Inside a commercial national met service
In this fourth episode of The WeatherPod, we’ve invited Peter Lennox into the studio to discuss the operation of a national meteorological service as a commercial enterprise.
Peter, from Belfast Northern Ireland, is uniquely qualified to talk on this topic. From 2011 to 2020 has was the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Meteorological Service which was established as a state-owned enterprise on 1 July 1992.
This came about mainly as a result of pressures also being faced by an increasing number of national meteorological services – chiefly, the pressure to earn money on their activities rather than rely entirely on taxpayer funding.
But does such a change in status from a straightforward public service to a commercial enterprise charged with earning money on its services pose any problems or contradictions? For example, is the the requirement to issue public weather warnings or to provide national security support compromised as a result?
These are some of the key issues we discuss with Peter.
Guest:
Peter Lennox
CEO, Meteorological Service of New Zealand
Peter is Chief Executive of New Zealand’s national meteorological service and its designated Permanent Representative with the World Meteorological Organization. His background is in the business of science, leading key science & technology innovation programmes for both New Zealand and Scotland. Achievements include creation of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest Ag/Bio fund, and rolling out the UK’s biotechnology cluster programme. Peter has also led trade operations across Europe, in the Middle East and the Americas.
