Sir John Parker
Major Career Roles:
- Chair of the Bank of England
- Group Chair of Laing O’Rourke Corp
- Chair of Pennon Group plc
- Lead NED of the UK Cabinet Office
- Chair of Anglo American plc
- Independent Co-Chair of Mondi plc
- Chair of P&O plc
- Chair of RMC Group plc
- Chair of National Grid plc
- NED of Carnival Corp plc
- Chair and CEO of Babcock International Group plc
- Chair and CEO of Harland and Wolff Group plc
Other Career Highlights:
- Chair of the Advisory Board of Spencer Stuart
- Independent Board Member of Airbus SE
- Vice Chair of DP World plc
- President of the Royal Academy of Engineering
- Advisory Board Member of CitiGroup Ltd
- Chancellor of the University of Southampton
- Member of the Prime Minister’s Business Council for Britain
- NED of Brambles Industries plc
- NED of GKN plc
- Deputy CEO of British Shipbuilders Corporation
- NED of British Coal Corporation
Sir John Parker is a seasoned Chair with vast international experience across multiple sectors including marine technology, energy, utilities, defence, mining, engineering, construction, transport (aviation and shipping) and government sectors.
Sir John is Chair of Laing O’Rourke Corp Ltd, Carnival Corp Plc and a Visiting Fellow of the Said Business School at Oxford University.
Sir John stepped down in 2020 as the Chair of Pennon Group plc, his 6th FTSE 100 Chairmanship. He was on the Board of Airbus Group, a Senior Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Court of the Bank of England, Deputy Chair of DP World and President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Sir John started his career as a student apprentice in naval architecture at Harland and Wolff Group plc in 1958 and was appointed its Chair and CEO in 1983.
Sir John is widely recognised for his policy work on the value of diversity in the boardroom, having chaired the Government’s review on Ethnic Diversity on UK Boards 2017-22 and for his strategic review for the MOD on naval shipbuilding. He was knighted for services to defence and shipbuilding in 2001 and was appointed GBE in 2012. He received the Sunday Times Life Time Achievement Award in 2015.
