Philip Wake is Chief Executive of The Nautical Institute - the international body for those involved in the control of sea-going ships. The Institute has consultative status at the International Maritime Organisation and last year led the review of the industry's Dynamic Positioning Operator (DPO) Training Scheme which it has managed since its inception in 1982. Recent achievements of the Institute are the continuation of the Human Element Project sponsored by the Lloyd's Register Foundation, and the publication of The Navigator to raise the professional awareness and knowledge of young navigators.

He is a member of Council of the RNLI; a Younger Brother of Trinity House, London; a Trustee of the CHIRP Charitable Trust and the Royal Alfred Seafarers' Society; and Chairman of the Great River Race. He qualified as a Master Mariner in 1978 and was awarded an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from the City University Business School in 1988.