Ian Spencer

Ian Spencer has been a Geospatial Analyst with the UK Ministry of Defence for 25 years. After graduating from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (University of London) he joined the Mapping and Charting Establishment (RE) as a Graduate Trainee in 1990. His early work focused on product and standards development and he later represented the Ministry of Defence in the DGIWG (Defence Geographic Information Working Group), and the geospatial standards organisations within NATO, BSI, and ISO. 

In 2002 Ian achieved a distinction in the Master of Business Admnistration programme at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. Concurrently he led a multi-disciplinary team in the then Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency, providing the agency-wide customer engagement in the first part of the PICASSO equiment programme. 

Ian joined the Defence Geographic Centre Management Team in 2004 and held a variety of roles including leading capability planning, delivery and integration; business and resource management and corporate planning; learning & development; information management; and most recently geographic research. 

Since 2008 Ian has led the development of Human Geography concepts and capability, and championed the role of geospatial analysis in the development of wider Defence and Intelligence Community (IC) doctrine and procedures. He chairs the UK Defence Human Domain Community of Interest and co-chairs an international Defence Human Geography working group. He also leads the annual international conference on spatial socio-cultural knowledge at the Defence Academy. 

In October 2015 Ian was appointed as Director of the Defence Geographic Centre and Assistant Chief of Staff for Foundation Geospatial Intelligence within the Joint Forces Intelligence Group. 

Ian is a Chartered Geographer and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society; a Chartered Manager and Member of the Chartered Management Institute; and a member of the British Cartographic Society