Vanguard Class Programme Director,
Babcock International Group
Ivan was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1984 and joined the submarine service in 1989 as a weapon engineer. His first ‘boat’ was HMS SUPERB which was later followed by head-of-department roles in HMS TALENT and TURBULENT and the Submarine School before being promoted to Commander in 2004 and serving as the Devonport Flotilla staff weapon engineer. As such, he has spent much of his early career at the Devonport and Clyde waterfronts gaining valuable submarine deep maintenance experience in and around 10 dock including oversight of HMS VANGUARD’s first refit in the newly constructed D154 project facility (9 dock)!
A graduate of the Joint Services Command and Staff College in 2002, he has specialised in project, programme and portfolio leadership and management and has served as the Military Assistant to both Director Land and Maritime in the Defence Procurement Agency and Director General Ships in the subsequent Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation. He has been the capability sponsor for future submarine communications in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Underwater and Electronic Warfare (UEW) Team Leader within the DE&S Ships Operating Centre responsible for a team of 120 with a broad equipment portfolio covering ship and submarine systems along with all MOD diving and life support capability. He has also served in Joint Force Command where he was responsible for the delivery of capability associated with operational ICT projects and programmes along with key assurance responsibility for submarine strategic communications. In his last appointment he served in the Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO) in Whitehall as the Sponsor for Attack Submarine design and construction with responsibility for the build of the ASTUTE class at Barrow and Raynesway and the concept development of SSN Replacement in Bristol. In this role he was the chair of the Attack Submarine Capability Planning Group, the DNO Head of Profession for Project Delivery and the interim Head of the Submarine Joint Portfolio Office.
As a little light relief, Ivan also specialised in Military Intelligence, with an early analytical posting within the Defence Intelligence Service (DIS) allied with submarine operations. As a Commander, he saw further service here with responsibility for developing the concepts and operational design for both Materiel and Personnel Exploitation (MPE) and Biometrics in support of operations in Afghanistan along with the subsequent programme delivery. Promoted to Captain in 2011, he has seen operational service in Afghanistan as the Chief of Staff to the Interagency Operations Co-ordination Centre based in Kabul, which provided intelligence and operational support to Afghan counter-narcotic law enforcement activity.
Having left the Royal Navy in 2021, Ivan is very pleased to have joined Babcock in this important submarine support role (and be able to go around with his hands in his pockets – a trait frowned upon while in the RN!).