Michael John Turner CBE (born 5 August 1948) is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of the aerospace and defence company BAE Systems, former chairman of Babcock International and prior to the hostile takeover by Melrose was chairman of GKN plc.

Early life

He attended Didsbury Technical High School (became Wilbraham High School in 1965) on School Lane in Didsbury. He gained a BA from Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, whilst working for Hawker Siddeley Aviation which he joined in 1966.

Career

Turner replaced the previous CEO at BAE Systems plc, John Weston, in March 2002 who was dismissed. Turner has previously been a chief operating officer (COO) of the company, responsible for all of the company's business units. Both Turner and BAE's previous chairman, Sir Richard Evans, have had an abrasive relationship with senior Ministry of Defence officials. The relationship deteriorated over cost over-runs and delays to major procurement projects, for example BAE announced a shock profit warning in December 2002 related to two major projects, the Astute-class submarine and the Nimrod MRA4. BAE took a £750 million hit against these projects. On 15 October 2007 it was announced by BAE Systems that Turner would step down from his role in 2008. On 1 September 2008 Ian King the COO took over from Turner as CEO. Turner is a member of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network and was awarded the prestigious "Honorary Apprenticeship Award" in July 2009.

Career timeline

Personal life

In 1972, he married Rosalind Thomas and they have two sons. He received a CBE for services to the Aerospace Industry in the Queen's 1999 Birthday Honours. 2014 NED FTSE 100 Chairman of the year.