Sir Jon Thompson
Biography
Sir Jon Thompson joined HS2 in April 2021 and was appointed as Chair on 9 February 2023. Sir Jon’s appointment, after almost a year as Deputy Chair, came at a pivotal time for the HS2 programme. Sir Jon brings decades of experience delivering major projects and world-class leadership having previously served as the Permanent Secretary at both the Ministry of Defence and HM Revenue and Customs. Currently Sir Jon serves as a director at the Financial Reporting Council and is the Chair of the Crown Hosting Data Centres.
Sir Jon has had a lengthy finance career including as Director General of Finance at the Ministry of Defence, Director General of Corporate Services at the Department for Education and Finance Director of Ofsted. Before joining the Civil Service in 2004 Sir Jon held a number of corporate services and finance roles in the public and corporate sectors.