Richard Simpson is Founding Director and CEO of Meta Moto and President of the International Society for Digital Earth. He brings more than three decades of international experience working at the intersection of digital infrastructure, geospatial science, and institutional reform.

Over his career, he has advised governments, utilities, transport authorities, and infrastructure owners across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Asia on digital engineering frameworks, asset information governance, and spatial data platforms. His work spans digital twin and thread strategy, BIM and GIS integration, ISO-aligned asset management, and the design of common data environments to support whole-of-life infrastructure performance. Recent major engagements have included Cross River Rail in Queensland, flood and drought mitigation models,  national water and transport reform programmes in New Zealand, and geospatial platform transformations for rail, energy, and telecommunications operators internationally.

He is a founding member of the International Society for Digital Earth and has served on its Council since its inception in 2006. He commenced his term as President in September 2025. He was the lead author of the Strategic Vision document tabled with the ISDE Council in April 2025 and formally adopted in October 2025, which articulated twelve thematic frameworks for Digital Earth and established the Society’s current architectural model. His contributions to ISDE scholarship include co-authoring the Digital Cities chapter in the Manual of Digital Earth (Springer Nature) and publishing in leading journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the International Journal of Digital Earth (Taylor and Francis). He holds honorary fellowships at the University of Melbourne and Griffith University and has advised international initiatives spanning climate mitigation, circular economy systems, and advanced aerospace and energy platforms.