Tom Matthewson
Tom Matthewson is HR Wallingford’s Director of Markets and Research, bringing over 30 years’ experience in environmental consulting and market development across maritime, coastal, energy and defence sectors.
Biography
Tom Matthewson is HR Wallingford’s Director of Markets and Research, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in environmental consulting and market development. He leads the organisation’s strategic market direction and ensures that research and innovation are translated into practical outcomes for clients, partners and wider society.
Tom’s career spans the maritime, flood and coastal risk, energy and defence sectors. He previously led HR Wallingford’s ports and marine sustainability sectors before holding senior roles at BMT, where he most recently led Environmental Services across the UK and Europe and strengthened multidisciplinary collaboration.
A Chartered Environmentalist and Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, Tom has a strong track record in market strategy, commercial leadership and guiding teams that turn scientific and engineering insight into real world impact. His expertise includes coastal and marine sustainability, environmental assessment and the integration of research into policy and operational decision making.
Tom’s leadership focuses on collaboration, clarity of purpose and building high performing teams. He has contributed to a range of industry initiatives and advisory groups and holds degrees in environmental science and marine resource management.
What do you enjoy most about working at HR Wallingford?
HR Wallingford offers a clear sense of purpose. It’s a place where scientists, engineers and market specialists work together to address complex water‑related challenges in a thoughtful and collaborative way.
How do you and your team deliver impact in your role?
My role is to guide our market direction and ensure our research and innovation lead to practical outcomes. We focus on understanding client needs and helping teams apply evidence to real‑world problems.
How does your team contribute to our purpose?
We help shape how HR Wallingford positions its expertise, ensuring our work is informed by the challenges facing clients, partners and wider society, and is grounded in clear evidence.
By bringing together the insight of our colleagues and partners, we can ensure HR Wallingford’s research and market development are focused, evidence led and positioned to support long term resilience in the sectors we serve.
What excites you most about your work?
Connecting world‑class science and engineering with the water sustainability needs of society, and enabling collaboration across talented teams, is what I find most rewarding.
What advice would you give to someone considering joining HR Wallingford?
Be curious and make the most of opportunities to learn from colleagues across disciplines. Focus on understanding real‑world problems, and ask questions. HR Wallingford values evidence, collaboration and purpose.
What motivates you as a leader?
I’m motivated by clarity of purpose and the belief that well‑supported teams achieve the strongest outcomes. Creating the conditions for people to do their best work guides my approach to leadership.