Exclusive: Sydney Opera House and Gherkin designer Arup loses finance chief. Professional Services Editor The design company behind the Sydney Opera House and Gherkin has been left without a finance chief after the former executive in the role quietly left the business, City AM has learned. Robert Boardman, who spent nearly seven years as chief financial officer at the blue-chip engineering, design, and professional services consultancy, resigned as a director on 13 July from all Arup entities, according to Companies House filings. His profile has also been removed from the firm's executive board webpage. There has been no announcement, nor has the firm, which confirmed his exit to City AM, named a new chief financial officer. Previously, Boardman was the finance chief at management consultancy firm Hakluyt for over six years, and was the global finance director at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills between 2009 and 2013. Boardman did not respond to requests for comment. Last April, the group appointed Jerome Frost, who has been at the firm for over 14 years, to the newly created chief executive role. News updates. Stay ahead with our three daily briefings delivering all the key market moves, top business and political stories, and incisive analysis straight to your inbox. Arup spent £20m on cut jobs. Arup's global revenue was £2.16bn for the financial year ending 31 March 2025, down from £2.20bn in the previous year. Its operating profit stood at 2.7 per cent, while its headcount dropped by 3 per cent to over 17,400. In the UK, the firm generated £652.2m in revenue, down more than five per cent from the previous year. Its recent UK annual report, filed with Companies House, also revealed that for the financial year ending 31 March 2025, the group reported "headcount reduction costs" of £19.8m. Arup, a UK-based firm established in 1946, has engineered some of the most iconic buildings and structures in the world, including the Sydney Opera House, the Gherkin and the Millennium Bridge in London. The firm also played a major role in the design and engineering of the Elizabeth Line.

Peter Frankopan joins Hakluyt's international advisory board. 27/07/2026 LONDON, July 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Hakluyt, the global strategic advisory firm for businesses and investors, is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Peter Frankopan, the historian and author, to its international advisory board. Professor Peter Frankopan Peter Frankopan is one of the world's leading historians of global affairs. He is Professor of Global History at Worcester College, Oxford, where he is Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research, and UNESCO Professor of Silk Roads Studies at King's College, Cambridge. He is best known for The Silk Roads: A New History of the World (2015), which sold more than two million copies, followed by The New Silk Roads (2018) and The Earth Transformed: An Untold History (2023). He is President of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and has advised governments and multilateral institutions on geopolitics, security, energy and connectivity. Chaired by Lord William Hague, Hakluyt's international advisory board includes senior leaders from across business, government and academia, who enhance the firm's global connectivity and expertise. Lord Hague said: "Peter is one of the most original thinkers on the forces shaping our world, and I am delighted to welcome him to Hakluyt's international advisory board. His unrivalled understanding of history and the connections between regions and peoples across time will be invaluable as the firm advises clients navigating an increasingly complex global environment." Peter Frankopan commented: "We are living through a period of extraordinary change, with power, trade and technology shifting in ways that will define the decades to come. I look forward to helping Hakluyt and its clients read these currents and navigate a fast-changing world with confidence." Thomas Ellis, Hakluyt's managing partner, added: "Peter brings a rare combination of deep historical perspective and sharp insight into contemporary geopolitics. As our clients across the world grapple with profound shifts in the global order, his judgement will be enormously valuable." This appointment is effective immediately. Notes to editors: Hakluyt is a strategic advisory firm that works with corporate leaders and investors around the world on their most important commercial issues. For more information on the firm, please visit www.hakluytandco.com 13/05/2026 02/07/2026 18/08/2014 27/04/2026 30/04/2026