Charles Woodburn

Charles Nicholas Woodburn (born 11 March 1971) is a British businessman who has been the CEO of BAE Systems since July 2017.

Education
Woodburn was born on 11 March 1971 and went to Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, England. Woodburn received a bachelor's degree in electrical sciences from St John's College, Cambridge in 1992 and a PhD in engineering from Cambridge University, followed by an MBA from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Career
Woodburn served as the chief executive of Expro Group, which surveys and manages oil and gas wells around the world. He had also spent 15 years at Schlumberger, an oil services company, overseeing major projects in Thailand, Australia, and the US.

In 2016, Woodburn joined BAE Systems as its chief operating officer. On joining BAE Systems he was to be paid an annual base salary of £750,000. Additionally he was given more than £1.6m to compensate for incentive schemes at his previous company Expro. It was reported in December 2016 that he was paid a total joining package worth £3 million. In 2021 Woodburn received a salary rise of 13% to bring his annual pay to £1.1 million. He was also in line for an extra £2 million long-term share award payable if he stayed at BAE until the end of 2023.

Woodburn was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to international trade and skills development.

Personal life
Woodburn is married with two children and lives in Surrey. Woodburn is a keen cyclist, skier and car enthusiast.