Sir David Varney

Sir David joined Shell in 1968 after graduating from the University of Surrey with a degree in Chemistry. After gaining an MBA at Manchester Business School in 1971, Sir David returned to Shell where he worked for the Australian, Dutch and Swedish operations covering several senior roles including Chief Executive of Swedish Shell (1987), Head of Marketing in Shell International, London (1990), Managing Director of Shell UK responsible for the oil products business (1992) and finally being appointed Head of Shell Oil Products, Europe in 1995.

Sir David left Shell in 1996 to become Chief Executive of the BG Group (previously British Gas) where he stayed for four years before being appointed Executive Chairman of MMO2 in 2001. From 2002 to 2004, Sir David chaired Business in the Community and from 2005 to 2006 Sir David was President of the Chartered Institute of Management.

In 2004 Sir David was appointed Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs. He left the post in 2006 to become adviser to the Chancellor on the opportunities for transforming the delivery of public services in the UK. He has also conducted reviews into the relationships between HMRC and large businesses and the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland.

Sir David is currently the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Service Transformation. He is also a non-executive Director on the Civil Service Steering Board.