John Chipman

Sir John Chipman is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Promaka Group, a strategic advisory, operations, AI, and defence technology investment firm, and also a Senior Adviser at Centricus, a leading asset management and advisory firm. He was Director-General and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) from 1993 to 2023, and Executive Chairman from October 2023 to May 2026. During his thirty-year leadership tenure at the IISS, he guided the organisation to become the world's premier institute for facts and analysis on defence and international security issues. As Executive Chairman of Promaka, he leads engagement with sovereigns and C-suites; fundraises for Promaka Holdings and Promaka Capital; originates contracts for PromakaAI; and ensures that priorities across the Promaka Group are well set and that communications within the Group, and with investors, clients, and senior government leaders and officials, are efficient and inspiring. Sir John has served on a variety of international advisory boards, including the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Ltd, and has advised businesspersons and companies across the defence, private equity, asset management, telecommunications, commercial shipping, insurance, extractive mining, oil and gas, and advanced technology sectors. Sir John was appointed a Knight Commander of The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in HM The King's Birthday Honours in June 2023, for ‘Services to International Peace and Security’.

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