Philip S. Aiken (born 9 January 1949, in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) is an Australian business executive. Aiken holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering from University of Sydney, and has attended the

Advanced Management Program An Advanced Management Program (AMP) is an intensive non-degree senior executive education program often offered by elite business schools and aimed at senior managers and government officials. It is offered by business schools in several parts of ...

from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

. Aiken was formerly Group President of BHP Billiton's energy business, and an executive director of BTR plc. He held senior positions in BOC Group, and was also a senior advisor to Macquarie Capital (Europe). He also served as the chairman of Robert Walters from 2007 to 2012.

Early life and education

Aiken was born in

, Australia, on 9 January 1949. In 1970, he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering from University of Sydney and later in 1989, attended the

Career

Aiken started his career in 1970 with BOC Gases; where he served for nearly 26 years, holding several senior positions. In 1995, he was appointed executive director and Chief Executive of BTR Nylex (which later became

Invensys Invensys Ltd. was a multinational engineering and information technology company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was formed in 1999 through the merger of BTR plc and Siebe plc. It had offices in more than 50 countries and its produc ...

). From 1997 until his retirement in 2006, he worked for BHP Billiton; firstly as President of BHP Petroleum, and latterly as Group President of BHP Billiton's Energy business. From 2006 until 2009, he was a senior advisor at Macquarie Bank. He was appointed to the board of Robert Walters in July 2000, and as its chairman in May 2007. On 24 May 2012, Aiken decided to step down from his role as chairman of Robert Walters once the process of appointing a successor chairman has been completed. In April 2012, Aiken was appointed to the board of Aveva, to succeed the outgoing chairman Nick Prest. He commenced his duties as chairman after the shareholders approval in the

AGM AGM or agm may refer to: Military * Air-to-ground missile, a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft * Artillery Gun Module, an air-portable self-propelled howitzer * Missile Range Instrumentation Ship (US Navy hull classification ...

on 12 July 2012. In April 2013 he joined the board of

Newcrest Mining Newcrest Mining Limited is an Australian-based corporation which engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and gold-copper concentrate. It is Australia's leading gold mining company and its operations have expanded beyon ...

. In March 2015, he became chairman of Balfour Beatty (he will step down as chairman on 20 July 2021). He was also formerly a non-executive director of

National Grid plc National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

, copper mining company

Kazakhmys Kazakhmys Group is a vertically integrated holding company whose key assets are concentrated in the mining industry and non-ferrous metallurgy. It was established and registered in the form of a joint-stock company in August 1997. On 14 January ...

, and Indian-focused energy company

Essar Energy Essar Energy plc is Mauritius-based Indian energy company with assets in the power and oil and gas businesses. Headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius and subsidiary of Essar Group, the firm has interests in both the power generation and petrol ...

Personal life

Aiken lives in London with his wife, Fran and has a residence in Melbourne. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2013.

References

External links

AVEVA Group plc Board National Grid plc BoardEssar Energy plc Board
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Philip 1949 births Living people Businesspeople from Sydney Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century Australian businesspeople 21st-century Australian businesspeople BHP people University of Sydney alumni Members of the Order of Australia Australian expatriates in the United States