Florian Pappenberger

Florian Pappenberger

Florian Pappenberger is Director‑General of the European Centre for Medium‑Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). He leads ECMWF’s strategy, delivery and partnerships across ECMWF’s Member and Co‑operating States, ensuring that ECMWF continues to provide trusted, high‑quality Earth system products and services that support decision‑making for society, government and industry.

Before becoming Director‑General, Florian served as ECMWF’s Deputy Director‑General and led ECMWF’s forecasting operations and service development. In these roles, he was responsible for round‑the‑clock global forecasting activities, forecast quality control (verification and diagnostics), and the development of new forecast products and services, strengthening the links between research, operations and user needs.

As Director‑General, Florian’s leadership combines scientific ambition with strong operational discipline. His focus is on sustaining forecast quality and trust while guiding ECMWF through technological change and organisational growth, strengthening collaboration with Member States and partners, maintaining resilience across ECMWF’s multi‑site operations, and ensuring that new capabilities are delivered reliably and transparently.

He has been closely involved in major technology transitions at ECMWF, including the migration of operational forecasting systems to the high‑performance computing data centre in Bologna (Italy), supporting continuity of service delivery while modernising infrastructure. A defining theme of his work has been the responsible operational adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning alongside physics‑based numerical modelling, including the development and operational use of ECMWF’s Artificial Intelligence Forecasting System (AIFS), with rigorous evaluation and clear communication of strengths and limitations.

Florian has also been closely involved in ECMWF’s contributions to major European initiatives, including Copernicus services and the European Union’s Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative, with a focus on strengthening the link between scientific capability, operational delivery and user impact.

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  • Organization
    European Center for Midrange Weather Forecasting (ECMWF)
  • Profession
    Director-General
Related sessions
In person
7 July 2026
14:00 - 17:15
EST - New York
CST - Beijing
PST - Los Angeles
AWST - Perth, Australia
In person
7 July 2026
09:00 - 12:15
EST - New York
CST - Beijing
PST - Los Angeles
AWST - Perth, Australia

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