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

Caitlyn from Brimpton Primary School with her winning artwork held up above her head with a big smile on her face

Schools

2 Oct 2025

AWE marks 75 years with futuristic school art competition to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers

Young imaginations took centre stage as local primary school children showcased their vision of the future in a special art competition to celebrate AWE’s 75th anniversary.

From Threat to Defence: Keeping the deterrent cyber secure

Turn on your TV, scan your newsfeed and you will no doubt be faced with details of the most recent cyber-attack targeting a well-established organisation. Look in your emails, look at your messages and you will probably have been targeted by a phishing email or scam message. There is no escaping evidence of cyber-crime.

Six ways AWE is driving forward the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS)

We are proud to play a central role in the UK’s Defence Industrial Strategy.