President: Nigel Clifford
In June 2018, Baroness Lynda Chalker was elected as President of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), the second woman to take on this role in the Society’s history.
In June 2021, Nigel Clifford was elected as President of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).
Nigel is Deputy Chair of the UK’s first Geospatial Commission, established in 2018 as an independent, expert committee responsible for setting the UK’s geospatial strategy and coordinating public sector geospatial activity.
He also works with Marlin Equity Partners as an Operating Executive, helping technology companies across Europe to flourish.
Nigel has worked as a CEO in many different settings during his career - public sector, private sector and in complex international joint ventures. These include Ordnance Survey, Procserve Holdings, MicroFocus Ltd, Symbian Software Ltd, Tertio Ltd and Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust. In addition, he has served as an independent non-executive board director for two publicly listed UK companies, Alliance Pharma and Anite.
Nigel was smitten by geography at school, thanks to inspirational teachers and field trips to the fells and rivers of the Lake District. He earned an MA in geography from Cambridge University and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Chartered Management Institute.
He is proud to be a Fellow of the Society and a Chartered Geographer.