Heathrow appoints former Rio Tinto deputy CLO as legal head on permanent basis

Steve Allen joined Heathrow as interim GC in July before being made CLO at the start of this month

03 November 2026

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UK airport Heathrow has named Steve Allen as its chief legal officer after serving as interim general counsel since July.

Allen joined the company from Rio Tinto, where most recently he was deputy CLO and GC for corporate and commercial.

Writing on LinkedIn, he said: “Having joined initially on an interim basis, the past few months have only served to strengthen my excitement about being part of this extraordinary team. Heathrow is a truly special place. Not only is it one of the UK’s most important pieces of national infrastructure, it also brings families and friends together, opens up new experiences and cultures, creates opportunities for businesses and connects the UK to the world.

“I love that behind every journey is a story, an opportunity or a possibility, and our job is to make that happen for thousands of customers each day. Heathrow is at a pivotal moment, with real ambition to help shape the UK’s future. I’m very much looking forward to playing my part in this next chapter and feel immensely privileged to be joining the Heathrow team.”

Allen arrived after close to a decade at Rio Tinto, having initially joined as group company secretary in 2017 before being promoted to deputy CLO in May 2023 and then adding the GC for corporate and commercial title in June last year.

Prior to his time at Rio Tinto, he spent more than 11 years at legacy oil and gas business BG Group (now part of Royal Dutch Shell) across a number of legal roles, including principal counsel for M&A, chief counsel for corporate and latterly as deputy GC. He previously worked in private practice at legacy firm Herbert Smith.

Heathrow’s previous GC Mine Hifzi joined the airport in 2022 from Virgin Media, where she was GC for UK and Ireland. In its half year financial statement published in July, Heathrow said Hifzi resigned as company secretary on 25 March, with Allen joining as interim GC and company secretary on 1 July.

In other air travel-related moves, back in April last year American Airlines hired Latham & Watkins corporate partner Anthony Richmond as CLO, replacing Priya Aiyar who left the business earlier that year.