Chris Parry

Chris Parry's Biography

Chris Parry has an international reputation for his penetrating analysis and stimulating articulation of a wide range of geopolitical, strategic and security themes. He is one of the UK’s top strategic thinkers and forecasters, whose assessments about the future have consistently proved extremely accurate and are considered amongst the best in the field by governments, the City, the academic world and a variety of national and international institutions.

Chris Parry is a compelling speaker on future trends, likely risks and trans-national issues He has expertise and distinctive insight across a wide range of strategic, technological and specialist disciplines, This covers topics such as:- Climate change; Globalisation; Population Trends and Movement; Economic Developments; Social and Cultural change; Religious Conflict; Security Risks and Military Threat; Innovation and Technology; The future race for resources and energy supplies.
During an earlier career in the Royal Navy, ultimately reaching the rank of Rear Admiral. At South Georgia, he rescued 16 SAS troopers and the aircrew of two crashed helicopters from Fortuna Glacier during hurricane force winds and atrocious weather conditions. Three days later, he detected and disabled the Argentinian submarine SANTA FE as the precursor to re-taking the island. He subsequently commanded a destroyer, an assault ship and an amphibious group.
As a senior executive, he headed two advanced Government thought leadership, research and innovation organizations, tasked with developing future technological and operational concepts and implementing sector-wide best practice and change. He was also the head of the Ministry of Defence’s trouble-shooting unit, directly accountable to Ministers for the maintenance of operational capability; business, organizational and efficiency improvements and the conduct of high profile public inquiries and operational audits. Finally, as a Rear Admiral, he was in charge of the UK Government’s Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, where he was responsible for ensuring that UK Armed Forces were fully fit for purpose both in current operations and out to 2025. This involved detailed analysis and identification of the most likely trends and features of the future strategic landscape, based on extensive cross-dimensional studies of historic behaviour, human activity and emerging contexts.
This succession of highly challenging appointments involved leading, encouraging and motivating men and women of all ages and backgrounds to perform to the highest standards and to prevail in the most demanding and complex circumstances. As a result, he continues to develop and teach advanced leadership, organizational design and operational management techniques for use in an uncertain and fast-changing world and he has been instrumental in leading highly successful senior brainstorming sessions and strategic workshops.
For each event, Chris develops a precisely tailored, entertaining and original presentation, in line with the particular needs and expectations of his audience, with leading-edge themes and insights gained both from rigorous cross-disciplinary research, leading-edge analysis and his own experience. Above all, his talks are designed to encourage further thought and stimulate innovation.