Simon Berry is the Head of the Director General’s Office at the SKA Observatory (SKAO) the newly formed intergovernmental organisation responsible for the development and operation of cutting-edge radio telescopes that will transform our understanding of the Universe and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation. 
 
Headquartered in the UK, the SKAO’s two telescope arrays will be constructed in Australia and South Africa and be the two most advanced radio telescope networks on Earth. A later expansion is envisioned in both countries and other African partner countries. Together with other state-of-the-art research facilities, the SKAO’s telescopes will explore the unknown frontiers of science and deepen our understanding of key processes, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life.  
 
A member of the SKAO Senior Leadership Team, Dr Berry is responsible for the operation of the Office of the Director General, working closely with the international government membership of the organisation, and leading the strategic, legal, international relations and communications and outreach activities of SKAO. 
 
Prior to joining SKA, and the SKAO’s predecessor, SKA Organisation, he worked for over ten years in a variety of international programme management roles at the Science and Technology Facilities Council.  In addition to a period managing the research council’s contributions to the UK’s space science mission programme, he managed the ground-based astronomy facilities programme, represented UK interests at several international astronomy facilities at Board/Council level and coordinated several major programme and facility strategic reviews.