Richard Crowther is Google’s UK Head of Sovereign Cloud Operations where he is responsible for delivering air-gapped cloud services for high security customers.

Prior to Google, Richard was a civil servant working in cyber security and technology delivery. He was the Deputy and Acting Technical Director/CTO for the National Cyber Security Centre until October 2023, and previously acted as its Chief Security Architect, where he directed the research portfolio, was responsible for delivering many Active Cyber Defence initiatives and consulted on the design of a wide range of government, defence and intelligence computer systems.

Richard has also worked in a number of other government departments, notably the Ministry of Defence where he established and led the Defence Digital Service (now the Defence Digital Foundry) to become a hub for digital transformation across Defence. Having authored a large portfolio of cyber security blogs and guidance, Richard is experienced in making complex technology topics accessible to a wide audience.