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Partner, The Floyd Partnership
Former Business Development Director, Rolls-Royce plc
Policy Fellow Alum, Centre for Science and Policy
In his former role, Chris Floyd was responsible for the strategy and development of Rolls-Royce’s non-aerospace businesses, having joined in this role in 1999, and helping to grow these businesses eight-fold since then. He has been instrumental in:
- the €3.4bn acquisition of Tognum in 2011, jointly with Daimler, to strengthen the reciprocating engine part of Rolls-Royce’s portfolio
- development of Rolls-Royce’s low-carbon strategy, leading to investments in gas and biofuel reciprocating engines, nuclear power, fuel cells, and tidal power
- the creation and development of Rolls-Royce Marine as an engineering systems business, taking the business from <£300m in 1998 to >£2.6bn turnover in 2010
- implementation of turnaround and growth strategies for the Energy business, moving it from £480m sales and £70m loss to £1.2bn sales and £40m profit
- development of a wide ranging view of the world in 2035, covering technology, climate change, energy security, politics, and economics, assessment of the implications for Rolls-Royce, and subsequent development of the Group’s long term strategy for addressing these implications
- development and implementation of a group-wide technology capability commercialisation strategy including acquisition of small technology companies
- development of the company’s globalisation strategy, including leading initiatives with partner companies and governments in India, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
To read about Chris' experience as a Policy Fellow at Cambridge, please click here.
Chris is Chairman of Tidal Generation (a wholly owned subsidiary), Chairman of Bergen Engines AS (a €400m joint venture company with Daimler), and Rolls-Royce’s Board member on the UK Energy Technologies Institute. He is also President of EU Turbines, the European industrial gas and steam turbine association.
Before joining Rolls-Royce, Chris was a European Director for Arthur D Little, the management and technology consultancy, where he co-led the company’s European Technology and Innovation Management practice, working on growth strategies for technology-based products companies in the aerospace, engineering, electronics, medical and consumer goods industries.
Chris has an MA in engineering from Trinity College, Cambridge, a PhD in aeronautical engineering from Bristol University, and an MBA from London Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Chris has also written a book on R&D, technology and IP management, titled Managing Technology for Corporate Success.