Prior to this position, Bhutta served as an executive officer.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bhutta studied electrical engineering at Queen's University, Executive-MBA from Stanford University and joined Siemens in 1973.
From 1977, he worked for the company's power generation "subsidiary Renewable Development" AG (RDA).
In 1989, he became acting chairman of RDA and a member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG.
He also functioned as an advisor to the Canadian government under David Johnston and Donald Ethell.