Chris Wigley

CEO, Genomics England

Chris Wigley is the CEO of Genomics England, which exists to bring the benefits of genomic medicine to everyone. As the national steward of 60+ petabytes of human genome data from 100,000 volunteers, and a unique partnership with the NHS, Genomics England’s goal is to improve patient outcomes while lowering the cost of healthcare provision and advancing the innovation agenda in the UK. Through the COVID crisis, Chris was seconded as Senior Responsible Officer for Data to NHSX, and Genomics England launched a major research programme into the genomic drivers of severity of response to COVID.
Chris was previously COO at QuantumBlack, a bespoke Machine Learning company, and a Partner at McKinsey working on technology strategy topics. He has been a trustee of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation, and was on the Advisory Board of deep-tech VC Entrepreneur First as it scaled up. He previously worked for the UK Foreign Office, establishing and leading analytical work at the Counter Terrorism Policy Department to counter chemical, biological and nuclear terror threats. Chris lives in London with his wife Tara and their three children.