General Richard Nugee was commissioned into the British Army in 1986. He completed operational tours of Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Cyprus and Afghanistan. He also specialised in personnel (HR) roles culminating in Chief of Defence People (equivalent to Global HR Director for Defence). After a full operational career in the British Army, as his final role he wrote a Review of Defence's approach to Climate Change and Sustainability. He has since earned international recognition for bringing the implications of Climate Change and Sustainability to the Defence and National Security sectors. He is now the Non Executive Director for Climate Change and Net Zero for the Ministry of Defence. He has expanded this policy interest into delivery, as the Chair, Director and Advisor of a number of renewable energy and environmental sustainability start-ups.

He is Chief Executive of a medical research charity, the Scar Free Foundation, Chair of the Royal NAAFI Board, Director of his own Strategic Advisory Company, a strategic advisor to a number of consultancies and organisations, including the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, Oxford University’s Climate Change (In)Security Project and a climate-focused venture capitalist group, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and is Patron, Chair and Trustee of a number of organisations.