John M. Richardson (admiral)

John Michael Richardson (born April 8, 1960) is a retired four-star admiral in the United States Navy who previously served as the 31st Chief of Naval Operations. He served as the Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program from November 2, 2012, to August 14, 2015. While serving as Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, itself a joint Department of Energy and Department of Navy organization, Richardson was responsible for the command and safe, reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear propulsion program and for all the current United States naval reactors deployed for usage as well as all facilities needed to ensure safe operations. He is currently a member of Boeing's Board of Directors.

On May 13, 2015, United States Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, announced Richardson's nomination to succeed Admiral Jonathan Greenert as Chief of Naval Operations. Richardson served as the 31st Chief of Naval Operations from September 18, 2015, to August 22, 2019. In October 2019, Boeing announced that Richardson had been elected to its board of directors as a member of the Aerospace Safety Committee and the Special Programs Committee. In November 2019, Richardson was named as a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.