Archie Bethel CBE
Chairman
Archie Bethel is an experienced business leader and board director with a long and successful track record of transforming and growing businesses in a range of industry sectors. In a career spanning more than four decades, he has gained extensive international experience and has been responsible for acquiring, growing and operating major businesses around the world. In 2021, after nearly 20 years with the company, Mr Bethel retired from his executive role as Chief Executive of Babcock International Group plc, a London-based FTSE listed public company operating globally in the defence, energy and aviation sectors. He continues to hold several non-executive and independent director roles in both the private and public sectors. Mr Bethel is a Chartered Engineer who began his career in the offshore oil and gas industry after graduating from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA. In 2009, the university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree. He was awarded an OBE in 1996 and a CBE in 2008 for services to business and enterprise in the United Kingdom.