Archie Bethel is Chief Executive, Babcock Marine; former vice-president and treasurer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers; past president of Scottish Engineering and former Chief Executive the Lanarkshire Development Agency, Scottish Enterprise.
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Archibald Anderson Bethel was born at High Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and was educated at the Hamilton Academy from which he matriculated at the University of Strathclyde. On completing his degree in mechanical engineering Bethel entered the oil industry, joining Vetco Gray in Aberdeen before transferring to Houston, U.S.A., as a design engineer. Rising to director of the research and development section, Bethel returned to the U.K. in 1985, promoted to managing director of UK Operations. In 1991 he was appointed Chief Executive of the Lanarkshire Development Agency, part of the Scottish Enterprise network, a position he held until April 1996 when he took up the post as chief operating officer at Motherwell Bridge, a major engineering firm. On leaving Motherwell Bridge, in January 2004 Bethel took up the position as Chief Executive, Babcock Marine. Employing some 8,000 people, the firm is the largest provider of engineering services to the Royal Navy; the building of two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers going ahead despite cuts announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010. In April 2010, Archie Bethel was appointed to the main board of Babcock International Group PLC. [1] [2]
Archie Bethel has served as vice-President and treasurer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (from 2001) and is a former President of Scottish Engineering (2003-2005.) In 2003, Archie Bethel was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering [3] and in 2010, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [4] In November 2009, Bethel was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Strathclyde. [2]
Archie Bethel was awarded the OBE in 1996 and the CBE in 2008. [5] [6]
The Royal Academy of Engineering
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The Royal Society of Edinburgh