Robert Keiller

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 29 January 1964) is a British businessman. He is the former chief executive of

Wood Group John Wood Group plc, commonly known as Wood, is a British multinational engineering and consulting business with headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. As of February 2025, the group employs 35,000 people ...

, a British multinational oil and gas services company headquartered in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland. In 2016, he became chairman of Scotland's national economic development agency,

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise () is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, Business, enterprise, innovation, international and investment agency, investment in business. The body covers the eastern ...

. He also runs a consultancy, AB15.

Early life

Keiller grew up in the border town

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

, here he attended

Jedburgh Grammar School Jedburgh Grammar School is a state secondary school in Jedburgh, Scotland, with around 440 pupils, 40 teaching staff, and 15 non-teaching staff. History While the first institution bearing the name Jedburgh Grammar School was founded in the 15t ...

. He went on to study a Masters of Engineering degree from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

and is a

Chartered Engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thr ...

. He has an honorary doctorate from

Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU (), is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon (philanthrop ...

Career

Keiller was the chief executive of Wood Group from 2012 to 2015, having been group director of Wood Group PSN since April 2011 and CEO of Production Services Network (PSN) prior to its acquisition by Wood Group. He was CEO of PSN since 2006, having led

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's second-largest oil service company which is responsible for most of the world's fracking operations. It employs approximately 55,000 people through its hundreds of su ...

's production services division in the early 2000s before piloting its buyout from

Kellogg Brown & Root KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is a U.S. based company operating in fields of science, technology and engineering. KBR works in various markets including aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence. After Halliburton acquired Dres ...

in 2006. He was previously chairman of the Offshore Contractors Association, the Helicopter Issues Task Group, chairman of the Entrepreneurial Exchange and co-chair of Oil & Gas UK. Keiller left Wood Group at the end of 2015, receiving a

golden parachute A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually an upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. These may include severance pay, cash bonuses, ...

of nearly £500,000. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded a ...

for services to business and entrepreneurship.

Personal life

He lives in

Bieldside Bieldside is a suburb to the west of Aberdeen City Centre, Scotland. Together with the neighbouring suburb of Cults, Aberdeenshire, Cults, it is the wealthiest area in Scotland. It has one pub/restaurant, The Bieldside, a foodstore, a hairdresse ...

, Aberdeen.

References

1964 births Living people People educated at Jedburgh Grammar School Scottish engineers British chief executives British corporate directors Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Jedburgh {{UK-business-bio-1960s-stub