Cervus Defence and Security Announces Leadership Restructuring and Strategic Growth Plans
Cervus Defence and Security Announces Leadership Restructuring and Strategic Growth Plans
Cervus Defence and Security, a veteran-owned UK-based company specialising in data-driven innovation for the international defence and security sector, is undergoing a significant leadership restructure to support its continued growth and expansion.
From ‘Three Men in Sheds’ to a high-growth product based company
Founded in 2014 by Alan Roan, Chris Baddeley, and Paddy Little, Cervus Defence began as a small venture and has since grown into an international business serving clients across the UK, US, Europe, and the Middle East.
- Alan Roan – With experience in international defence firms and the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), Alan also served as an Infantry Officer during the ‘Tony Blair Years,’ with operational tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
- Chris Baddeley – Chris transitioned from infantry service to defence simulation, specialising in training support, experimentation, and research. His military career included operational tours in Iraq, Northern Ireland, and Afghanistan.
- Paddy Little – Paddy worked in international training and simulation before advising on Security Sector Reform in West Africa. His 17-year tenure as an Infantry Officer included operational tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and Afghanistan, a training advisory role in South Africa, and the completion of an MBA at the Joint Services Command and Staff College.
New Leadership Structure
To drive Cervus Defence into its next phase of sales led growth, the founders will be transitioning into new and more customer facing roles:
- Paddy Little – Founder & Executive Director, Marketing & Sales (Europe & MENA)
- Alan Roan – Founder & Executive Director, Marketing & Sales (UK, NATO, Europe & Americas)
- Chris Baddeley – Founder & Executive Director, Marketing & Sales (Americas & Rest of the World)
In addition, Cervus is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Boughton as Chairman and Gareth Vaughan as Managing Director.
New Leadership Appointments
Steve Boughton – Chairman
Steve Boughton, a Royal Air Force veteran, has served as Cervus Defence’s Non-Executive Director for nine years. His experience includes a 20-year RAF career, followed by leadership roles at QinetiQ, where he specialised in defence experimentation, organisational transformation, and growth. Steve has also held senior positions in FTSE-250 and private equity-backed firms, supporting business scale-ups and strategic expansion.
Steve commented, “I am delighted to step into this role and help Cervus build on its hard-earned reputation in defence analytics, data exploitation, and decision support. We are committed to expanding our presence in the UK, US, Europe, and the Middle East while welcoming additional senior leaders to drive our next phase of growth.”
Gareth Vaughan – Managing Director
Gareth Vaughan brings a wealth of experience in scaling SME defence businesses and delivering mission-critical software solutions. His career highlights include:
- Leading Techmodal Ltd as Managing Director, transforming it into a leading data science consultancy and securing its acquisition by BAE Systems.
- Spearheading the scale-up of Overwatch Aerospace, a military UAV start-up, by establishing new facilities, teams, and client relationships.
- Driving growth at SEA (Systems Engineering & Assessment), where he led complex defence and transport projects.
Gareth stated, “I am excited by the alignment between my business and technical experience and the vision of Cervus Defence. I look forward to accelerating our growth and delivering world-class analytics and decision-support solutions.”
A Natural Step Forward
Alan Roan, Managing Director, emphasised the significance of these changes: “This restructuring marks an important step in Cervus Defence’s journey. With contracts in the UK, Europe and the US, and our work within the Omnia Training partnership, we are focused on expanding our capabilities and delivering exceptional results. Strengthening our leadership team will help us achieve our final transformation towards a high-growth product-based company.”
About Cervus Defence and Security
Cervus Defence is a recognised international leader in defence training analytics, known for its cutting-edge Forge, Hive and Forge products. As part of the Omnia Training partnership, Cervus was recently shortlisted as one of two consortia bidding for the British Army’s Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP), set to be awarded in 2026.
For media enquiries, please contact: Chantelle Cotterell
Phone: +44 117 457 2417
Email: info@cervus.ai
Website: https://cervus.ai