Dr. Stuart Wainwright OBE

Dr Stuart Wainwright OBE is Chief Executive of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, taking up this position in June 2023. 

Stuart has extensive experience of leadership, strategy, science and policy from several roles across government.

He was Director of the Government Office for Science from 2019 to 2023, leading the team responsible for providing science advice to the UK Government on the greatest challenges facing the nation and driving improvements in the way science is used across government.

From 2015-2019 he was Deputy Director of Resilience at the Cabinet Office where he led the Governments and nations response to a range of major crises and events.

Prior to that (2013-2015), Stuart was Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), responsible for ensuring Defra had the science it needed for its policies and operations, and managing relations with major science and delivery partners.

Earlier in his career he worked in a range of roles in Cabinet Office, Defra, the Department for Trade and Industry and Rolls Royce on strategy, policy, science and equality and diversity.

In 2022 Stuart was awarded an OBE for services to resilience and crisis response, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stuart has a PhD in microbiology and degree in genetics from the University of Sheffield.