Major General Paul Lynch

In September 2023, Paul Lynch assumed the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary General - Intelligence within the Joint Intelligence and Security Division at NATO HQ, Brussels. With a wide-ranging portfolio, he is responsible for: development and approval of NATO intelligence policy; provision of all-source non-agreed intelligence assessments; provision of support to both the Military and Civilian Intelligence Committees; support to intelligence capability development; and coordination of NATO Agreed Intelligence. He also serves as: the Director NATO Intelligence and Warning System; the co-chair of both the Joint ISR Integration Group and the BICES Board of Governors; and a member of the Intelligence Steering Group.

His qualifications include a BA with Honours in Politics from Newcastle University and a MA in Defence Studies from King's College, London; he is also a graduate of the UK's Higher and Advanced Command and Staff Courses (2018 and 2007 respectively). He was awarded the Military Cross in 2003 during combat operations in Iraq. When not working, he tries to spend as much time as he can enjoying life with his wife and two children and staying healthy in mind and body.

Commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1996, he spent most of his early career in Commando units in a variety of command appointments, deployed on combat and counter-insurgency operations (Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan), and amphibious and environmental deployments worldwide. His more interesting early staff appointments were as a staff officer within the British Defence Staff in Washington DC, the head of the Amphibious Warfare department within the staff of the UK's Amphibious Task Group, and the Military Assistant to the UK's Secretary of State for Defence (Rt Hon Philip Hammond); the latter role covered significant intelligence and policy issues and sensitive counter-terrorism operations. Between 2014-16, he commanded 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group Royal Marines, delivering intelligence, information advantage and critical enablers to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the Royal Navy's rapidly deployable early intervention force.

Promoted to Colonel in 2016, he was the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Royal Navy commitments, reshaping its long-term operating schedule to account for a return to carrier-based operations. This was followed by an appointment as the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Intelligence Group within Defence Intelligence, providing leadership and coordination to Defence's intelligence requirements and collection management, and the geospatial, human and open-source intelligence disciplines. In 2019, he was the Chief of Staff for a Ministerial-directed review of Defence Intelligence and then held the role of the Assistant Head for Defence's human intelligence capability. Promoted to Brigadier, he was the Commander of the UK's National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence (NCGI) within Defence Intelligence from 2020 to 2023. As Commander NCGI, he led the Centre in delivering integrated geospatial intelligence for Defence and its partners and allies, and parented the Defence open-source intelligence centre, RAF Wyton station and MOD Feltham. This period was dominated by Covid adaptation and the war in Ukraine.