Prof Penny Endersby CBE, FREng, Hon FInstP

An outstanding government scientist and inspirational leader who has made significant national and international contributions to the delivery of life-saving science, services in defence and security, and weather and climate. She was appointed Chief Executive at the Met Office in 2018, President of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in 2023 and is the first woman appointed in each 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