Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Richard Derek Leaman, (born 27 July 1956) is a British charity executive and former senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer. Since 2017, he has been chief executive officer of the

Tall Ships Youth Trust Tall Ships Youth Trust is a sail training organisation in the United Kingdom that currently owns and operates four 22m/72 ft Challenger class racing yachts, a Catamaran and a Ketch. Tall Ships Youth Trust, formerly the Sail Training Ass ...

. He was previously CEO of

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organization founded in 1934. The Association uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organization also participates in ...

(2010 to 2016).

Early life and education

Leaman was born on 29 July 1956 in

Lynton Lynton is a town on the Exmoor coast in the North Devon district in the county of Devon, England, approximately north-east of Barnstaple and west of Minehead, and close to the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers. Governance Lynton ...

, Devon, England, to Derek Alan Leaman and Jean Rita Leaman. He was educated at

Torquay Boys' Grammar School Torquay Boys' Grammar School is a selective boys grammar school in Torquay, Devon, England. , it had 1,113 students. The school was founded in 1904. It is situated in Shiphay, south of Torbay Hospital, not far from the A3022 and Torre railway ...

, an all-boys

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

, Devon. Later in life, he studied at

Manchester Business School Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. One of the most prestigious business schools in the United Kingdom, it is also the second oldest in the UK, and pro ...

and completed the Advanced Management Achievement Course in 2010.

Career

Military career

In 1975, Leaman began one years training at the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

. He was commissioned into the

in 1976. On 1 January 1980, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and granted seniority in that rank from 1 March 1979. In 1982, he attended the

Principal warfare officer A principal warfare officer (PWO), is one of a number of warfare branch specialist officers. Australia In Australia, a PWO is a Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Fo ...

Course and won the Edgerton Gunnery Prize; he was the youngest ever PWO. He was promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

on 1 March 1987, to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in 1991, and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1996. He commanded the

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

HMS ''Dumbarton Castle'' from 1991 to 1992, the

Type 42 destroyer The Type 42 or ''Sheffield'' class, was a class of fourteen guided-missile destroyers that served in the Royal Navy.Marriott, Leo: ''Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945'', , Ian Allan Ltd, 1989 A further two ships of this class were built for and s ...

HMS ''Cardiff'' from 1993 to 1994, and

Type 22 frigate The Type 22 frigate also known as the ''Broadsword'' class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Initially intended to be anti-submarine warfare fri ...

HMS ''Cumberland'' from 1999 to 2000. In 2000, having attended the

Higher Command and Staff Course The Higher Command and Staff Course is a staff course for senior military officers of the United Kingdom armed forces and allies. It is taught at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The course is p ...

, Leaman was promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

. He served as Director of communications for the Royal Navy from 2000 to 2001, Commander of the UK Maritime Task Group (COMUKTG) from 2002 to 2003, and Director of the Higher Command and Staff Course from 2003 to 2005. After attending the Defence Strategic Leadership Course, he was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 6 September 2005. He served as

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

at the

Allied Maritime Command Naples Allied Maritime Command (MC) Naples (MC Naples) was a subordinate command of Allied Joint Force Command Naples. MC Naples operated from the island of Nisida in the Gulf of Pozzuoli and its commander reported directly to the Commander Allied Joint F ...

from 2005 to 2007, and as Deputy Chief of Staff at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Strategic Command in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, United States from 2007 to 2009. Leaman officially retired from the Royal Navy on 31 March 2010.

Later career

In January 2010, Leaman was announced as the next chief executive officer of

in succession to Bridget Warr. He took up the position in April 2010. Since 2012, he has also been a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of the

National Council for Voluntary Organisations The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922). NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an ...

(NCVO). During his time as CEO of Guide Dogs, he "increased the number of service users by 50%, and overseen double-digit fundraising growth". He stepped down as CEO of Guide Dogs in 2016. In 2017, he became chief executive of the

. In January 2022, he took up the role of Diocesan Secretary and CEO at the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Personal life

In 1999, Leaman married Suzanne Clarke; they are currently separated. He has two sons.

Honours

In the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours, Leaman was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) "for disaster relief services after

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...

". In the

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...

, he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) "for his work on international maritime security".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leaman, Richard 1956 births Living people Royal Navy rear admirals British chief executives British charity and campaign group workers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from Devon People educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College