Staff

Richard May

CEO

Richard is the CEO for Plymouth and South Devon Freeport. Richard led the successful Freeport bid and is Senior Responsible Officer for its delivery. Prior to his interim role, and now permanent position as CEO, Richard previously managed marine investment for Plymouth City Council bringing together marine technical businesses with affiliated research, knowledge partners and the wider ecosystem, under the collective name of Ocean Futures; a programme that the Freeport will play a key part in. The Ocean Futures aim is to establish Plymouth and the South West as an internationally recognised Innovation Hub and a UK National Centre for Excellence for Marine Technology – with leading capabilities in marine autonomy and geo-spatial data, clean propulsion and ocean sustainability.

Prior to joining Plymouth City Council, Richard was Innovation Director at Oxford Innovation managing business support programmes for 140 small tech companies and leading incubation programmes for the UK Space Agency. He also has over 25 years of business and senior management experience gained in the technology and consulting departments of leading global companies like Credit Suisse, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen.