Professor Penny Endersby is an outstanding government scientist and inspirational leader who has made significant contributions to the delivery of life-saving science and services in defence and security and weather and climate, both in the UK and internationally. She was appointed as Chief Executive at the Met Office in 2018, the first woman to hold the position. Her skills as a global leader in weather and climate science have been recognised through her appointment as vice-president of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Penny grew up in London and studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University with the help of scholarships from WISE and British Gas. Prior to joining the Met Office, she had a distinguished career at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), beginning as a graduate researcher in armour and ending as Director of Cyber and Information, and acting Chief Technical Officer. Penny was instrumental in building up Dstl’s capabilities in cyber and data science research and increasing their pipeline of innovative research and intellectual property.

Penny was awarded the 2021 Society Medal by the British Computer Society in recognition of her exceptional commitment to enriching weather forecasting and the predictive analysis of climate change by leading unprecedented investment in the Met Office’s IT systems. She became an Honorary Fellow by Institute of Physics in 2021. 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. She is married to a teacher; they have two musical grown-up children. Penny is a keen naturalist and musician, and an active member of Exeter Cathedral, including as a singer and adviser to Chapter on ecological issues.