Peter was 136th president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and has had a broad career in a variety of engineering industries- aerospace, automotive, rail and process – providing leadership at all points in the technology life-cycle from research through product development to manufacturing and field support. Most of this was in private industry but he also spent 10 years working between business, universities and government. This has given him a wide perspective of engineering with innovation and business as the common threads, this being the basis of his book, Managing Technology and Product Development Programmes, published in 2019.

Educationally, he read Mechanical Sciences at the University of Cambridge and took an MBA at Strathclyde Business School. He also attended the senior international management programme at Harvard Business School.

His career in engineering and manufacturing was in four companies – BAE Systems, Leyland Trucks, ABB and Vectra Group - operating at Chief Engineer, Director and Managing Director-level.

During the period 2007 -17, he was instrumental in setting up the UK government’s innovation support network through the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, the Catapult network, and the Aerospace Technology Institute, which oversees the UK’s aerospace R&D programme.

He was also chairman of the Advisory Board for the intelligent automation centre at Loughborough and Cranfield Universities over the period 2012 - 17.

He was appointed MBE in 2025 for services to engineering.

He is married to Helen with two sons and five grandchildren. He is a keen golfer, now a member of Romsey Golf Club, and was Captain of Ashbourne Golf Club in 2012.