Florian Pappenberger

Director-General
Office of the Director-General

Summary:

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.

Career background:

Florian Pappenberger joined ECMWF in 2004 and has held a range of scientific and leadership roles within the organisation. He is a hydrologist by training, with a scientific background in probabilistic forecasting and the prediction of weather‑driven natural hazards, including floods and fires.

He played a central role in establishing and operationalising ECMWF’s contributions to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), including global and European flood awareness systems and fire danger services, supporting early warning and risk‑informed decision‑making. He later served as Director of Forecasts (2016–2023), Deputy Director‑General (2021–2025), and Director of Forecasts and Services (2024–2025), before becoming Director‑General. In these roles, he led ECMWF’s operational forecasting activities, service development and major organisational and infrastructure transitions, and represented ECMWF in national, European and international fora on scientific, operational and strategic matters.