Maritime Domain
Defence Consultancy

Duncan served as Director General Joint Force Development until 2018, responsible for ensuring the single Services can integrate on operations both with other Government Departments and internationally. This included articulating trends out to 30 years and providing individual through-career education and collective training to meet contemporary challenges. Previously he led capability development for the Royal Navy and has commanded at 1 & 2* level for NATO, EU and US led coalition operations.

Duncan served as a Royal Navy officer for 39 years. Originally a surface warfare anti-submarine officer, he commanded 3 major warships on operations, principally in the Middle East. He commanded the US led Coalition Task Group in the Northern Gulf as a Commodore and as a Rear Admiral led NATO’s High Readiness Force (Maritime) and commanded the European Union’s counter-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean at the height of the scourge of piracy. On his watch piracy was defeated. Also, as a Rear Admiral he was head of capability for the Royal Navy, Chief of Staff overseeing HQ reorganization, was an executive director on the Navy Board and was head of the surface ship fighting arm. More widely he has worked in the Ministry of Defence in resource programming and capability planning and as Military Assistant to the Vice Chief of Defence Staff. He has a strong background in Joint operations, notably as the 1* head of planning at the UK’s National Joint Operational HQ (PJHQ) and on the Joint Forces Command Board as Director General Joint Force Development and Director General of the Defence Academy of the UK. He is a graduate of The City University (Systems and Management), a fellow of The Windsor Leadership Trust and a Younger Brother of Trinity House.

John has considerable operational and MOD experience. He has had 4 sea commands including the Task Group that delivered maritime strike into Libya in 2011. He also served 4 times in the MOD. As Head of Finance and Military Capability (Navy) he was the maritime advisor to the MOD’s finance director and provided analysis on the Navy’s financial performance and where appropriate the reapportionment of resources. In 2005 he was the first senior advisor to the newly established head of the Iraqi Navy in Baghdad.

As a Rear Admiral John was the Director of the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) – the MOD’s independent strategic think tank providing impartial and objective advice to highest level policy makers in defence and across government. In addition to delivering all UK joint doctrine he oversaw the strategic trends programme (Global Strategic Trends and the Future Operating Environment) which set the long term context for policy makers.

He was then the Deputy Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies and in his final role before leaving the Service was the Commandant (2019-2020). RCDS is responsible for preparing the next generation of strategic military, civilian and industry leaders from the UK and 55 other nations.

He served two years as Director of the UK Ship Register before his current consultancy portfolio.

Alongside his maritime career, he served for nearly fifteen years as an elected member of the City of London Corporation. During that time he was Deputy Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee and a member of the City of London Police Authority Board for 11 years, serving four years as Chairman and four years as Deputy Chairman.

Doug is a Court Member of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights (Past Prime Warden 2015/16), on the Honorary Court of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers (Past Master 2003/04), a Younger Brother of Trinity House, an Anchorite (Past President 2010/11) and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Southampton Solent University (2015).