CGG Appoints David Viner as Head of Environmental Science

Paris, France | Mar 17, 2022

CGG has appointed Professor David Viner, an internationally recognized climate change, ESG and transition strategist, as Head of Environmental Science. David will lead, develop and grow CGG’s environmental science business and also advise the company in defining the best strategies to deliver on its ESG commitments.  

David has over 30 years’ experience working internationally across global climate change and sustainability arenas in the academic, public and private sectors.

He started his career at the world-renowned Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, where he is now a visiting professor. From 2007 David was the Principal Specialist for Climate Change at Natural England where he developed the research and approach to landscape-scale adaptation. From 2008 he was the Director for Climate Change at the British Council, where he developed a global program of engagement to help support the UK and beyond for climate action.

In 2012 David joined Mott MacDonald, where he provided the evidence base for the establishment of the Climate Resilience Initiative which helped to transform and position the group as a world leader in developing climate resilience solutions. His most recent position was as an Associate Director at the Green Investment Group at Macquarie, where he led the team responsible for ensuring that all its investments were aligned to the global green transition.

Most notably, David has been involved with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1992 and was a Co-ordinating Lead Author for its Working Group 2 Sixth Assessment Report published on 28th February. He is also a member of the UK Natural Environmental Research Council’s Scientific Committee, a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Science and an Honorary Lifetime Member of Friends of the Countryside for work on climate change and land management. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and reports to date.

Peter Whiting, EVP Geoscience, CGG, said: “We are delighted to welcome David to CGG. His appointment underscores the strength of our commitment to growing our portfolio of new technologies, data and solutions which address environmental and energy transition challenges. His outstanding expertise in delivering transformational change will help us to accelerate our efforts and become a leader in environmental science. We are looking forward to his active involvement in our ESG strategy, providing CGG with the best possible insight for fulfilling our own ESG and net-zero commitments."

David Viner, Head of Environmental Science, CGG (image courtesy of CGG).