Rob Johnson Keynote Speaker

Director, Oxford Strategy, Statecraft & Technology Centre (2013–present)
Director, UK Office of Net Assessment & Challenge (2022–2024)
Author of Lawrence of Arabia on War, British Army Book of the Year (2021)

Rob Johnson's Biography

Dr. Rob Johnson is the Director of the Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology: Changing Character of War research centre at Oxford University. He was the first Director of the UK’s Office of Net Assessment at the UK Ministry of Defence and is strategic advisor to UK government.

Dr Johnson specializes in two areas: how we conceive of the future through comparative analytical studies of the past; and strategic leadership, to navigate through that uncertain future. He has recently written on Anglo-American strategic leadership in the ultimate crisis of war, tracing the dilemmas and calculations, the management of setbacks, bold intentions, and the critical decisions, showing how the same problems and opportunities of the past can aid our own decisions today, and prepare us for the future.

Rob established the first UK Office of Net Assessment and Challenge to identify strategic advantage, not least by planning over the long term to ‘get ahead’ of rivals. He champions the method of enhanced research results through interdisciplinarity and the use of external expertise.

Dr Johnson is the author of a number of books and articles on strategy and leadership. He has recently published NATO and Russia’s War in Ukraine (2023), Military Strategy for the 21st Century (2020), The Conduct of War (2020), and World Information War (2020), and other prize-winning works. He is interested in ideas and how these shape our decisions and wrote an acclaimed ‘biography of ideas’ of T.E. Lawrence ‘of Arabia’.

Rob acts as an academic support to professional military education across NATO member states and their governments, and more widely in the Middle East and Asia. He is currently assisting in the development of Net Assessment in Europe and the United States. He is a visiting Professor of the Norwegian Defence University and Staff College, Strategic Advisor on submarine technology, and Fellow of Durham’s Defence Innovation unit.

Decision-Making for Strategists

Strategic leadership with historical and recent examples, showing that the essence of strategy is to be found in the decisions we make, not in a blueprint or plan.

The Wargame: Simulating Your Way to Success

Crisis management can be enhanced by rehearsing, thinking through, and simulating situations. Giving the background story to The Wargame, this is how the process can be applied to one’s own setting.

Getting Ahead: Acquiring Competitive Advantage

A process of ‘net’ assessment, a dynamic comparison of strengths and weaknesses through futures analyses, can offer insights in how to position, resource, or leverage advantages over competitors.

How to Think Like A Strategist

Using a select group of historical travelling companions, and journeying through common challenges, these figures offer compelling strategic insights for the modern leader.

The Strategists’ Accelerator

A course, a taster for an hour or two, or a full day, this is a selection of quick fire scenarios that compel participants to make decisions, before the actual case is revealed for diagnosis and lessons drawn out.

He brings rare strategic authority as Director of Oxford’s Changing Character of War research centre and the founding Director of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Office of Net Assessment, giving leaders a proven framework for long-range advantage and competitive foresight.
He equips boards, governments and security leaders to navigate uncertainty by using comparative analysis of past conflicts to anticipate future threats, opportunities and strategic turning points.
He translates the realities of modern warfare, technology competition and information conflict into clear, decision-ready insight, grounded in frontline research and books including NATO and Russia’s War in Ukraine and World Information War.
He helps senior teams strengthen strategic leadership under pressure, drawing on deep study of crisis decision-making, the management of setbacks and the bold choices that shape outcomes in high-stakes environments.
He brings a global practitioner perspective through his advisory work with UK government and professional military education across NATO, the Middle East and Asia, helping audiences align strategy, capability and innovation for an era of accelerating change.