Charles Nicholas Woodburn (born 11 March 1971) is a British businessman who has been the CEO of BAE Systems since July 2017.
Woodburn was born on 11 March 1971 and went to Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, England. Woodburn earned a bachelor's degree in electrical sciences from St John's College, Cambridge in 1992 and a PhD in engineering from Cambridge University, followed by an MBA from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Woodburn was the chief executive of Expro Group, which surveys and manages oil and gas wells around the world. He had also spent 15 years at Schlumberger, an oil services company, overseeing major projects in Thailand, Australia, and the US.
In 2016, Woodburn joined BAE Systems as its chief operating officer. On joining BAE Systems he was to be paid an annual base salary of ã750,000. Additionally he was given more than ã1.6m to compensate for incentive schemes at his previous company Expro. It was reported in December 2016 that he was paid a total joining package worth ã3 million. In 2021, Woodburn received a salary rise of 13% to bring his annual pay to ã1.1 million. He was also in line for an extra ã2 million long-term share award payable if he stayed at BAE until the end of 2023.
In December 2024, Woodburn was one of six executives sanctioned by the Chinese government over arms sales to Taiwan.
Woodburn was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to international trade and skills development. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020.
Woodburn is married with two children and lives in Surrey. He is a keen cyclist, skier and car enthusiast.