Podcasts about Lord Browne

Giant Ventures is a multi stage venture fund, founded by Cameron McLain and Tommy Stadlen. We recorded these first episodes at our live Giant Ideas summit, held at London's Tate Modern. The Giant Ideas summit brings together 200 founders, CEOs, heads of state and other leaders to explore how we can harness cutting edge technology as a force for good. Today we bring you an interview with John Browne. Lord Browne is the former CEO of BP and now one of the world's most prominent climate tech investors. He has served on the boards of Goldman Sachs, Intel, DaimlerChrysler, and SmithKline Beecham.John joined BP out of university and rose up the ranks to become CEO between 1995 - 2007. He turned BP from a former national oil company into the world's third biggest corporation. He is widely regarded as one of the top CEOs ever to emerge from the UK. Two years into his tenure as BP CEO, John was accused of “leaving the church” by fellow Big Oil executives after a landmark speech at Stanford in 1997 in which he acknowledged that climate change was manmade and called for action.These words may be uncontroversial now, but in 1997 they were both brave and very important.Today John is the Founding Chairman of BeyondNetZero, a multibillion dollar climate fund launched with General Atlantic.John has been an influential advisory board member at Giant Ventures since we started the firm. He and I previously wrote a book together, Connect: How companies succeed by engaging radically with society.In this conversation with FT columnist and author Gillian Tett, John provides a state of the union on climate change, 25 years on from his historic Stanford speech. They cover everything from climate finance and carbon markets to the role of oil and gas companies in decarbonisation. The episode was recorded shortly before the UN COP climate talks - so you will hear John and Gillian debate the UAE's controversial role as COP host.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING.Building or investing in purpose driven companies? Read more about Giant Ventures here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the first episode in this series, with your hosts, the ELN's Jane Kinninmont and Edan Simpson. This episode kicks off by introducing the series, and the broad topic of existential risk in the feature “What's the Problem?” speaking to Adam Thomson, Director of ELN.   Edan's panel discussion features the Rt. Hon. Lord Browne of Ladyton, Des Browne, and NEVER members Eva Siegmann and Arthur Duforest. They discuss what existential crises are, how they're defined and how we recognise and classify them, and the impact of existential risks like nuclear war and climate change, whilst exploring interconnected solutions to these complex issues.   In “Turn Back The Clock” we revisit one of the tensest periods in the Cold War - the Cuban Missile Crisis. Jane speaks to Dr Marion Messmer, senior research fellow in the International Security Programme at Chatham House and also Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IE RAS), who also happens to be the grandson of the former USSR's foreign minister who was in office during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They dissect this critical historical event, putting the focus on the strategic “game of chess” between the superpowers, the initial successes of the Soviets in evading American detection, to the turning point brought about through careful diplomacy and mediated negotiation.   And as always, we'll end with “The Debrief”, to make sense of everything we've covered in this packed first episode.   Listen now, and don't forget to subscribe for future episodes. The next episode will focus on nuclear weapons and their role in the field of existential risk. Follow the ELN on:X (formerly known as Twitter)LinkedInFacebookThe ELN's websiteThe NEVER webpage

Lord Browne puts forward some reasons to be cheerful in the face of discrimination, eco-anxiety, and gloomy predictions about the future of A.I.John Browne (Lord Browne of Madingley) is Chairman of climate growth equity venture BeyondNetZero, and former Chief Executive of energy company BP. He has been a global thought leader in climate change response since the nineties. He is also is Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation.Hear new episodes of Create The Future - hosted by Roma Agrawal - every other Friday.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian King speaks to Maurice Button, the Chairman of City Week about what business is doing to support decarbonisation and he discusses the digital assets in the financial services sector with Barney Reynolds, from the law firm Shearman and Sterling. Giulia Carbone, from the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development talks about the voluntary carbon market and Lord Browne of Madingley, the former Chief Executive of BP, who's now the Chairman of BeyondNetZero talks about his reaction to the Just Stop Oil Protests.

The Sunday Times' tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Cameron McLain, co-founder of Giant, to talk about why he chose the name (3:05), what he did before starting a venture fund (7:00), moving to America (8:30), dabbling in Buddhism philosophy (10:30), getting into the music industry (12:45), starting and selling a company (15:25), finding good founders (17:30), bringing in Lord Browne as an advisor (24:50), the importance of timing (26:20), raising money right as the pandemic hit (29:40), the climate opportunity (33:15), betting on biology (36:00), and his worst day (41:00). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK has recorded its second largest fall in real wage growth this year, with the unemployment rate rising slightly. Plus, the latest as rail workers begin the first of six planned walkouts over the Christmas period. And Ian King talks to Lord Browne, who chairs General Atlantic's BeyondNetZero, about confronting the challenges posed by climate change.

The International Energy Agency's pathway to a net zero future requires almost 90% of global electricity generation in 2050 to come from renewable sources. But is this goal realistic? Industry experts discuss whether it's possible for renewables to displace fossil fuels in the energy mix, how soon and at what cost. Guests: Assaad Razzouk, CEO, Gurin Energy; Lord Browne of Madingley, Chairman, BeyondNetZero; Jens Zimmermann, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Credit Suisse Host: James Gifford, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing Advisory, Credit Suisse Read more: University of Oxford paper: Empirically grounded technology forecasts and the energy transition; Nuclear energy: Challenges and opportunities; The Rich World's Climate Hypocrisy - WSJ; Had They Bet On Nuclear, Not Renewables, Germany & California Would Already Have 100% Clean Power (forbes.com)

The war in Ukraine continues. In Turkey, a proposal aimed at bringing that war to an end was discussed by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin - we have reaction from Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the German parliament on Thursday in an effort to build support for tougher action against Russia. Germany relies on Russian gas, oil and coal and is still paying the Kremlin hundreds of millions of dollars a day - we speak to Tagesspiegel's energy journalist Jakob Schlandt and hear from Lord Browne, former chief executive at BP. The war is taking a toll on the global economy too and the OECD has given its first assessment of the likely damage. Laurence Boone, chief economist at the OECD, tells us more. The BBC's Frey Lindsay looks at how climate change is threatening lives and livelihoods on islands in the South Pacific, and Spotify gets into the NFT space, as investor and enthusiast Peta Cooper explains. Throughout the programme Jon Bithrey is joined by Alexander Kaufman, senior reporter at Huffpost in New York and by Emily Feng, Beijing correspondent for NPR. Photo: Zelensky address the Bundestag Credit: EPA

- Mudslides and floods hit Rio de Janeiro state - Western U.S. and Northern Mexico hit driest period in 1,200 years - Sea levels along the coastal United States will rise by about a foot. - massive methane cloud over Louisiana - five million Legos were lost at sea keep washing up in England - British Petroleum, Lord Browne warns about Climate change - Maryland proposes a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

Produced by: Catherine Charlwood (@DrCharlwood) and Laura Ludtke (@lady_electric) Music composed and performed by Gareth Jones. About the episode: This sixth episode of the third series of LitSciPod features an interview with Dr Heather Love, Assistant Professor of English Literature at the University of Waterloo (Canada). Heather discusses her work on cybernetics in the works of Ezra Pound, John Dos Passos, and Virginia Woolf, as well as modernism and diagnosis. She introduces us to her new project on obstetrics and explores her unique relationship with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Together, we consider the importance of the concept of the cluster to her research. At the end of the episode, you can hear Heather read an excerpt from Gertrude Stein's Everybody's Autobiography (1937). Episode resources (in order of appearance): • Gabriel Roberts, “ The Humanities in Modern Britain: Challenges and Opportunities”, Higher Education Policy Institute (2021) • Lord Browne, “Securing a sustainable future for higher education: an independent review of higher education funding and student finance” (2010) • Royal Society, “Jobs are changing, so should education” (2019) • Heather Love, “The Cluster as Interpretive Gesture” in “Traces”, Open Thresholds (2017): http://openthresholds.org/2/clusterasinterpretivegesture. • Love, “Newsreels, Novels, and Cybernetics: Reading the Random Patterns of John Dos Passos's U.S.A.”, Journal of Modern Literature • Janet Galligani Casey, Dos Passos and the Ideology of the Feminine (1998) • Walter Pater, The Renaissance • William James, The Principles of Psychology • Ross Ashby, “The Black Box”, An Introduction to Cybernetics (1956). • Sylvan Thompkins, Affect Imagery Consciousness: The Positive Affects (1962) • Virginia Woolf, The Waves (1931) •Dorothy Richardson, Pilgrimage (1915–38) • Paul Jaussen, Writing in Real Time: Emergent Poetics from Whitman to the Digital (2017) • John Dos Passos, USA Trilogy (1930–6); Manhattan Transfer (1925) • Love, “Cybernetic Modernism and the Feedback Loop: Ezra Pound's Poetics of Transmission”, Modernism/modernity (2016) • Joy Division, “Transmission”, Novelty (1979) •Ezra Pound, Cantos LII–LXXI (1940) • Woolf, “Character in Fiction” The Criterion (1924) • Ford Madox Ford, “On Impressionism,” Poetry and Drama (1913) • Rudolf Arnheim, Rundfunk als hörkunst (1933), translated as Radio as Sound (1936) • University of Waterloo, Co-op Program (https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/co-op); Master of Arts in Experimental Digital Media (https://uwaterloo.ca/english/xdm) • Siegfried Zielinski, [. . . After the Media]: News from the Slow-Fading Twentieth Century (2013) • Love & Lisa Mendelman, Modernism and Diagnosis in Modernism/modernity Print Plus 6.2 (2021): https://doi.org/10.26597/mod.0198 • Kevin Jackson, Constellation of Genius: 1922: Modernism Year One (2012) • Paul Stephens, The Poetics of Information Overload: From Gertrude Stein to Conceptual Writing (2015) Stephens, “Stars in My Pocket Like Bits of Data: The poetics of information overload”, Guernica (15 July 2015) • Robertson Collection, Museum of Healthcare at Kingston. See https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/objects-of-intrigue-museum-of-health-care-moulages

Lord Browne is a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic on climate and Net Zero, providing strategic support and advice to the firm's investment teams and portfolio companies.  He served as Group Chief Executive of BP from 1995 to 2007, after having joined the company in 1966 as a university apprentice.In 2007, Lord Browne joined Riverstone, where he was co-head of the world's largest renewable energy private equity fund until 2015. He is currently Chairman of Wintershall Dea, Europe's largest independent oil and gas company. He is independent co-Chairman of the Prime Minister's Council on Science and Technology, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Chairman of the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a past President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.  Lord Browne was the UK Government's Lead Non-Executive Board Member from 2010 to 2015. He was knighted in 1998 and made a life peer in 2001. Lord Browne is the author of five books.Further reading:Lord Browne joins General Atlantic as Senior Advisor[Official Bio] (April 2021)https://www.generalatlantic.com/media-article/lord-browne-joins-general-atlantic-as-senior-advisor-focused-on-climate-and-net-zero/Saving the planet needs faith and science (May 2021)https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/saving-the-planet-needs-faith-and-science-v2bzrl28zMake, Think, Imagine: Engineering the Future of Civilisation (2019)https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1526605716?ie=UTF8&tag=finantimes-21&camp=1634&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=1526605716

Shareholders and courts pile pressure on the oil majors. Amid falling demand for oil and targets to cut carbon emissions, what role if any do companies like ExxonMobil and Shell have in a decarbonised world? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Aeisha Mastagni from the California State Teachers' Retirement System - a shareholder in ExxonMobil pushing the company to change its long-term strategy. Lord Browne, former boss of BP, tells us why oil companies need to diversify if they want to survive. And Charlie Kronick from Greenpeace explains why the winds have turned agains the oil industry in recent weeks. (Photo: Oil drilling operations in California. Credit: Getty Images)

“Never tell anyone a secret because they will surely use it against you.” That’s what Lord John Browne’s mother, an Auschwitz survivor, always told her son. The former CEO of BP followed her advice until he was 59 years old when his secret—the fact that he was a closeted gay man—was exposed by an ex-boyfriend in the British tabloids.    The revelation resulted in a media storm and Lord Browne’s immediate resignation. Just like that, after almost 40 years of service to his employer, he was out of a job and out of the closet. Keep in mind that in the few years before he was outed, Lord Browne had been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, named to the house of Lords, won the UK’s “Most Admired Leader” Award 4 times in a row.   John Browne, Baron Browne of Maddingley served as BP's CEO from 1995 until 2007. When he took the helm, the company was called British Petroleum. The re-branding to BP was only one of several major accomplishments during his tenure. He also engineered mergers with Amoco, Arco, and oversaw major exploration projects around the globe.    Lord Browne is the former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and has served on the boards of Intel, Daimler-Benz and Goldman Sachs. He is the author of five books, including The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out is Good for Business, which is what we disussed in most detail today. He holds a BA in Physics from St. John’s College, Cambridge and earned a Masters at Stanford.    See a list of countries that still have the death penalty for homosexuality here.  Learn more about Lord Browne on his Twitter feed and his foundation’s website.  **Please rate and review Crazy Money.** Follow Crazy Money on Instagram here and join the Crazy MoneyListeners Group here. Read Paul’s latest thoughts on life on Medium.    Topics covered in this episode include: business, leadership, executives, oil, fossil fuels, LGBT, homosexuality, inclusivity, diversity, inclusion, homophobia, gay employees About Crazy Money: Unlike traditional personal finance shows, Crazy Money is not about how to make a million bucks, how to beat the stock market, or how to save money by switching credit cards. It is about deciding what role we want money to play in our lives and how we can use it to be our best selves. Topics covered include: philosophy, happiness, contentment, meaning, dreams, purpose, success, Rat Race, society, mental health, Buddhism, Stoicism, the hedonic treadmill, morality, mid-life crisis, business, work, careers, authors, books, consumerism, values, capitalism, economics, investing, saving, spending, personal finance, charity, philanthropy, altruism, affluence, wealth, wealth management, culture, society, status. Are you really still reading? Go listen to another episode, silly.

Lord Browne is one of Britain's most influential industrialists. As a former Chief Executive of BP he discusses the Government's challenges when it comes to creating a Green Industrial Revolution. Speaking to Lionel, Lord Browne is optimistic when it comes to reaching targets and in this episode examines how we need to look at changing energy systems but at what cost?

Will the current pandemic hasten the end of the oil era, and if so what impact will this have on the global economy and geopolitics? Gideon Rachman discusses the future of energy with former BP chief executive Lord Browne and the FT's energy editor David Sheppard.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fans of Steven Pinker and Yuval Noah Harari ought not to miss this eloquent blueprint for building a brighter future from engineer, John Browne. In conversation with Matthew Stadlen, Lord Browne argues that we need not and must not put the brakes on technological advance. Civilisation is founded on engineering innovation; all progress stems from the human urge to make things and to shape the world around us, resulting in greater freedom, health and wealth for all. Drawing on history, his own experiences and conversations with many of today's great innovators, he uncovers the basis for all progress and its consequences, both good and bad. He argues compellingly that the same spark that triggers each innovation can be used to counter its negative consequences.

Listen to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update: Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic launch event – including introduction by Ed Williams, President & CEO, Edelman EMEA, insights on the action business needs to take by Hugh Taggart, Global Crisis Chair, Edelman, and an expert panel discussion featuring Pippa Crerar, Political Editor, Daily Mirror and Chair, Parliamentary Press Gallery; Dame Helena Morrissey, Financier, Author and Campaigner; Sir John Sawers, Executive Chairman, Newbridge Advisory and The Lord Browne of Madingley, Executive Chairman, L1 Energy. Discover the full findings here: https://edl.mn/2yY1Lt9 

Why has engineering always been the backbone of civilisation? And why do we enjoy making things? This month, Lord Browne in conversation with Vivienne Parry, explains what engineering is, what it has done for us and how it can deliver a brighter future. Robots, our health, security, climate change as well as autonomous vehicles are discussed. Check out our website: www.rigb.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/Ri_Science YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution And Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution

Today’s unprecedented rate of change leaves many questions about the benefits and risks of new technologies, and how we can best leverage innovation to address our biggest challenges.      In this edition of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Jason Bordoff is joined by Lord John Browne to discuss his latest book, Make, Think, Imagine: Engineering the Future of Civilization -- which serves up an optimistic look at the benefits engineering, technology, and innovation can bring in solving some of humanity’s greatest challenges, such as disease, climate change, and artificial intelligence.   Anyone who studies or works in the energy industry knows Lord John Browne. He has been one of the legendary and visionary leaders in the sector for decades. He’s the former Chief Executive of BP, with a career spanning more than 40 years in the company. He rose from apprentice to heading the British multinational oil and gas company, where he notably engineered a merger with rival Amoco, and was a strong proponent of renewables, famously rebranding the BP initials to “Beyond Petroleum.”  Jason and Lord Browne also discussed his latest endeavor, a merger of Dea and Wintershall to create one of the world’s largest oil and gas independents and other developments in global energy markets and in policy.  

Bloomberg Opinion columnist Barry Ritholtz interviews Lord John Browne of Madingley, who is executive chairman of L1 Energy and chairman of the supervisory board of Wintershall DEA. As group chief executive of BP from 1995 to 2007, he led the company through a period of major expansion. From 2007 to 2015, he served as a partner at Riverstone Holdings. He is also chairman of the Francis Crick Institute and chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

In this inaugural episode we talk with Lord Browne of Madingley, engineer, business leader and Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, about the profound impact that engineering has, and continues to have, on the world around us.

It is 50 years since the law that decriminalised homosexuality was passed. John Browne, who was the chief executive of the energy company BP between 1995 and 2007, kept his sexuality secret for the first 50 years of his life. After being outed by the Daily Mail in 2007 he became the first person, leading a major publicly-traded company, to acknowledge that he is gay. But he later stepped down after revelations about his homosexual affair. In 2014 he published The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good Business. Lord Browne told Becky Milligan that in the business world it is tough to find role models, and if gay people come in to the sector and see no one like them at the top, they will go elsewhere. (Photo: Lord Browne, credit: Getty Images)

The Annual Hands Lecture is a very important moment in Mansfield's calendar, held to honour Guy and Julia Hands and their generous and continued support of Mansfield College. Year after year, it has attracted distinguished speakers, including Sir Bob Geldof, The Rt Hon. the Lord Blunkett and President Jimmy Carter. Lord Browne is presently Chairman of L1 Energy, the Chairman of Trustees of both the Tate and the QEII Prize for Engineering, and Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. In his talk, he covered the politics, values, responsibilities and the technological advances of the energy industry, describing it as "an industry for polymaths."

This week we're joined by LGBT voices from the Square Mile to discuss the power of diversity, breaking Lord Browne's glass closet - and to ask if it is necessary to be open about your identity at work. Guests today include EY's Tim Jarman, RBS's Yvonne Miller and Clifford Chance's London managing partner, David Bickerton.

The big oil companies are the pantomime villains of the global warming debate. They've been accused of everything from climate change denial to commercial incompetence in a rapidly changing world. Campaigners attack their boardroom practices and push pension funds and universities to withdraw their investments. Tom Heap examines the reactions of the likes of Exxon, Shell, BP and Total to the mounting evidence of man-made climate change. How much did they know? How much did they lobby against meaningful action? He meets Lord Browne, the former head of BP who famously rebranded his company as 'Beyond Petroleum' to find out why the rest of the industry failed to join his campaign to cut emissions and invest in renewable energy. Tom and Lord Browne also discuss the changing rhetoric since the signing of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. With fresh commitments to alternative fuels could the oil companies finally turn themselves from the villain to the principal boy, using their engineering expertise to halt the planet's changing climate? Producer: Alasdair Cross.

(Bloomberg) -- Taking Stock with Kathleen Hays and Pimm Fox. GUEST: Lord John Browne, executive chairman of L1 Energy and former CEO of BP, and author of "The Glass Closet" on the business embargo in North Carolina over its current anti-LGBT laws, and why it's good for companies to be LGBT friendly.

The former BP chief swings by Times Square to discuss his new book on how companies can radically engage with the wider world and become more inclusive to the benefit of owners. He also talks about the potential for M&A in the energy business, the oil market and Brexit.  The Exchange is a regular conversation with influential and interesting leaders in business and markets hosted by Rob Cox, global editor of Breakingviews, the commentary publication of Thomson Reuters. From Reuters' global headquarters in New York's Times Square, Rob debates and discusses trends in finance, business and economics with those who shape them, from central bankers and corporate executives to authors and artists.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The new James Bond film Spectre is reviewed by New Generation Thinker Sam Goodman. The Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi talks to Rana Mitter about facing death threats and surviving prison - and her novels which include Memoirs of a Woman Doctor and God Dies by the Nile. Lord Browne, former CEO of BP, makes the case for business to engage with society in a discussion with Mark Littlewood from the Institute of Economic Affairs. Dr Elisabeth Kendall has been studying the way so called Islamic State use classical Arabic poetry on social media. Elisabeth Kendall is the author of Twenty-First Century Jihad Connect: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically with Society by John Browne with Robin Nuttall and Tommy Standlen, is out now. Sam Goodman is the author of British Spy Fiction and the End of Empire Spectre certificate 12A is out in cinemas nationwide from Monday. Nawal El Sadaawi is the author of The Hidden Face of Eve, Woman at Point Zero, The hidden face of Eve, God Dies By The Nile.

The former CEO of BP says great businesses should develop connections with society, but the difficulty of doing so means few manage it See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The former CEO of BP says great businesses should develop connections with society, but the difficulty of doing so means few manage it See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lord Browne of Madingley, Member of the House of Lords and former Chief Executive of BP, delivers a public lecture at Madingley Hall on 8 October 2014. John Browne (Lord Browne of Madingley) was CEO of BP from 1995 to 2007, where he built a reputation as a visionary leader, transforming BP into one of the world’s largest companies. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign member of the US Academy of Arts and Sciences and Chairman of the Trustees of the Tate Galleries. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Stanford Universities, was knighted in 1998, and made a life peer in 2001. The lecture is chaired by Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and introduced by Dr Rebecca Lingwood, Director of Continuing Education. Please note that the lecture proper begins at the 04:28 minute point in the video.

A leading lawyer and the editor of The Times have joined the panel that will appoint the members of the new press regulatory board. Lord Browne of Eaton-under-Heywood and journalist John Witherow are joined on the panel by the former editor-in-chief of the Manchester Evening News, Paul Horrocks, and the former chairwoman of the Commission for Social Care Inspection Dame Denise Platt. However, the Hacked Off campaign group says the appointments have failed to meet independence criteria set out by Lord Justice Leveson. Steve Hewlett asks Sir Hayden Phillips, the chairman of the appointment panel, about the measures in place to ensure the process is independent.There have been reports this week that Richard Desmond, chairman of Northern and Shell, may be looking to sell Channel 5. Having bought the TV station for £103.5?million in 2010, he subsequently secured deals with shows like Big Brother which have helped the channel turn a profit. Steve Hewlett talks to chairman of DCD Media David Elstein, who launched Channel 5 as its Chief Executive in 1997, about the impact Mr Desmond has made, and about which players might be interested in buying the terrestrial broadcaster.A new natural history series starts on the BBC next week. Described as 'Pixar meets Life', Hidden Kingdoms is, 'the untold story of the natural world's most fascinating diminutive characters'. Filming techniques include using blue screens to superimpose animals into scenes, and mocking up natural habitats. Steve Hewlett talks to the head of the BBC's Natural History Unit Wendy Darke, about why natural history producers now feel the need to use artifice to draw in audiences.Producer: Katy Takatsuki.

He made his name and fortune in the oil industry and in the process became one of Britain's best known business leaders. John Browne was BP's boss for 12 years. He expanded and diversified one of the world's fossil fuel giants. Now he's back in the thick of the energy debate backing a company eager to develop shale gas production in the UK. His career has been defined by the search for fossil fuels and economic sustainability. Can we have both?

Lord Browne of Madingley, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering "On being an engineer". As President of The Royal Academy of Engineering, Lord Browne's prime goal during his five years in office is 'to move engineering towards the centre of society'. In his opinion the words 'engineers design the future' have more resonance today than ever before. Drawing on global experience of the energy business, industry and political life Lord Browne reflected on what being an engineer means in the 21st century.

Lord Browne of Madingley, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering "On being an engineer". As President of The Royal Academy of Engineering, Lord Browne's prime goal during his five years in office is 'to move engineering towards the centre of society'. In his opinion the words 'engineers design the future' have more resonance today than ever before. Drawing on global experience of the energy business, industry and political life Lord Browne reflected on what being an engineer means in the 21st century.

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the chief executive of BP, John Browne. His father had also worked for the company and through visits to Iran as a boy, he witnessed spectacular oil-well blow-outs which gave him a fascination for the business. He joined BP after leaving university, starting at the sharp end as a petroleum engineer in Alaska in the 1970s. For 20 years, he travelled the world, working his way up the ladder before permanently settling in London. Almost 10 years ago, he said that oil companies must take seriously the threat of global warming and take measures to tackle the issue. He was knighted in 1998, and created a life peer in 2001 as Lord Browne of Madingley. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: An extract from the end of Act 1 of Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Other Men's Flowers: An Anthology of Poetry by Lord Wavell Luxury: A lifetime's supply of great cigars

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the chief executive of BP, John Browne. His father had also worked for the company and through visits to Iran as a boy, he witnessed spectacular oil-well blow-outs which gave him a fascination for the business. He joined BP after leaving university, starting at the sharp end as a petroleum engineer in Alaska in the 1970s. For 20 years, he travelled the world, working his way up the ladder before permanently settling in London. Almost 10 years ago, he said that oil companies must take seriously the threat of global warming and take measures to tackle the issue. He was knighted in 1998, and created a life peer in 2001 as Lord Browne of Madingley.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: An extract from the end of Act 1 of Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Other Men's Flowers: An Anthology of Poetry by Lord Wavell Luxury: A lifetime's supply of great cigars