Anthony Rea
Dr Anthony Rea, a strong leader with a management background and decades of experience in observations and data and in fostering collaboration at the international and national level, rejoined WMO in February 2026.
Dr Rea worked as a private consultant, primarily on capacity development projects in the Pacific through the New Zealand MetService, from 2023 until he rejoined WMO. From late 2019 to 2023, he was the Director of the Infrastructure Department of WMO, leading and contributing to the WMO Unified Data Policy, the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON) and the establishment of the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF).
Dr Rea started his career in the private sector before he undertook a PhD at RMIT University, studying the derivation and application of meteorological observations from satellite data. He graduated in 2005. Dr Rea joined the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, initially working on satellite ingest and applications, while he was completing his PhD. In the years that followed, he held several roles at the Bureau until 2017 when he became the Chief Data Officer, leading the organization in data quality and provenance, data governance and data management.
In Australia, Dr Rea is a recognized leader in Earth observations activities, participating in the Australian Government’s Space Coordination Committee and later as a member of the Management Committee of Earth Observation Australia.
In addition to his PhD, Dr Rea holds an Executive Masters of Public Administration with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, which he completed in 2008.
