Sir Peter Walters is the former CEO and chairman of British Petroleum. He was born in and educated at Birmingham with a BA in commerce. Sir Peter Walters joined British Petroleum after his university degree and became chairman of the company in 1981. He also served as chairman of the Midland Bank, and chairman of Smith-Kline Beecham, and was a former deputy chairman of GlaxoSmithKline. He held a deputy chairman appointment at EMI from 1990 to 1999 and HSBC Holdings from 1992 to 2001. His other notable appointments were as chairman of the governing body of the London Business School, president of the Institute of Directors, president of the Police Foundation, president of the Institute of Business Ethics and trustee of the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Sir Peter was also a former president of the General Council of British Shipping, the Society of Chemical Industry and the Institute of Employment Studies.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1984 and awarded numerous honorary fellowships and the Cadman medal from the Institute of Petroleum.
Sir Peter received honorary doctorate degrees from Birmingham and Stirling University as well as an honorary fellowship from the London Business School.
Sir Peter Walters has been invaluable as our esteemed patron at the Arthroplasty for Arthritis Charity and we remain deeply thankful for his guidance support and commitment.