Dr Rob Adam was appointed Director of the South African Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope project in January 2016. Prior to this, he was the Group Executive: Nuclear at the Aveng Group. Before that, he served as the CEO of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) from 2006 to 2012 and as Director-General of Science and Technology from 1999 to 2006. Dr Adam has also been a Professor of Physics at both the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa and served on the Council of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa. Rob has held various academic positions in Europe and South Africa, has authored refereed articles in theoretical physics, published widely on science and technology policy and co-authored a book on science and technology in the Republic of Chile. He played a leading role in the establishment of the world’s largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town for the advancement of science, technology and innovation and achieving levels of success that have positively impacted the lives of others.