The chief of naval personnel for the United States Navy, Patrick O’Connell has more than three decades of public and private senior executive experience. His naval experience was preceded by a career in the transportation sector, including in London as an interim director of program and strategy for High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd., which is developing a high-speed rail network in the UK. The HS2 leadership team recruited Patrick O’Connell to transition the organization from a parliamentary and policy group to an entity capable of delivering a rail system.

Dr. O’Connell also served as the president of transformation for Serco UK and Europe, where he assisted in the development of the company’s transformation strategy and execution plan. Work for the division involved outlining a strategy aimed at correcting poorly connected silos and reversing declining revenues. Earlier in his career, he functioned as the chairman of the BT Centre for Major Programme Management at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School.

Moreover, Dr. O’Connell is a Certified Major Program Manager Level III and Certified Project Management Professional.