Air Vice-Marshal Mark Ridgway

Air Vice-Marshal Mark Ridgway grew up in North London and joined the Royal Air Force in 1999, commissioning as an Intelligence Officer. Mark has achieved multiple degrees from the University of Nottingham, St Andrews, Kings College, and Portsmouth. His staff tours to date have included in the Permanent Joint Headquarters, in the Air Warfare Centre, in 11 Group at Air Command, in the United States Central Command and in various professional roles across the RAF, Joint, Defence and international organisations. He has also had the privilege of commanding in single Service, Joint, pan-Defence, and multi-national entities. Mark has further deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the wider Middle East. Following a tour as Commander of the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence, he became Director Defence Futures on promotion to Air Vice-Marshal in October 2024. This post subsequently evolved from July 2025 to be Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, Futures & Force Design.