Captain Robert WARD is the Deputy Hydrographer of Australia and the Chairman of the IHO Committee on Requirements for Hydrographic Information Systems (CHRIS). The CHRIS is the technical steering committee of the IHO.

Robert was born in England and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1983, after 13 years service in the British Royal Navy where he qualified as a Chartered Hydrographic Surveyor.

In a career of over 30 years, 20 of which has been spent in ships, Captain Ward has been involved in hydrographic and oceanographic surveys across the world. He has surveyed in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean, and in the Arctic and Antarctic. In addition he has conducted many detailed coastal and harbour surveys around UK, Australia and islands of the South West Pacific. He has also sailed for a short period as a deck officer in the Merchant Navy.

Captain Ward has served on the staff at the Royal Navy School of Hydrographic Surveying in England and has been Officer-in-Charge of the RAN Hydrographic School in Sydney. He has served in various capacities in British and Australian Navy surveying ships. Notable sea postings include founding Officer-in-Charge of the RAN Deployable Survey Unit, Executive Officer of the oceanographic research vessel HMAS Cook and command of HMAS Moresby, surveying ship.

In more recent times he has been involved primarily in national and international hydrographic policy and relations, as well as the development of the Australia's emerging Military Geospatial Information (MGI) doctrine and capabilities.