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 laboratory setting showing a person wearing protective gloves and eyewear operating a microscope. The individual is adjusting a slide on the microscope stage. Test tubes in a rack are visible beside the microscope, illuminated by blue laboratory lighting.

AWE supports major expansion of nuclear doctoral training

AWE is supporting an expansion of UK nuclear doctoral training through a new suite of Doctoral Focal Awards (DFAs), strengthening the skills pipeline essential to delivering our mission, now and in the future, and sustaining national nuclear capability as part of the wider defence enterprise.

Neurodiversity in the Workplace: From Awareness to Action

Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2026 (16–20 March) encourages organisations to move beyond awareness and take meaningful steps to support neurodivergent colleagues.

Hear from AWE at DPRTE 2026

AWE is pleased to be returning to DPRTE, the UK’s leading defence procurement and supply chain event, at the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre. This year Dr Robert Lock and Dr Martin Gilmore will give delegates an overview of AWE’s new Technology Strategy.