Defence Export Services Organisation

The Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) is a UK government department under the Ministry of Defence. The organisation is mandated, at the expense of the taxpayer, to assist British defence sector to promote its services worldwide:

Our Mission is: To help UK defence exporters succeed. Our Vision is: A DESO providing a world-class service, and widely regarded as indispensable to defence exporters. [1]

The organisation is headed by executives from defence manufacturers, who usually return to that sector at the end of their term with DESO. The current head is Alan Garwood, who came to the job after a career with BAE Systems and Matra BAe Dynamics.