Charles Ewen

Charles is the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Met Office’s Supercomputing 2020+ Programme, a billion-pound research and innovation investment enabling the Met Office to enhance the UK’s capabilities in the areas of weather and climate science and services. The programme is managed through UK Government’s Major Projects Portfolio. Charles is accountable for enabling the supercomputing investment outcomes through delivery of socioeconomic benefits for the UK. Charles is also accountable for all aspects of Information Technology and sponsor of the Digital, Data and technology Profession at the Met Office. He oversees the delivery of world-class IT capability which supports the worldleading science and services which encompasses supercomputing, high capacity computing, storage systems and digital technologies. He is responsible for integrating cutting-edge supercomputing, cloud adoption and modernising ways of working to deliver a more efficient and effective IT capability. Latterly, he has been the Senior Responsible Owner of a major cross-organisational efficiencies programme as well as other large Programmes. Joining the Met Office as Head of Web and Media in 2008, Charles worked in a variety of senior technology roles before becoming Director of Technology in 2014. Prior to joining the Met Office Charles worked in the private sector leading and delivering high profile change projects and programmes to enable established organisations to adopt emerging technologies. This included some of the first large online commerce systems as well as large-scale integrations through acquisitions, mergers, and transformations. He ran a small consultancy business specialising in eCommerce and ERP integration solutions for retail sector companies. Charles undertook a degree apprenticeship with the RAF, graduating with a Higher National Diploma in Electronic Systems and serving for eight years before working in systems design and engineering in the defence sector. He then spent several years in industry helping a range of organisations adopt emerging technologies and leading operational technology teams in the US, UK, and Asia. He is a Chartered IT Professional with the British Computer Society.