With 30 years of experience and as a senior officer in the Australian Defence Force, Ian Langford has had the challenge and opportunity of leading large and small teams in complex and ambiguous environments. Ian has held a range of appointments in the Army and Special Forces throughout his career. Ian commanded the 2nd Commando Regiment, as well as multiple Special Operations Task Groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, and on domestic counter-terrorism duties. Ian has also led the at the strategic level, responsible for the Army’s future strategic investments, future concepts and capabilities, major capital acquisitions and critical sustainment systems as the Head of Land Capability on two separate occasions in both 2019/20 and again in 2022.  

Ian Langford’s operational service includes deployments to Timor Leste, Afghanistan, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and the South-West Pacific. For his service, Ian has been awarded several Australian commendations, and the Distinguished Service Cross on three occasions. In 2019, he was appointed as an Honourary Aide de Camp to the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. He was also until recently the patron of the Defence Entrepreneur’s Forum, an internationally recognised innovation pathway for young leaders as part a global defence innovation network.

Ian Langford is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Warfighting. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Company Directors Course. He has also completed the Senior Executive Leadership program at the Australian National University as well as the Senior Leadership in National Security and the Senior Leadership in Government program from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Ian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management, a Master of Arts, a Master of Defence Studies, a Master of Strategic Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy from Deakin University. He has been published dozens of times as an independent author, essayist and editor. In 2022, Ian retired from the Army as a Brigadier and has since formed his own advisory company, Burran Consultancy. He was also appointed an Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales in that same year.