Sam Laidlaw

Chairman

Sam has been a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group during the coalition government, the Senior Director for the Department of Transport and a non-executive director of both HSBC Holdings plc and Hanson plc.

He has more than 40 years’ experience across the energy sector and has held several senior roles including Chief Executive Officer of both Enterprise Oil plc and Centrica plc, and as the Founder and Executive Chairman of Neptune Energy Group Holdings Ltd, an international oil and gas exploration and production company. He is the senior non-executive director of Rio Tinto plc and Chairman of the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB).

Sam has extensive leadership experience in long-term capital investment industries in which safety, sustainability and stakeholder management are critical.

Latest news

A building with the word RAICo on it against a backdrop of hill cliffs and a beach

AWE joins RAICo

The Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration (RAICo) has announced the addition of AWE – a UK leader in nuclear technology and innovation – as its fifth member organisation. AWE joins the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield Ltd, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), and the University of Manchester in this integrated collaboration.

Images of gliders on Aldermaston airfield lined up in 1944

Features

8 May 2025

VE Day at Aldermaston

80 years ago, the European part of the Second World War came to an end. On the 8th of May 1945 - known as Victory in Europe Day or VE Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark this. Aldermaston had played its part in the liberation of Western Europe as it formed the launch point and training ground for American airborne operations for the 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles”, during D-Day a year earlier and the failed Operation Market Garden.

Strategic Alliance Partners Conference hits the mark

Senior representatives from AWE, the Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO), the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) and the university community gathered at the recently held Strategic Alliance Partners Conference to discuss and debate areas of STEM that support our mission. The two-day event organised by the External Technical Partnerships Office brought together government, academia, […]