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Edmund John Phillip Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley (born 20 February 1948), is a British businessman and a
crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...
member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. Browne was the
chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of BP between 1995 and 2007. This period has been described as the company's "golden period of expansion and diversification". During his tenure, Browne oversaw the mergers with
Amoco Amoco ( ) is a brand of filling station, fuel stations operating in the United States and owned by British conglomerate BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and petroleum, oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company i ...
and
ARCO Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (b ...
and gained access to Russian oil reserves with the creation of
TNK-BP TNK-BP (, ) was a major vertically integrated Russian oil company headquartered in Moscow. It was Russia's third-largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. In 2013 it was acquired by Russian oil company R ...
. Nicknamed the "Sun King" for his management style, he was also praised for transforming the oil and gas industry's approach to climate change, and for creating a renewable and alternative energy business within BP. He resigned from BP in May 2007 in controversial circumstances surrounding his personal life and sexuality. He is a former president of the
Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...
(2006 to July 2011), and has served on the boards of
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
,
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
and
Daimler Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...
. He joined the House of Lords in 2001. Browne is a former partner at
Riverstone Holdings Riverstone Holdings is a multinational corporation, multinational private equity firm based in New York City focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital, and credit (finance), credit investments in the energy industry and electrical power industry ...
, where he was co-head of its renewable energy private equity fund. He received his undergraduate education at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and later attended
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. Browne is a candidate in the 2025 University of Cambridge Chancellor election.


Early life and education

Browne was born on 20 February 1948 in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany. His father was a
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer who later worked for Anglo-Persian Oil (renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) in 1935), which later became British Petroleum. His mother, Paula, was a Hungarian Jewish
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
survivor. Many members of Browne's Jewish maternal family, including his grandparents, were murdered at the
Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
concentration camp during
The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. Browne was educated at The King's School (now called
King's Ely King's Ely The School's Terms and Conditions and the Companies House registration would suggest that the School's legal name remains "The King's School, Ely" is an All-through school, all through Public school (United Kingdom), public school ...
) and
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
, where he earned a First Class BA degree in physics. In addition to his degree in physics from the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, he holds an MS degree in business from Stanford University, California.


Career


BP

At the suggestion of his father, Browne joined BP as an apprentice in 1966 while still at university. He remained with the corporation throughout his career. Between 1969 and 1983, he held a variety of exploration and production posts in
Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...
, New York, San Francisco, London and Canada. In 1984 he became group treasurer and chief executive of BP Finance International. In April 1986, he took up the position of executive vice president and chief financial officer of
Standard Oil of Ohio The Standard Oil Company (Ohio) was an American petroleum industry, petroleum company that existed from 1870 to 1987. The company, known commonly as Sohio, was founded by John D. Rockefeller. It was established as one of the separate entities cre ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. In 1987, following the BP/Standard merger, in addition to his position as executive vice president and chief financial officer of BP America, he was appointed chief executive officer of Standard Oil Production Company. In 1989, he became managing director and chief executive officer of BP Exploration based in London. In September 1991, he joined BP's board as a managing director. He was appointed group chief executive on 10 June 1995 after the British government sold its last remaining stake in the company. Following the merger of BP and Amoco, he became group chief executive of the combined group on 31 December 1998 and served until 1 May 2007. He was one of the most highly paid executives in the UK, with a remuneration package of approximately £5.7 million in 2004. From 1997, Browne sought to re-brand BP. The company linked itself in its corporate communications with green issues by the overt link of its BP initials with the phrase "Beyond Petroleum". Browne stated that the right to self-determination was crucial for people everywhere, and that he saw his company's mission as to find ways to meet current needs without excessive harm to the environment, while developing future, more sustainable sources of energy. He promised that BP would reduce its own CO2 emissions by 10% by 2010, a target which was achieved nine years ahead of schedule.


Resignation from BP

It was announced on 25 July 2006 that Browne would stand down as chief executive of BP in December 2008. There had been press speculation that he had wished to continue beyond this date, but he made it clear that he did not wish to do so. On 6 January 2007, Browne won his first interim
injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...
against the publication of allegations by his former partner, Jeff Chevalier. Browne later disclosed being "terrified" that his sexuality would be revealed publicly. A week later it was announced that his retirement date had been brought forward to July 2007 and that
Tony Hayward Anthony Bryan Hayward (born 21 May 1957) is a British businessman and former CEO of the oil and energy company BP. He replaced the Baron Browne of Madingley on 1 May 2007. His tenure ended on 1 October 2010 when he was replaced by Bob Dudle ...
would succeed him. In April 2007, after a court case lasting over four weeks, Browne appealed to the
Judicial Committee of the House of Lords Whilst the House of Lords of the United Kingdom is the upper chamber of Parliament and has government ministers, for many centuries it had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers and for Impeachm ...
, who ruled that he could not prevent
Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at 9 Derry Street in ...
from printing allegations about his romantic life and alleged misuse of company funds. Lord Browne resigned from BP on 1 May 2007 and resigned as a non-executive director of
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
on 10 May 2007 At the time he faced allegations that he had supported his partner, Canadian Jeff Chevalier, throughout their four-year relationship, and when Chevalier moved back to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
at the end of the relationship, that Browne paid for 12 months of a lease on an apartment. Browne says he felt under pressure to resign due to UK newspaper ''
Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...
''s revelations about his personal life and relationship with Chevalier. As part of a statement made at the time of his resignation, he commented: "In my 41 years with BP, I have kept my private life separate from my business life. I have always regarded my sexuality as a personal matter, to be kept private. It is a matter of deep disappointment that a newspaper group has now decided that allegations about my personal life should be made public." A court accepted that Browne had lied over how he met Chevalier. In a deposition to the court, Browne said the pair had met in a London park; Browne's associates later acknowledged that he had actually met Chevalier via a website called ''Suited and Booted''. However, Mr Justice Eady, the presiding judge in the case, said he decided not to refer the matter to the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
, seeing disclosure in the judgement of Lord Browne's behaviour as "probably sufficient punishment", and adding Browne's "willingness to tell a deliberate lie to the court, persisted in for about two weeks, ... is relevant in assessing his own credibility and the overall merits. So too is his willingness casually to 'trash' the reputation of Mr Chevalier and to discredit him in the eyes of the court". BP chairman,
Peter Sutherland Peter Denis Sutherland (25 April 1946 – 7 January 2018) was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was known for serving in various in ...
, characterised claims that company assets and resources had been abused as "unfounded or insubstantive".


Later career

In October 2010, it was announced that he had been appointed chairman of the advisory board at Stanhope Capital as the asset manager gears up for international expansion. The former chief executive of BP will help advise on attracting investment from charities and endowment trusts, which at present make up a small number of the Stanhope's total clients. Browne worked as Chairman of
Cuadrilla Resources Cuadrilla Resources is an oil and gas exploration and production company founded in 2007. It is headquartered in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, and has operations in the United Kingdom. The company intend to develop shale gas in the UK by using hyd ...
in the early 2010s. He was also a managing partner at
Riverstone Holdings Riverstone Holdings is a multinational corporation, multinational private equity firm based in New York City focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital, and credit (finance), credit investments in the energy industry and electrical power industry ...
, the venture capital firm behind Cuadrilla. Browne left Cuadrilla in 2015 to become executive chairman of
L1 Energy L1 Energy is an oil and gas investment company controlled by the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, through Alfa Group, and chaired by John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, Lord Browne. On 2 March 2015, it was announced that Lord Browne was t ...
, "an oil and gas firm backed by Russian billionaire
Mikhail Fridman Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (also transliterated Mikhail Friedman; ; ; born 21 April 1964) is a Ukrainian-born, Russian–Israeli tycoon and Russian oligarchs, oligarch. He is one of the co-founders of Alfa Group, Alfa-Group, a multinational Rus ...
. In 2019, Browne said that "fracking in the UK doesn’t make much sense. I think it was a test to see if it worked. We probably don’t need to do it." In 2025, Browne announced his candidacy for the in the election as chancellor of the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.


Other activities

He was president of the
Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...
from 2006 to 2011. He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 2006. In 1998, he was
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
ed by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and in 2001 named by the
House of Lords Appointments Commission The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom with oversight of some aspects of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It has two roles: to recommend at least two peopl ...
as one of the "
people's peers The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom with oversight of some aspects of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, Peerage of the United Kingdom. It has two roles: ...
" taking the title Baron Browne of Madingley, of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
in the County of Cambridgeshire, and becoming a crossbencher in the House of Lords. In 2000, he was the recipient of the FIRST Responsible Capitalism Award. He was appointed a trustee of the Tate Gallery on 1 August 2007 and chair of the trustees in January 2009. In November 2009, it was announced that he would chair an independent review into
university tuition fees Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...
which reported in October 2010. In June 2010, he was appointed as the Government's lead non-executive director, charged with recruiting business leaders to reformed departmental boards. He is chairman of the international advisory board of the
Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is the school of public policy of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The School was founded in 2010 following a £75 million donation from business magnate Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million fro ...
at the University of Oxford, and chairman of the trustees of the
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * ...
. He is chairman of the
Francis Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation) is a biomedical research centre in London, which was established in 2010 and opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Im ...
, chairman of the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, and since September 2017 has served as chairman of the
Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...
, following the end of his tenure at Tate. He is also a trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust. Browne sits on the board of directors of IHS Markit and SparkCognition, and is a member of the advisory boards of Edelman, Schillings, and the big data technology companies
Afiniti Afiniti Ltd., also called Afiniti, is an American multinational company, multinational data and software company. Founded in 2005, Afiniti is focused on developing artificial intelligence for use in customer call centers. Afiniti is a Unicorn (f ...
, Kayrros and Windward. Between 2015 and 2020, he served as non-executive chairman of Huawei UK. He is the founder and chairman of the John Browne Charitable Trust, which "supports projects that will make a tangible difference to the lives of people with great potential, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds." Over the past 20 years, the trust has distributed more than £2 million. Browne joined
General Atlantic General Atlantic, legal main entity General Atlantic Service Company, L.P., (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. T ...
as a senior advisor in 2021 and is co-founder and Chairman of BeyondNetZero, a climate growth equity venture with General Atlantic, targeting investments in companies providing solutions to
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. From 2015 to 2021, Browne was appointed executive chairman of L1 Energy, an energy investment vehicle co-owned by Russian billionaire
Mikhail Fridman Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (also transliterated Mikhail Friedman; ; ; born 21 April 1964) is a Ukrainian-born, Russian–Israeli tycoon and Russian oligarchs, oligarch. He is one of the co-founders of Alfa Group, Alfa-Group, a multinational Rus ...
.Stanley Reed
Ex-Chief of BP Named Chairman of Russian Billionaire’s Oil and Gas Group
2 March 2015
In December 2017, it was reported that Browne had led negotiations to create a new joint venture between L1 Energy and BASF, merging their respective oil and gas businesses to create
Wintershall Dea Wintershall Dea GmbH is a German gas and oil producer. The joint venture was created in May 2019 by the merger between Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG. BASF SE has a 67% stake in it, with the other 33% being held by LetterO ...
,Andrew Ward
‘Big is beautiful’ in oil industry, says former BP chief
10 December 2017
where Browne now chairs the supervisory board. Browne was the UK Government lead non-executive director until January 2015. His remit was to work with Secretaries of State to appoint non-executives to the board of each government department. In April 2021, Browne was appointed co-Chairman of the Prime Minister's Council on Science and Technology.


The Browne Review

On 12 October 2010, the report of the inquiry headed by Lord Browne of Madingley was published under the title ''Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education''. The main recommendation of the report was that the current cap of £3,290 on university tuition fees should be lifted thereby allowing such institutions to determine their own fee structure.


Publications

Lord Browne of Madingley published his memoirs ''Beyond Business'' in February 2010. ''Seven Elements that Changed the World'', an examination of the role of seven scientific elements in history, was published in April 2013. On 17 June 2014 he published '' The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good Business'', a book discussing the risks and rewards of coming out in business and advocating for a top-down corporate policy of LGBT inclusiveness. Lord Browne of Madingley is said to be the first openly gay CEO of any Fortune 500 company. # ''Beyond Business'' (February 2010) # ''Seven Elements that Have Changed the World'' (April 2013) # '' The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good Business'' (May 2014) # ''Connect: How companies succeed by engaging radically with society'' (September 2015) # ''Make, Think, Imagine: Engineering the Future of Civilisation'' (May 2019) In 2015, he was co-author of the report that launched the
Global Apollo Programme The Global Apollo Programme was a historic call for a major global science and economics research programme to make Renewable energy, carbon-free Base load power plant, baseload electricity less costly than Fossil fuel power station, electricity fro ...
, which calls for developed nations to commit to spending 0.02% of their GDP for 10 years, to fund co-ordinated research to make carbon-free baseload electricity less costly than electricity from coal by the year 2025.


Controversies

Browne is described by journalist and author
Tom Bower Thomas Michael Bower (born 28 September 1946) is a British writer and former BBC journalist and television producer. He is known for his investigative journalism and for his unauthorised biographies, often of business tycoons and newspaper pr ...
as responsible for a "ruthless" programme of cost-cutting at BP that compromised safety, and thus the man most responsible for a string of major accidents including the Texas City refinery explosion (2005) and the
Deepwater Horizon explosion On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the ''Deepwater Horizon'' semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about southea ...
(2010). Browne has rejected Bower's "unsubstantiated" and "wholly inaccurate" account. According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper, "Browne's reputation was tarnished by a string of accidents in the US which hastened his retirement", and Browne declined to appear in an hour-long
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
documentary on the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...
in which
Tony Hayward Anthony Bryan Hayward (born 21 May 1957) is a British businessman and former CEO of the oil and energy company BP. He replaced the Baron Browne of Madingley on 1 May 2007. His tenure ended on 1 October 2010 when he was replaced by Bob Dudle ...
was extensively interviewed, broadcast in November 2010.


Personal life

Browne lists 17th- and 18th-century illustrated Italian books,
pre-Columbian art Pre-Columbian art refers to the Visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Americas, visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North America, North, Central America, Central, and South Americas from at least 13,000 BCE to the European con ...
, contemporary art, music, opera and the theatre among his interests. Lord Browne of Madingley lives in Chelsea in London, where his home was created by the British furniture and interiors designer Tim Gosling. He is a
Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
(FREng) and former president of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2006–2011), a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
(FRS), a
Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a British engineering institution with activities including promotion of the development of materials science. It has been a Charitable organization, registered charity governed by a ro ...
(FIMMM), a
Fellow of the Institute of Physics Fellowship of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) is "the highest level of membership attainable" by physicists who are members of the Institute of Physics (IoP), "for those with a degree in physics or related subject (or equivalent knowledge gaine ...
(FInstP), a Fellow of the Institute of Petroleum (FInstPet), a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a Companion of the Institute of Management (CIMgt), an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (HonFIChemE), a
Fellow of the Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...
(FGS), an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (HonFIMechE), and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (HonFRSC). Browne has been awarded
Honorary Doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...
(D.Eng.) and
Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU (), is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon (philanthrop ...
(D.Tech.),
Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first College of a ...
in Birmingham,
University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...
(LLD),
Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a ...
(D.Sc.),
Hull University The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
(D.Sc.),
Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...
(D.Sc.),
Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...
(Hon. D Univ),
University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...
(D.Sc.), University of Belfast (Hon DSc 0 Eng) and the
University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...
(Hon D.Univ.),
Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...
, London (Hon D.Sc.), Leuven University, Belgium (D.Sc.), Thunderbird (LLD),
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
(LLD),
Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...
(D.Eng), D Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia,
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
(DHLitt). He is an
Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...
of
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
and a senior member of
St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...
. In 1999, The Royal Academy of Engineering awarded him the Prince Philip Medal for his outstanding contribution to engineering. In 2000, he received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
. Browne kept his homosexuality private for 50 years. He believes
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
is not just an issue for employees but for companies and business as a whole.


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Globe and Mail, 7 May 2007
On being an engineer – Lord Browne of Madingley FREng FRS
''Ingenia'' magazine, March 2008; Lord Browne speaking at the 2008 Lubbock Lecture on his experiences as an engineer when working on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne of Madingley, John Browne, Baron 1948 births Living people Academics of London Business School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Apax Partners BP people British businesspeople in the oil industry 20th-century English businesspeople 21st-century English businesspeople English people of Hungarian-Jewish descent English science writers Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor English LGBTQ businesspeople English gay writers Gay businessmen English gay politicians Gay Jews LGBTQ life peers People educated at King's Ely Peers recommended by the House of Lords Appointments Commission Crossbench life peers Presidents of the British Science Association Presidents of the Royal Academy of Engineering Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni Stanford Sloan Fellows English male non-fiction writers Global Apollo Programme English Jews Jewish British politicians Life peers created by Elizabeth II Fellows of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Goldman Sachs people