Michael Utley

Vice Admiral Sir Michael Keith Utley, is a former senior Royal Navy officer whose last post was as Commander Allied Maritime Command, NATO from 2023 to 2026.

Naval career Educated at Cowbridge School, Utley joined the Royal Navy in September 1988 at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, passing out in December 1989. He became the commanding officer of the patrol ship in 1995, and of the patrol ship in 2004, with promotion to commander on 30 June 2006. He went on to become Commander Sea Training in 2010, and in that role was deployed to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November 2013.

Utley became commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in June 2017, Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group in October 2018, and Commander United Kingdom Strike Force in December 2019. He was promoted to vice-admiral on 13 January 2023, and assumed command of NATO's Allied Maritime Command the same month. This posting ended after three years in January 2026, and he formally retired from the Royal Navy on 12 June 2026.

Utley was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his service in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in the 2015 Special Honours, and Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2020 Birthday Honours.