Mike Utley (Royal Navy officer)

Educated at Cowbridge School,[3] Utley joined the Royal Navy in October 1990.[4] He became the commanding officer of the patrol ship HMS Exploit in 1995,[3] of the patrol ship HMS Leeds Castle in 2003,[5] and of the patrol ship HMS Tyne in 2004,[3] before becoming commanding officer of the frigate HMS Portland in 2006,[6] with promotion to commander on 30 June 2006.[7] He went on to become Commander Sea Training in 2010,[3] before being appointed the last commanding officer of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in May 2013[8] and in that role was deployed to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November 2013.[9]

Utley became commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in June 2017,[10] Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group in October 2018,[11] and Commander United Kingdom Strike Force in December 2019.[12] He was promoted to vice-admiral on 13 January 2023,[13] and assumed command of NATO's Allied Maritime Command the same month.[14]

Utley was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his service in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in the 2015 Special Honours,[15] and Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2020 Birthday Honours.[2]