Peter Child (CO74) CEO of the Cornish Pirates

Peter was brought up in Cornwall and came to Truro School in 1967 and left in 1974 with ten ‘O’ Levels and four ‘A’ Levels which included: English, History, Art and Economics. After school Peter joined ECCI where he qualified as a chartered management accountant and was made a Fellow in 1985.

During Peter’s time at ECCI, he became Divisional Controller reporting at Board level on performance, strategy and planning. He worked in Europe, America and the Pacific!

In 1994, Peter joined A&P Falmouth- better known locally as Falmouth Docks- as Finance Director, later being appointed the Managing Director in 2003 where he worked with the management team to twice restructure the business, firstly in 2005 and then again in 2014 to drive out costs, refocus on the customer and change working practices by working with the unions, as well as developing long term partnerships with customers and suppliers. Peter led A&P Falmouth to become the first commercial shipyard in the UK to achieve accreditation in ISPS, ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001; he oversaw significant asset investments in the yard including wharves, cranes and modern equipment and built a major partnership with the RFA (Royal Fleet Auxilliary) and had 11 Grey ships base berthed at Falmouth.

Currently A&P Falmouth are a leading UK Ship repair and Port Operations business employing on average 450 people!

Since moving on from A&P, as well as CEO at the Cornish Pirates, Peter runs his own consultancy company and is on the COIS LEP Employment and Skills board, a director of Cornwall Marine Network and became a Cornwall College Governor in 2012- where he is vice chair on the board today.

Alongside such business success and busy schedule, Peter is a family man, married to Heather who together have three children all of whom went to Truro School – Twin girls Brittany and Nicola (CO05), and son Tom. Brittany is an Account Director for E3 working in Marketing while Nicola is a qualified Physiotherapist and Tom is an Environmental Engineer working in Bristol. Tom also played in the Centre for Truro RFC for several years, sharing his father’s enthusiasm for sport as he himself played football for Truro City and then moving on for several years at Roseland RFC. Peter now enjoys Golf, and walking his two Boxer dogs around the county.

Peter remembers school well.

“The class of 74 was a little bit special sport wise and surprisingly academically too! I am still in touch with several class mates both locally and across the world, having met Howard Nicholls when narrow boating around Worcester and Giles Edmonds visiting the UK. I regularly play golf with Simon Collinge who has just retired as a teacher from the school, also CO74, and Rhod Mitchell who now frequents the Pirates with me most home games. The school gives a good education and more importantly the confidence to meet and mix with people across all areas and levels. It is also a generational – my son Tom shares a flat in Bristol with Ben Shipwright’s son of another C074 member: Dave Shipwright who I see often.

“It was great to hear from Colin the Cornish Kiwi, for the first time in 40 plus years and although I thought I had retired how could anyone say no to being CEO of the top professional rugby team in Cornwall. Luckily for all parties concerned I don’t have to play but there is still a lot to do including getting the Stadium for Cornwall and future home to the Pirates built in Truro.”