Rob Magowan joined the Royal Marines in 1989. His career to Lt Col included an operational tour of Northern Ireland, US Marine Corps staff college, the first deployment to Afghanistan post 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Subsequently, he worked in the Cabinet Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, with a focus on intelligence. He commanded the Royal Marines 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group, redeploying to Afghanistan. As a Brigadier he commanded the UK’s Joint Forces Intelligence Group. As a Lieutenant General, he was deputy commander of the then UK Strategic Command and then head of capability for Defence. He was appointed Commander Cyber & Specialist Operations Command in March 2026.