Assistant Chief Executive

Chris Payne

Executive Leadership Team

Preferred pronouns
He/Him/His

Social media

Professional passions and goals

Chris is a compassionate and inspirational leader, with a strong desire to serve society in the best way he can. His leadership is founded on strong ethics, developed through significant experience in strategic roles.

Skill set and experience

Chris’s military career was defined by operationally and strategically focused roles, including commanding operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and leading the unit providing security to the nuclear deterrent. He also managed the Royal Navy operational deployment plan, and served as the senior advisor to the Operational Commander, overseeing the generation, deployment, and recovery of all Royal Navy capabilities, with a budget of £4bn.

Professional qualifications or memberships

Chris is a graduate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southampton. He holds a Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management.

Interests and hobbies

Married, with two sons, Chris finds his ‘happy place’ in the mountains. He is actively involved in developing his family into a cohesive rope team, hoping they will appreciate these efforts in the future!

Work history

Chris spent over 20 years in the Royal Marines and Army, before transitioning to the corporate sector. Since leaving the Royal Marines in 2022, he has served as the Strategy Director and, more recently, Healthy Communities Director, at Places Leisure. There, he helped to reimagine the purpose of public sector leisure, focusing on aiding those who would benefit most from being more active.