Colonel Army Plans in Finance and Military Capability (FMC) Capability Plans where he led the small Army team during the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Andy also acted as the FMC lead on all defence workforce issues. Following 3 years in Main Building he returned to education as a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

He entered the infrastructure world in Sep 2017, on promotion to Brigadier, as Head Army Infrastructure Plans. In this role he led the transformation of the Army infrastructure function in preparation for the delegation of infrastructure budgets in Apr 2018; wrote the Army Infrastructure Sub-Strategy; and managed the Army’s infrastructure budget and delivery programme. After three years he moved to UK Strategic Command as ACOS Infrastructure, with responsibility for planning, funding and delivering all infrastructure services across a UK and Overseas estate that supports the delivery of critical National and Defence capabilities. He managed a budget of c£600M a year and was the SRO for several major capital investment programmes.

Although his rugby playing days are behind him, Maj Gen Sturrock remains a keen sportsman. He shoots for the Army, the Combined Services and Scotland; has climbed over 160 Munros; is a keen skier; and coaches mini-rugby. He is married to Jayne, a respiratory physician, and has three school age children.

Tom Odell is Head of the newly established Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence (DECX), and Chief Analyst for Climate Security in the UK Ministry of Defence.

Responsible for ensuring MOD research delivers innovative solutions in response to a more diverse and demanding energy landscape, as well as preparing the Ministry of Defence to operate in an increasingly challenging future operating environment.

Working alongside MOD and wider Government stakeholders, Tom leads the DECX team to understand priority issues and translate these into research that can be delivered either within Government or through the UKs industrial or Academic research base. Responsible also for ensuring that the impact of DECX research and advice is realised, helping military users to understand the value of the solutions presented and embedding them across various levels of the MOD.

The DECX agenda covers everything from understanding how to navigate the energy transition, meeting and managing future energy demand, accelerating energy innovation, energy security of supply, incorporating climate change induced instability into Defence planning, leveraging the “green tech” sector to improve battlefield self-sufficiency, through to adapting our forces to maintain operational advantage within a climate changed world. Before this role, Tom held various positions, including leading MOD Spending Review analysis and as an Exchange Analyst to the US Department of Defence.

James Carrick is currently a Chief of Staff at the Defence Academy of the UK (DefAc) HQ. He is also the sustainability lead for Shrivenham Station and responsible for innovating and developing projects of work to promote awareness of the climate crisis and physical site resilience. A Chartered Environmentalist, James brings over 10 years of corporate experience in environmental protection and sustainability, working on large projects and events like HS2 and the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, as well as national and international development projects in the private sector.

Seeking to combine his military and sustainability careers, James recognises the huge challenge in delivering sustainability, but also the opportunity to accelerate action and be a catalyst for change. Communication and outreach are central to this and, since 2023 whilst at DE&S in an Environmental Manager role, he has been a co-chair for the Defence Green Network, promoting sustainable and environmental conservation good practice from across the MOD estate, its agencies and Defence enterprise to over 1,300 members.

After 20 years of growing recurring revenue businesses in the technology sector, Tom is applying his experience to help organisations through the process of building geothermal projects from conception to execution. Tom started his commercial career in Enterprise Sales at MessageLabs and, after its acquisition, went on to lead sales teams at Symantec before being appointed UK and Ireland Regional Director at Achilles Information in 2013. Responsible for the Carbon Reduce, Supply Line, Link Up, Building Confidence and UVDB supplier assurance communities Tom developed expertise in regulated procurement and UK supply chains. After 4 years as Head of Customer Success at Kallidus, Tom entered the UK sustainable heat market in 2022, founding Bedrock Geothermal, a direct geothermal first consultancy for developing sustainable energy systems in the UK. Tom has an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford, a Law degree from Durham University and served for five years in the Infantry.

Bill has more than 35 years experience in technology strategy consulting to government and industry around the world.  Starting by working in the Cambridge cluster, he has since held senior leadership positions in six different technology and consulting organisations. He has worked extensively across defence and security in the UK, Asia, the US and Australia as well as a range of other markets including energy, transport, aerospace, healthcare, manufacturing, defence & security and construction. Bill has worked extensively in helping organisations to understand when and how to make investments in emerging technologies. Bill holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and is currently a Fellow of the University’s Centre for Science and Policy.

Kieran has over 15 years' experience in Technology Development, Operations and Product Management. He is heavily involved in Cambridge Consultants’ activities in the Energy sector, developing our strategy and capabilities in this area. Kieran is experienced in working with both large and small organisations, delivering customer requirements and developing disruptive business models to find commercial solutions to technical and market challenges. He has experience in a broad range of sectors, including Solar and Clean Tech, Technology Start Ups and Emerging Markets, where he has founded and built companies, led product development and delivered resultant products to market.

Will is the Defence Sector Director at MKC Training, where he leads strategy, modernisation and partnership-based delivery across one of Defence’s technical training programmes. With a focus on ensuring soldiers are fully prepared for operations, he champions contextualised, mission‑ready training that integrates modern engineering, digital capability, and meaningful learner-centred training.

A passionate sustainability advocate, he brings academic and practical expertise to the Defence Sustainability agenda. His MBA dissertation, “Wicked Problems: An Ecosystem Perspective on Net Zero and Skills Gaps”, examined how Defence, industry and education must collaborate to address the intertwined challenges of decarbonisation and workforce capability. He is a firm believer that sustainability is an operational imperative: reducing logistical burden, enhancing resilience, and ensuring that future military capability is both effective and environmentally aligned.

At MKC Training, he has driven the development of a decarbonisation and retrofit skills capability, working with government, FE/HE partners and industry to address regional green‑skills shortages and embed climate literacy across engineering disciplines.

He welcomes the opportunity to champion system‑level collaboration to accelerate Defence’s sustainability progress while strengthening operational readiness.

Stewart Herron is Chief Operating Officer for the UK Ministry of Defence’s Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC), where he leads the integration of business operations, governance, security, resilience and transformation across a complex, high-tempo operational enterprise. With a career spanning national security, overseas operations and major Defence transformation programmes, Stewart brings a strong business and operational lens to sustainability, focused on how environmental and climate considerations can strengthen operational resilience, reduce risk, and improve long-term affordability and readiness. His experience includes leading national resilience programmes, embedding sustainability into large-scale infrastructure and capability decisions, and securing investment in renewable energy and environmental initiatives in demanding operational environments.

Stewart has advised at senior Defence and cross-government levels on climate, security and resilience, contributing to the alignment of Defence capability development with wider sustainability and climate objectives. As COO, he now champions the practical integration of sustainable drivers into CSOC’s capabilities – linking energy and physical security, supply-chain resilience, workforce sustainability and governance to operational effectiveness. He is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course with a Master’s degree in Defence Studies.

Chris is a senior construction leader with over 20 years’ experience developing and delivering large, complex and multidisciplinary Defence and Rail infrastructure projects, programmes and portfolios across the world. Current role encompasses the Account Lead for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, which provides opportunity to work across the Army, Navy, Air, USVF and CSOC portfolios and draw best practice in sustainability, systems engineering and resilience practices.

He previously served for 16 years in the Royal Engineers, deploying to Kosovo and Iraq with visits to Afghanistan to develop Counter-IED technologies. He followed a progressive Chartered Engineer career path, culminating in authoring the strategy for the £1.6Bn Army Basing Plan Design Brief, providing high-level strategy for all infrastructure asset types and inclusion of sustainable requirements. On leaving the Royal Engineers, Chris managed several £100M+ portfolios of rail infrastructure projects, delivering the civil and structural work for electrification on the Midland Main Line, providing significant carbon reduction by enabling hybrid electric trains to operate between London, Corby and Kettering.

Chris is a member of Mott MacDonald Armed Forces Pathway Steering Board and an Ambassador for BuildForce, helping to identify work opportunities and networking for Service Leavers, Veterans, Reservists and their families.

Peter Egan is a dedicated sustainability professional with a strong focus on decarbonisation and biodiversity across the built environment. Having worked across the Ministry of Defence, United Nations and wider sector organisations including the British Museum, he has built an extensive understanding of sector drivers and requirements. As Chair of the Institution of Royal Engineers Sustainability Forum he drives collaboration and awareness of climate and environmental risks to Defence operations, while as Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Vinci Facilities Defence, he leads the alignment of the businesses ISO:140001, PAS:2080, social value and climate risk strategies focused on integrating our carbon reduction approach and sustainable practices across both Defence Facilities and Vinci project teams. Peter also champions biodiversity to enhance ecological and infrastructure resilience, while driving professional competence across the sector as a Trustee of the Society for the Environment. His passion for driving systemic change, bridges operational delivery with strategic sustainability goals, ensuring long-term environmental and social impact.

Fiona focuses on getting new technologies to market in the energy and climate resilience arena. She specialises in technologies with chemistry at its core, which is supported by her Master's Degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and PhD in Nanoscience from the University of Manchester. Fiona's industry experience, which spans start-ups and multinational corporates, has centred around critical minerals and novel materials. From understanding what's driving the competition for minerals, developing new technologies to access local mineral resources, and adapting long-standing technologies to do more with less, Fiona has been exposed to a variety of industrial points of view.

David Mackey is the Chief Executive Officer of the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF), a role he assumed in February 2024. With over a decade of experience as a Director at the CEF, David has been instrumental in overseeing commercial management, project origination, and the securing of £1bn of finance, including Public Sector capital for sustainable energy projects.

Under David's leadership, the CEF is dedicated to delivering net zero solutions for the public sector, combining environmental and financial sustainability. By partnering with the Public Sector and industry leaders, the CEF ensures that its projects not only meet but exceed environmental and financial goals through 2040 and beyond.

Prior to his tenure at CEF, David served as a Director at MITIE Group PLC, where he successfully managed and delivered a diverse portfolio of Energy Services projects across both the Private and Public sectors. These initiatives spanned district heating, biomass, energy efficiency, battery storage, solar (on and off-site), heat pumps, and alternative forms of generation and fuels.

David earned his MBA from Cass Business School in 2007.