Sir Brian Burridge – Vice President, Strategic Marketing, Finmeccanica UK

Sir Brian Burridge spent 39 years as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. He has held a front-line command at every level in the Service and spent a number of years in the MOD in policy posts, including almost three years as the Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff. He commanded the UK Joint contingent of 43,000 personnel in the 2003 Iraq War. Sir Brian left the Royal Air Force in January 2006 as Commander-in-Chief Strike Command and became the Vice President Strategic Marketing at Finmeccanica UK in April 2006. In his spare time, he is an RAF Volunteer Reserve pilot flying training aircraft.

Sir Brian has a first degree in Physics, an MBA from the Open University Business School where he holds an honorary doctorate, and was previously a Defence Fellow at King’s College London working on the civilian control of the armed forces in emerging democracies. A member of the councils of the Defence Manufacturers Association and the Royal Aeronautical Society, Sir Brian chairs the Council of the Air League and the Advisory Board of the Exeter University School of Business and Economics, which includes the Centre for Leadership Studies. He is also on the Board of Advisors of the Southampton University School of Management.