Ben Caves

Senior Research Leader, RAND Corporation

Ben Caves is a senior research leader at RAND Europe working in the area of defense, security and infrastructure. A former Royal Air Force logistics officer with over 20 years of experience, his career spans operations management, strategic planning and international policy development.

Early on, Caves led personnel in various high-pressure environments including Iraq and Afghanistan, and he has been responsible for high-readiness teams on standby to deploy worldwide. At the strategic level, he helped to set Defence logistics policy, particularly with international partners and allies through NATO and the European Defence Agency. He has also been a senior strategic planner for the Royal Air Force with a particular interest in the Americas, Africa and Indo Asia-Pacific. Here, he supported the development of the Ministry of Defence’s contingency plan for disaster relief operations in the Caribbean, reviewed the Royal Air Force’s Logistics Capability Strategy and led the implementation of the Human Security policy.

At RAND, Caves leads several projects on emerging technology and horizon scanning within the science and technology area. His research topics of interest also include capability development in areas such as global mobility, defence engagement and societal resilience. He also leads on RAND Europe’s defence workforce and skills workstream with a focus on the Armed Forces Covenant and the challenges veterans and their families face when transitioning to civilian life.

Caves is a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the UK’s Defence Academy and holds an M.A. in defence studies from King’s College London.

Location: Greater Cambridge Area