In 2013 Martin Hill was elected Chairman of the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG) after having spent four years as the Vice Chairman. Martin Hill has been in Brussels since 2003 working on the NATO and European business development for Thales. During this time Thales has become one of the major suppliers to NATO, particularly in the Command and Control. He is currently senior NATO Advisor supporting the Vice President EU, NATO and UN in managing group relations and business development with the institution.
In 2000 he was in Paris with Thales Naval France where he was responsible for the US market and implementing a sale of a Thales radar to an export customer under the FMF programme. In 1996 he became Managing Director for Thomson CSF (now Thales) in Malaysia until 2000. He was responsible for order intake and overseeing the industrial interest of the Group in country. In 1987 Martin Hill joined Shorts Brothers in Northern Ireland and worked in the in the sales and marketing and strategy departments of their missile division. He was part of the Shorts team, which conducted the joint venture negotiations with Thomson CSF in 1991 to 1992.
Martin Hill was educated in the UK and served in the Royal Navy for some eighteen years. He served in nuclear and conventional submarines. His last job was teaching at the School of Maritime Operations.