Phil is the Shell Professor of Offshore Engineering and Director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub on Offshore Floating Facilities at University of Western Australia.  He is a highly experienced offshore geotechnical engineer, with over 25 years oil and gas experience and previously held the position of Global Director of GeoConsulting for Fugro. At Fugro he was a champion of innovation and technology development, working to integrate specialist consulting teams around the world, and with a commitment to sharing expertise and streamlining access to leading edge design approaches.  Prior to joining Fugro, Phil was a Director of specialist geotechnical consulting firm Advanced Geomechanics, based in Perth.

Phil is a Fellow of The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, the current Chair of ISSMGE Technical Committee 209 ‘Offshore Geotechnics’, and a committee member of ISO Working Group 10 / API Resource Group 7.