Chris Hewitt joined the WMO in 2022 as the Director of the Climate Services Branch, working with organizations around the world to build resilience to climate variability and climate change. Prior to joining WMO, Chris was Head of International Climate Services at the UK Met Office and Professor of Climate Science at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Chris has collaborated worldwide to evolve the climate services landscape ensuring pull-through of science to services for societal benefit and guiding scientific developments to be aligned to societal needs. He has been central to developing the UN’s Global Framework for Climate Services, has led several European climate service projects, and has been co-chair of three WMO Expert Teams. He began his career as a climate researcher and climate model developer after he obtained his MSc and his PhD in meteorology from the University of Reading.