Nigel Clifford

Nigel Richard Clifford, CBE (born June 1959) is a British businessman and academic administrator who is the 40th Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford. He is formerly president of the Royal Geographical Society, the deputy chair of the UK's Geospatial Commission, and operating executive for Marlin Equity Partners.

He formerly held several chief executive and senior positions, mainly in technology companies. He has also been chief executive of Great Britain's Ordnance Survey and Glasgow Royal Infirmary NHS Trust.

Early life Nigel Clifford was born in June 1959. He attended Portsmouth Grammar School before obtaining a degree from Downing College, Cambridge in Geography and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde.

Career He worked for British Telecom in a variety of roles from 1981 to 1992. He was chief executive of Glasgow Royal Infirmary NHS Trust from 1992 to 1998. From 1998 to 2000 he was service delivery director at Cable & Wireless plc. He was chief executive of Tertio from 2000 to 2005. He was technology director at Nokia in 2009 and chief executive of Micro Focus International from 2010 to 2011.

He was chief executive officer of Ordnance Survey, Great Britain's national mapping agency, from 2015 to 2018 before joining Marlin Equity Partners as Operating Executive until 2023. From 2018 to 2023 he was deputy chair of the Geospatial Commission, part of the Cabinet Office. From 2021 to 2024 he was President of the Royal Geographical Society.

In July 2023, he was elected as the next rector of Lincoln College, Oxford. He succeeded Henry Woudhuysen as the college's 40th rector in September 2024.

Honours Nigel Clifford was appointed an honorary fellow of Downing College, Cambridge in 2025.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Geography and to Geospatial Data Services in the King's New Year Honours 2026.

Professional memberships CGeog – Chartered Geographer, Royal Geographical Society FRSA - Fellow of The Royal Society of ArtsFCMI - Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute

Personal life He is married and has three adult children.