Ian Godden

Ian Godden, a dual Irish and British citizen, was born and raised in Edinburgh to Irish and Scots parents. He has lived in three countries for extended periods, all starting with the word 'united'. The United Kingdom, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates.

He studied Chemical Engineering at Edinburgh University and became a project manager for British Petroleum during the pioneering days of oil and gas in the North Sea in the 1970s. He worked in the North Sea, Middle East and the USA before taking an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, California.

For two decades he worked as a Strategy Consulting Partner with Booz Allen, PwC and Roland Berger, mainly dealing with Aerospace & Defence and Oil & Gas clients.

In the mid-2000s, he became Chairman of Farnborough International and ADS, the Industry body for Aerospace, Defence & Security, before moving, as Executive Chairman of KBC Advanced Technologies, to the Middle East where he currently resides. Later he became Chairman of Bristow Helicopters UK that runs the UK's Helicopter Search and Rescue Services.

Having retired as a Strategy Consulting Partner, he switched to entrepreneurship with successful start ups such as IPG and Greenbrook Healthcare, recently sold to Totally PLC. He is currently an active investor in early-stage companies within energy and telecoms.

Throughout his business career, he has consulted to a number of Governments on Industrial Policy, including the UK, Netherlands, Lithuania and South Africa, Currently he is assisting the Saudi Government on their diversification away from oil as part of their Vision 2030.

He co-authored the business book, Managing Without Management, with the successful entrepreneur, Richard Koch, and has recently co-authored a book with two others entitled Scotland 2070-Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, an ambitious vision for Scotland's future without the politics.

He is married with two children and two grandchildren.