John Michael Richardson^[1] (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.^[2] He is currently a member of Boeing's Board of Directors.^[3]

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.^[2] Richardson served as the 31st Chief of Naval Operations from September 18, 2015, to August 22, 2019.^[4] 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.^[5] In November 2019, Richardson was named as a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. ^[6]

Born on April 8, 1960, in Petersburg, Virginia,^[7] Richardson was commissioned into the United States Navy upon his graduation from the United States Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland in 1982.^[4]

During his naval career, Richardson has served primarily with submarine operations, serving on USS Parche, USS Salt Lake City, and USS George C. Marshall. Prior to being Director of Nuclear Propulsion, Richardson was Commander, Naval Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR), where he was relieved by Michael J. Connor. Richardson has commanded USS Honolulu, Submarine Development Squadron 12, Submarine Group 8, and Submarine Allied Naval Forces South.^[4]

Richardson served as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Naval Forces Europe as well as U.S. Naval Forces Africa, Naval Aide to the President of the United States and Director of Strategy and Policy at U.S. Joint Forces Command.^[4] Richardson attended and received master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the National War College.^[8] In 1997–1998, he attended MIT Seminar XXI.^[9]

Since retiring from the Navy, Richardson serves on the Boards of Directors of Constellation Energy, The Boeing Company, BWX Technologies, the Center for New American Security, and the Navy League of the United States. Richardson is also a senior advisor to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and serves on the Director's Council of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In 2001,^[11] Richardson received the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership.^[4]