GÉANT (United Kingdom)

Chris Atherton

Chris Atherton joined GÉANT in May 2017, working on research institute and user engagement. He is currently the GÉANT representative to ESA, EUMETSAT, GEO, WMO, ESO and Europlanet. He currently leads the GEO working party on networking, covering AfriGEOSS and others. Previously, he worked for over 10 years in the commercial IT sector, working in data centres as a team leader and as a consultant. Alongside this, Chris also set up two businesses; sending up high altitude balloons to perform scientific analysis at the edge of the atmosphere, as well as founding a community interest company (CIC) with the intent to develop and grow the space industry in the North of England. Chris holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Networks and Security from Birmingham City University.