Peter is a biologist, who focused on the conservation of nature and environmental protection throughout his career. He was fortunate to be able to do research on Galapagos in 1962/63, during the very early years of the CDF. He then was hired as Darwin Station Director from 1970 to ’73. During that time, he focused on training and general capacity building of Ecuadorian students, teachers, and tour guides. He also was part of the team producing the first Galapagos National Park Management Plan.

After leaving Galapagos he worked as a researcher and teacher at the University of Essen in Germany and then as a Director at WWF International in Switzerland. In that role, he facilitated the development of a global WWF Program and the development of a number of WWF offices around the world. Contemporaneously he served as President of the Darwin Foundation from 1974 to '84 and again from 2004 to 2012.

As a retiree, he invests time in supporting the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos.