Dr Vanessa Lawrence

Dr Vanessa Lawrence has over 35 years’ experience in the digital data community and has a background in geographical information and space applications. From 2000-2014, Vanessa was Director General and CEO of Ordnance Survey, Britain’s National Mapping Agency and from 2011-2015, she was a founding co-chair of the UN Committee on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM); UN-GGIM is now globally, the lead Policy organisation working in geographical information. Today, Vanessa and her team at Location International, are working as senior advisors to overseas governments and large private sector organisations. Amongst other appointments, Vanessa is a Non-Executive Director of UK Government Investments (UKGI), the UK government’s centre of excellence in corporate governance and corporate finance, the Chair of the UK’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Geospatial Systems and in summer 2025, she was appointed as the Non-Executive Deputy Chair and Senior Independent Director of the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science and AI, the UK’s national centre for AI and Data Science. Vanessa is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southampton and a Visiting Professor of Practice at Newcastle University, is the Honorary Colonel of 135 Geographic Squadron, Royal Engineers and an Honorary Group Captain in 601 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force. She is the Founding Patron of two charities, Map Action (2002) and Cure Parkinson’s (2005) and remains for both charities, as one of their Patrons today.