Brigadier Rich Byfield was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in 1994. Over the last 30 years Brigadier Rich has held a number of Staff and specialist roles across the Army, MOD and Other Government Departments. Operationally he has deployed to Bosnia (in 1995, 1996 and 2000), Kosovo (1999) and Iraq (2007).
He served as SO1 G6 Commitments in the Army Directorate of Operations and Contingencies, followed by SO1 Capability Coherence in the Army Directorate of Information. For operational planning, including a contribution to the first Op CABRIT deployment, he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2019. He was attached to The Cabinet Office for COVID-19 planning, gaining a fascinating insight into national resilience. Following promotion to Colonel in 2020, Brigadier Rich assumed the dual role of Deputy Commander 1(UK) Signal Brigade / ACOS G6 in HQ ARRC. In May 2023 he became the Chief of Staff to the Army Chief Information Officer and was selected for promotion to Brigadier that same year.
Brigadier Byfield assumed his current appointment in October 2024 as Army Head Digital and Data Officer, responsible for Army Digitalisation, AI, IT, Data and Analytics, Information Interoperability, and setting training requirements for the Royal Signals and Intelligence Corps. He is SRO for two Programmes and is the current Chair of the Royal Signals Institution.