Management team

Tony Meggs, Independent Chair, Submarine Production Alliance

Tony is a senior executive leader with more than 30 years’ experience across the public and private sector, holding leadership roles at global, regional and local levels.

Prior to becoming Chair of Sellafield Ltd, Tony chaired Crossrail Limited from January 2019 until late 2020, when governance of the project transferred into TfL.

He was previously CEO of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, reporting to both Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, and head of the government’s project delivery function. Tony joined the Cabinet Office in May 2015 as Chief Executive of the Major Projects Authority, which subsequently merged with Infrastructure UK in January 2016.

Tony’s executive career was with BP, his final role being head of technology, responsible for BP’s central project and engineering functions and all corporate R&D. Prior to that, he was a member of the BP Exploration Executive Committee, with responsibility for BP operations in North Africa and Latin America.

He co-founded the BP Projects Academy to build a network of major project leaders with skills to mitigate risk and maximise the success of BP’s global projects. This was later the inspiration for the government’s Major Projects Leadership Academy, run by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and Oxford Said Business School, the government’s flagship programme for project leaders.

Tony has also been recently appointed as a non-executive director on the Board of Defence Equipment and Support.

Alex McMillan, Submarine Production Alliance Managing Director

Alex has a wealth of expertise and experience in engineering and manufacturing across various industries.

Alex is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the IMechE. He has led a number of businesses at the senior level. Before joining the Dreadnought Alliance, Alex held the position of UK & Ireland Managing Director with Alstom, with responsibility for a large multi-disciplinary team delivering major rolling stock programmes.

Starting his career in 1988 with a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at Anderson Mining, Alex had a number of assembly and test management roles and completed his engineering degree and MBA. In 1997 he joined Weir Pumps; leading all manufacturing, from fabrication and welding to machining and test, for pumps used mainly for nuclear and petrochemical industries.

In 2000, Alex joined Rolls-Royce, initially managing the build of the Pegasus engine for the Harrier Jump Jet and then the V2500 engine for the Airbus A320 series. He next spent three years leading the customer management team and then moved on to lead all engine assembly before becoming site Managing Director in 2010.

Alex spent the next decade leading a number of major businesses in Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, with his final role having responsibility for the build and test of all Rolls-Royce engines globally. He was also Vice-Chairman of a Rolls-Royce joint venture with EgyptAir, based in Cairo, and a non-executive director for the Scottish Prison Service.

In early July 2022, Alex joined the Dreadnought Alliance team and officially took over the Managing Director role in mid-August. He joined at a pivotal time in the programme as the most significant and challenging next phase of Dreadnought – Delivery Phase 3 began earlier in the year.

Steve Timms, Managing Director, Submarines

Steve was appointed Managing Director of BAE Systems Submarines from 1st March, 2021.

He brings to the role a strong track record of managing large-scale, complex defence programmes, having gained extensive experience in a wide and varied 41-year career with BAE Systems.

Having started as an apprentice in the Company’s Air sector, his career has seen him progress to a number of senior board level positions, where he has successfully led the delivery of several high-profile programmes, both in the UK and internationally.

Working across all aspects of a product’s lifecycle, from early phase concept design, into build and in-service, this experience culminated in being asked to lead the Submarines business.

It is an area of the business he was already familiar with having supported the Dreadnought programme in late 2017 and 2018 when he was Group Manufacturing Director, in the Company’s Chief Technology Office.  

Before joining Submarines, Steve was the Managing Director of BAE Systems Naval Ships for 2 years. During that time he was responsible for building up the capability required to deliver the UK’s Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) programme, as well as overseeing the move from design into build of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The success of this programme had also led to international commitments from both the Australian and Canadian navies.

The majority of Steve’s career with BAE Systems has been spent in the Air sector, where as an apprentice he gained first-hand experience of the need to invest in and develop people. This has stayed with him throughout his career and proved valuable as he progressed to a number of senior positions, including on the Eurofighter Typhoon and international Hawk programmes.

Steve has a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick. His contribution to the industry was recognised when he was made a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

He is married with two children.  

Rear Admiral Paul Carroll OBE, Director of Submarine Acquisition, Royal Navy

Rear Admiral Paul Carroll OBE has previously been a Director in Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and Navy Command. He has served on operations globally in multiple senior leadership roles. He is the Defence Champion for Neuro-Inclusivity.

Steve Carlier, President Submarines, Rolls-Royce Defence

Steve joined Rolls-Royce in 1988 and, after a brief spell in its NEI subsidiary, has spent the rest of his career in the Submarines business. He has undertaken a broad variety of roles across Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, Programme Management and Commercial functions.

Notable roles include leading the Astute and Dreadnought Class programmes for Rolls-Royce, a tenure as Commercial & Programmes Director and latterly, an extended time as Operations Director where Steve leads Rolls-Royce Submarine Limited’s operating businesses and functions; comprising some 1,500 people at the Submarines business headquarters at Raynesway in Derby. The latter role subsequently being restructured to incorporate programme leadership of Submarine acquisition programmes and attendant support at the shipbuilder.

In January 2022, Steve was appointed as the President of the Rolls-Royce Submarines business and is part of the Defence Leadership Team for Rolls-Royce.