Sir Richard Moore stepped down from his post as Head of MI6 in September 2025, capping a successful career in the UK diplomatic and intelligence sectors. His four decades of service shaping international security and British foreign policy make him uniquely placed as a global risk analyst and strategist for... Read more
Sir Richard Moore stepped down from his post as Head of MI6 in September 2025, capping a successful career in the UK diplomatic and intelligence sectors. His four decades of service shaping international security and British foreign policy make him uniquely placed as a global risk analyst and strategist for both governments and business in a “highly-contested world of loose ends.” Sir Richard’s calm, low-ego leadership of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) during a period of technological disruption and seismic geopolitical shifts identified new opportunities while neutralising existential threats to the British state.
The essence of being a good spy, according to Sir Richard, is simple. “You have to be prepared to take the world as it is, not as you would like it.” During his five-year tenure as “C”, he strengthened relationships between existing allies, as well as developing new and important partnerships in a changing world. Sir Richard was instrumental in creating a more open approach at MI6, fast-tracking emerging technology, including AI and cybersecurity, in order to keep the UK safe from existential threats. He understands that successful spycraft in the 21st century relies on a balance of artificial and human intelligence, using technology to interrogate the data, and the operatives to analyse the findings.
Sir Richard has an innate understanding of how the major world players think and operate. He worked closely with his US counterpart, CIA Director Bill Burns, during the Biden Administration, and sees the London-Washington alliance as critically important to the security of the Western world. As a former intelligence operative, he recognises President Putin’s mindset, and believes that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is watching the situation in Ukraine closely for signs of Western weakness.
Before heading up MI6, Sir Richard Moore’s roles included Political Director at the Foreign Office, where he led the Iran nuclear negotiations and strategic policy development, and Deputy National Security Advisor to the Cabinet Office, where his brief was intelligence, counterterrorism and cybersecurity. He also coordinated the UK’s response to the Salisbury chemical attack in 2018. During his role as British Ambassador to Turkey, Sir Richard brokered a multibillion-dollar defence partnership with BAE Systems.
Sir Richard Moore joined the intelligence service following his Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) degree at Worcester College, University of Oxford. He is a Harvard Kennedy Scholar and attended the Stanford Executive Program. He is Chair of the Kennedy Memorial Trust, which sponsors UK postgraduate scholars to Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Fluent in Turkish, Sir Richard is an advisor to global financial institutions and corporate boards.