George Mathewson

Sir George Mathewson is Chairman at the Royal Bank of Scotland and has held this position during the years which saw RBS plc grow from a medium sized retail bank to a major player on the world stage. This growth culminated in the purchase of the National Westminster Bank p.l.c. for £22 billion.

Mathewson is a patron of the Scottish North American Business Council. He studied mathematics and applied physics at St Andrews University and gained a PhD in electrical engineering before going to the US to manage research and development programmes in avionics for Bell Aerospace Corporation. From 1972 until 1981 he worked for the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (now known as 3i) and then served as chief executive of the Scottish Development Agency. In 1987 he joined the board of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and became group chief executive in 1992. He played a leading role in the acquisition of National Westminster Bank and was appointed executive deputy chairman in 2000, becoming chairman of the Group a year later. He was awarded a knighthood in 1999 for services to economic development in Scotland and to Scottish banking.