Gary Preece is Head of Systems Thinking, Innovation and Net Zero Research at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). His team provide support to policy teams on scientific and technological innovation and use systems thinking to help design interventions to achieve policy objectives. He works on a range of environmental issues, including climate change, food, water and air quality.

Gary has experience of working for several government departments in the UK and abroad. He holds a range of qualifications, including in Business Administration and Management from Aston Business School and in Political Economy from the University of Oxford. He completed his PhD at Aston Business School, focusing on how systems thinking could be used in the public and private sectors to overcome organisational challenges.