Alan West

With four years spent in the most senior position in the Navy, the First Sea Lord, Lord West is one of the most respected tacticians and motivational speakers of the last twenty years. His work with world leaders and policy makers has helped to shape some of the biggest naval campaigns of the last two decades and his work as a leadership and teamwork speaker has inspired business owners and security personnel around the world. Lord West joined the Royal Navy in 1965 and spent the majority of his career at sea, serving in fourteen different ships, and commanding three.

In 2002, he was appointed as the First Sea Lord and Commander in Chief of the Royal Navy, a post he held until 2006. He was also a member of the Defence Council and Admiralty Board as well as First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty the Queen. From 2007 until 2010, Lord West served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Government Spokesperson at the Home Office with responsibility for Security, Counterterrorism and Police.

He is currently Chancellor of Southampton Solent University and a board member of the Imperial War Museum as well as being a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.