Andy was trained as a biochemist and joined the Civil Service Scientific Fast Stream in 1989. This allowed him to have wider experience across government with roles ranging from rocket scientist to aircraft engineer. He was Head of the Centre for Defence Enterprise before joining Thales in 2015. Now the Director of the Research, Technology and Innovation, he is responsible for the cross cutting S&T that feeds into the many Thales market verticals both with civilian and defence applications. His team spans areas from human-machine teaming to robust navigation and as such needs a wide variety of skills.