James Heaton-Smith

Programme Director - Clyde 2070 Future Programme Royal Navy

James was commissioned into the Army at 19, going on to serve for 25 years. During his time he served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. His early career was largely at Regimental Duty serving in Germany twice, and latterly in staff roles working in Operations/Plans, strategic planning and projects, including leading on the blueprint for the draw down of kit and equipment in Iraq. His last role was as head of compliance for logistic and technical functions worldwide. He has also served in Belize, Falklands, Kenya and Canada. On leaving the Army in 2015, James undertook an internship at JP Morgan Bank working in projects, before taking up a role at the Bank of England as a Programme Manager leading diverse projects, including the Bank’s Physical Security project and the £10 Note project. He then moved to Uber as Head of Compliance Programmes working during a turbulent time, as Uber fought for its London licence. He worked at Board level, mainly on the Taxi side, and also supported Uber EATS, EV bikes and other initiatives. He joined DIO in 2020 working customer side with the Army to shape the Defence Estates Optimisation Programme (DEO) across the UK. He is currently on loan to the Navy as the Programme Director for the ca £20Bn Clyde 2070 Programme. Outside of work he has been a Scout Leader for the past 5 years and is a keen Bath Rugby fan.