Alison Atkinson FREng

CEO, AWE plc

Alison Atkinson is the Chief Executive Officer of AWE plc, leading the organisation on a critical mission to support the defence and security of the UK. Alison is accountable for the UK nuclear deterrent across multiple sites, given the scale and complexity, many of the operations and projects are unique in the UK, if not the world. Alison has many years’ experience in engineering – establishing, leading and managing business organisations across private and government sectors, including infrastructure, defence, nuclear, transportation, and maritime, in both the UK and overseas. Alison is recognised as a business leader and a complex programme delivery expert in highly regulated environments – and a member of defence/energy advisory groups including the UK’s fusion programme. Alison was voted the sixth most ‘Influential Female Engineer in the UK and Europe’ (FT) in 2019.