Mike became an Associate in 2019. For the previous decade, he was Chief Executive of the RSPB, Europe’s largest civil society organisation for nature, combining practical delivery at scale with scientific research, policy analysis and advocacy, in the UK, the EU and globally. He now provides advice to civil society, business, and government sectors on environmental strategy and diplomacy.

He has over 30 years of professional experience of European environmental policy, the transposition and implementation of EU legislation, Member State compliance and enforcement, and regulatory performance reviews. He has served as a High-Level Expert on the European Commission’s Better Regulation REFIT Platform, where he was lead rapporteur for agriculture, environmental, climate and maritime regulatory policy.

An advocate at the highest political levels, he has advised a wide range of strategically important economic sectors on the environment and sustainability. He has been directly responsible for farming and commercial undertakings, and has led business partnerships, including with FTSE-100 and multi-national corporations.

A Council member of BirdLife International, Mike is Chair of the partnership’s Global Policy and Science Committee, bringing together civil society organisations for nature in 120 countries. He works in a wide range of cross-sectoral networks on UN and other multilateral agreements for biodiversity, climate and the Sustainable Development Goals.