Lieutenant Colonel Steven Cotton

Military Finance Business Partner & NATO Security Investment Programme Lead Royal Navy

Lt Col Steve Cotton MBE joined the Royal Marines in 1990 and specialised as a communicator before he was selected for a commission in 2008. He has wide operational experience having completed tours under UK,  NATO and the UN commands in, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In 2018, he was the Officer Commanding Base for 42 Commando Royal Marines where he was responsible for the Facilities Management of the estate, working alongside DIO and their Industry Partners, covering Hard and Soft Facilities Management, Base Security and Health and Safety on behalf of 600 Royal Marines. This 3-year role gave him considerable insight into the way UK Defence manages its Estates and since 2023 he has been appointed as the Military Finance Business Partner for Infrastructure and Digital for the Finance Division of Navy Command HQ, in Portsmouth. He is also the Royal Navy lead for the NATO Security Investment Programme and is currently developing maritime focussed  NATO Common Funding investment opportunities.