Chris Earnshaw spent most of his executive career in senior roles in the global telecoms industry. He was Managing Director of Networks & Systems and, subsequently, Group Engineering Director and Chief Technology Officer for British Telecom plc. In these roles, he was a member of the BT Group Executive Board. During the mid-1990s, he spent a period in the US as founding President and CEO of a joint venture company, Concert Communication Inc., formed by BT and MCI to serve the communication needs of global corporations.

Subsequent to his executive career, he has served as chairman or non-executive director of several engineering and technology companies spanning many sectors—IT, the built environment, and aerospace—and has supported entrepreneurs in deep tech as a mentor and investor.

Throughout his career he has been a strong advocate of partnerships between industry and academia, including research and business education programs. He is an Honorary Fellow of University College, London.

Chris was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1999 and has served the Academy in many roles, including as director and trustee from 2020 to 2023. He was a trustee of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), Europe’s largest professional engineering body, from 2001 to 2009 and served as President from 2008 to 2009.

Chris has received a number of awards in recognition of his leadership in telecoms and engineering including the IEEE Ernst Weber Award in 2001 and an OBE from HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.