Improbable Defence

Meet the team

Joe Robinson

Chief Executive Officer

Joe leads our global defence and national security business. He’s focused on ensuring that all the work we do contributes meaningfully to the national security of our nations and their allies in the face of increasing global competition and evolving threats.

He brings a profound strategic understanding of these challenges, having served for a decade in the armed forces, commanding at various levels and deploying on multiple operations. He has previously held roles advising governments on technology adoption, and joined Improbable from the University of Oxford where he studied and lectured about foreign policy and global strategic trends.

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Mike Raker

Mike Raker

Chief Technology Officer

Mike’s a systems engineer by training and temperament. He’s responsible for designing and delivering practical engineering initiatives that will help improve mission outcomes for our defence and national security users.

20 years at Leidos, with roles spanning Vice President and Director of Software, gave Mike extensive practical experience of how best to employ the latest scientific, engineering and technical innovations to overcome real-world challenges. He spearheaded the establishment and growth of numerous US and international software factories, and led all aspects of technology development, R&D and programme delivery. 

The skills and experience Mike has accumulated, combined with expertise in venture capital, are proving invaluable to Improbable, our partners and the organisations we serve.  

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Libby Penn

Chief Operations Officer

Libby’s no stranger to fast-growing technology companies like ours. For nearly 20 years, she’s been helping organisations across a variety of sectors fulfil their potential. 

At Improbable, she’s responsible for building high-performing teams, ensuring that we’re operating as effectively and efficiently as possible, and allowing the culture we’re so proud of to flourish as we grow.

That means there’s hardly an element of the defence business she’s not involved in. From organisational structure, workforce planning and talent to legal and security, communications and marketing, Libby makes sure that we’re all set up, equipped and fully motivated to deliver on our shared commitment: to help defence and national security organisations understand and overcome the challenges they face.

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Professor Jordan Giddings

Professor Jordan Giddings

Chief Scientist

Jordan addresses complex challenges at the intersection of government, industry and academia. He’s currently leading Improbable’s innovation initiatives across defence and national resilience, responsible for ensuring that our teams and technologies are informed by the latest, most reliable research across disciplines ranging from AI and machine learning to data science and autonomy.

Jordan holds a PhD in Particle Physics, and is a Fellow of the IET and the Institute of Physics. He is a non Executive Director of the UK Met Office, and has worked with the British government in a number of roles including Head of Defence Capability Assessment and Deputy CSA for both Transport and National Security – roles that have given him a profound understanding of the strategic needs of government and the trends in academic and industrial research.

Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn

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