Williams F1

Alex Burns’ first contact with motorsport came at Wimbledon Stadium in London, where banger racing was an occasional weekend diversion. But he cut his engineering teeth in aerospace, where he worked on a variety of civil, military and space projects.

Alex joined Westland Helicopters from school on an undergraduate training scheme and then joined Meggitt Aerospace in 1989. He remained at the aerospace engineering company for eight years as Quality Manager and then Engineering Director.  He moved to Meggit Mobrey as Project Director, heading up a Company-wide improvement project.

It was around this time that Alex received a phone call from a headhunter, who wondered if he might be interested in working for what was described as a ‘rapid prototyping business’, namely Williams F1. He didn’t get the job, but he was impressed and intrigued by what he had seen and the experience served to stoke his interest in F1.

Alex gained an MBA from Cranfield University and then returned to Meggitt, where he was promoted to Managing Director of Meggitt Electrical Components, working in the automotive and medical  industries.

In 2002 a job with Williams F1 became available again and Alex joined the team as General Manager. Three years later he became Chief Operating Officer and continued in this role until he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Williams F1 in 2010.

•    Nationality: British
•    Born: 28th December 1963
•    Job description: CEO


Career Highlights
2010         Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Williams F1
2005         Chief Operating Officer at Williams F1
2002         Joined Williams F1 as General Manager                  
1999         Managing Director, Meggitt Electrical Components
2000         Awarded MBA from Cranfield University
1997         Project Director, Meggitt Mobrey
1993         Engineering Director, Meggitt Aerospace
1989         Quality Manager, Meggitt Aerospace
1987         Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London   
1982-89    Westland Helicopters, Quality Assurance Engineer for final two years