Commodore (Ret’d) Steve Prest

Steve Prest joined the Royal Navy after reading Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Loughborough University. He served in Defence Communications in Corsham in support of Op TELIC 1 (Iraq), undertook a short tour in Afghanistan as a Liaison Officer to Task Force Helmand, and served on exchange with the French Navy. In the UK, he has worked in Defence Equipment and Support, MOD, the Permanent Joint Headquarters and the Maritime Capability Division of Navy Command Headquarters. In this latter role, he was the inaugural Fleet Robotics Officer, charged with beginning the transformation of the Royal Navy through the adoption of autonomous and robotic systems.

At sea, he was the Weapon Engineer Officer in HMS WESTMINSTER, undertaking operations in the Mediterranean (Libya), Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean; and then the Commander Weapon Engineer in HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, bringing the ship out of build and home to Portsmouth.

Joining Navy Acquisition in 2017, he was the Programme Director of the Type 31 Frigate Programme. He then became Deputy Director Navy Acquisition (Equipment and Systems), and Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Maritime Electronic Warfare and Mine Hunting Capability Programmes. He was Director Navy Acquisition from September 2022 to May 2023, and finished his naval career as Deputy Director People Change in Navy Command HQ.

Steve now has a portfolio career in the defence sector and beyond. He is an independent consultant, advisor, lecturer, non-executive Director, commentator and speaker; fulfilling his self-appointed mission: “to help brilliant people to do amazing things”.