Dr Patrick Cross

Patrick is a member of the RSTMH Finance and Audit Committee.

His discipline was Electrical Engineering, and he obtained a Doctorate from University College London. While studying for his PhD, he led a Royal Geographical Society expedition to Ghana, travelling overland, to study the environmental and social impact of the Volta Dam. This major engineering project, completed in 1965, created a lake covering over 4% of the country and caused a major disruption to large numbers of people and to the transport infrastructure. The experience he gained there left him with a lifelong interest in environmental issues and in the development of communities in the Tropics.

He subsequently spent most of his career in the oil industry, spending over ten years in East and South East Asia and in South America, as well as spells in Europe. His final assignment was as President of BP Venezuela and the contrast between Asian and Latin cultures left him with another great interest – the way different cultures strive for different social objectives.

After early retirement from BP, he was appointed President of Cable & Wireless in Japan, and later Managing Director of BBC World, the global television news channel. This gave him a worldwide responsibility and the opportunity to do business on every continent, and to develop further his interest in how differing cultures respond to different challenges.

Since retiring from the BBC, he has been appointed Trustee for three charities, including RSTMH. He is also Chairman of Empyrean Energy plc, an oil and gas company exploring in the South China Sea, in Indonesia and in California.

Patrick hopes the breadth of his diverse career will contribute a range of experience to benefit the RSTMH Finance and Audit Committee.