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Chris Saxby

General Governor & Managing Director at CSW Group

Chris joined the Royal Navy as a teenage apprentice being subsequently commissioned as a Marine Engineer with numerous appointments at sea and ashore across a 34 year career. His later years focused on the delivery of projects in both the research and development, and waterfront arenas. More locally, he was the last Superintendent Fleet Maintenance within Devonport naval base and the inaugural Captain Engineering for the Devonport Flotilla, responsible for safety assurance, risk management and manpower development across the Flotilla.

Beyond the Navy, he held governance roles as Chair of the Devon & Cornwall Joint Branch, Vice President of Council, and Vice Chair of the Technical Leadership Board of the IMarEST. Locally, he is a graduate of Common Purpose, and a former Chair of Devonport Services RFC.

In ‘Civvy Street’, he joined Babcock locally before heading to New Zealand to run the company’s operations there, which included all support to the RNZN, the running of Devonport naval base at Auckland and the delivery of an asset management service to all of Air NZ’s ground support equipment at every NZ airport. Within NZ, he was Vice Chair of the Defence Industry Association.

Returning to UK, he took the lead at CSW Group focused on support to less advantaged young people across the region. Maintaining his focus on, and commitment to, young people he is now a Governor at City College Plymouth.

Chris is a Fellow of the IMarEST, a Fellow of the RSA and a Member of the IoD. Now a passionate armchair sports person; he attempts to maintain his fitness through the more sedate pastimes of hill walking and cycling, having outgrown his more youthful obsessions for rugby and rowing!