Chris’s maritime career started in the Irish Navy in 1979 as an Executive (Deck) Officer. He qualified as a Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Officer with the Royal Navy and also qualified as a Bomb Disposal Officer for conventional and anti- terrorist devices. He was closely involved in designing and delivery water combat training for the Army Ranger Wing, and assisting in the setting up of the Customs Water Unit and the Fishery Sea Patrols. Chris served for a year with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon during which time he received a citation for bravery during the Israeli-Hezbollah war. 

Chris Reynolds left the Navy in 1997 to join the newly-formed Irish Coast Guard as an Operations and Training Officer. During the next 10 years he acted as On-Scene Incident Manager for the majority of the serious incidents on Irelands coast both for search and rescue and ship casualty response. Chris briefly left the Coast Guard in 2007 to take up the position as the National Health Services Chief Emergency Management Officer for Dublin and Mid-Leinster. He was appointed Director of the Coast Guard in August 2007. Chris was recently Chair of the European Heads of the Coast Guards Forum working closely with other European Coast Guards, the Commission and its various institutions most notably EMSA and Frontex.

 
Chris is qualified in marine surveying, post graduate in maritime law and recently completed a senior leadership programme through the IPA and at Harvard University. Chris enjoys active hobbies and is a Leinster rugby referee, a keen diver and was the first Irishman to sport dive the wreck of the Lusitania and reach a depth of 100m.