Our people

Overview

In 2003 The Crown Estate was formally accredited as an Investor in People - a national quality standard which sets the level of good practice for improving an organisation's performance through its people. This recognised our increased focus on our training needs, on employees' involvement in the business and on our communications throughout the organisation.

The organisation employs approximately 400 staff, at ten different locations throughout the United Kingdom. The two principal offices are in London, and outside the town of Windsor.

In London there are around 170 staff, headed by a senior management team. Windsor employs 200 people, most of whom are engaged in the maintenance and running of Windsor Great Park, including foresters. The other principal location is Scotland where 35 staff are employed.

For management purposes, the estates are divided into four business groups: urban, marine, rural and Windsor. These are all supported by administrative and service teams.

Much day to day management of the estates is entrusted to appointed firms of surveyors who act as managing agents.

The Board

Board members are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Board currently comprises eight members: a chairman (who is non-executive), chief executive, six Board members (non-executive) plus two Board counsellors (non-executive). The composition of the Board is defined by the Crown Estate Act 1961. Board members are appointed in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) Code of Practice.

Sir Stuart HampsonChairman and First Commissioner

Sir Stuart took up the post of chairman of The Crown Estate on 1 January 2010.

Sir Stuart joined The Crown Estate on 1 January 2010. He was born in 1947 and educated at St John's College Oxford. He spent 12 years as a civil servant before joining the John Lewis Partnership where he was Chairman for 14 years. He was a founding member of the Oxford Retail Group on planning law and of London First, the private/public sector partnership aimed at maintaining London's standing as a world class capital. Sir Stuart chaired the Business in the Community team tackling economic renewal in deprived communities, and he is one of the Prince of Wales's Ambassadors in this area. Sir Stuart was President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 2005/2006. He was knighted in 1998 for services to retailing.

Aged 64.

Alison Nimmo CBEChief executive and Second Commissioner

Alison took up the post of chief executive of The Crown Estate on 1 January 2012. Prior to this, she spent five years with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) where, as Director of Design and Regeneration, she held the responsibility for delivering the overall design and early delivery of most of the venues, Olympic Park and long-term legacy for the London 2012 games.

Alison is a chartered surveyor and town planner who specialises in regeneration and was awarded a CBE for services to urban regeneration in 2004. Her previous roles have included: a central role in the London 2012 bid team and interim Director leading the establishment of the Olympic Delivery Authority; Chief Executive of Sheffield One, a seminal city centre regeneration programme for Sheffield; and Project Director of Manchester Millennium Ltd responsible for the regeneration of Manchester city centre following the terrorist bombing in 1996. She is also a non-executive director of Berkeley Group and a visiting Professor at Sheffield Hallam University.

Aged 47.

Gareth Baird DL, FRAgSNon-executive Board member and Scottish Commissioner

Appointed to the Board on 1 October 2009.

Gareth is a third generation tenant farmer involved in arable and beef production near Kelso in the Borders and is a leading figure in Scotland's agricultural and food and drink sectors. He is Chairman of Scott Country Potato Growers Ltd, Vice Chairman of Grainco Ltd, and a Director of Scotland Food and Drink and of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. He has been involved with farming co-operatives for many years, and it was this commitment to co-operation that led to his chairmanship of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS) for two separate three-year terms.

He also chairs the South of Scotland regional advisory board of Scottish Enterprise. He is a fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society and Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale.

Aged 53.

Ian MarcusNon-executive Board member

Appointed to the Board in January 2012.

Ian is currently Chairman of European Real Estate Investment Banking at Credit Suisse where he is responsible for leading the bank's property related activities across its asset management, private banking and investment banking businesses. He is also Chairman of the Bank of England Commercial Property Forum and Chairman of The Prince's Regeneration Trust.

Ian's previous roles have included the Presidency of the British Property Federation and Chairmanship of the Investment Property Forum. He is a member of the Real Estate Advisory Board of the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge, an Eminent Fellow of the RICS and a Member of the Chartered Surveyors Company.

Chris Bartram MA, FRICSNon-executive Board member

Appointed to the Board on 1 January 2007.

Chris is currently Chairman of Orchard Street Investment Management and was Managing Director of Haslemere NV which was floated on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1999. He was previously Managing Partner of Jones Lang Wootton. He is a non-executive Director at Land Securities Group plc and is Chairman of Estate Management Development Fund at Cambridge University. He is also a Wilkins Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. Past appointments include: President of the British Property Federation and Chairman of the Bank of England Property Forum.

Aged 61.

David Fursdon FRICS, FAAVNon-executive Board member

Appointed to the Board in January 2008.

David is a qualified rural chartered surveyor and agricultural valuer. He was educated at St John's College Oxford and at the RAC Cirencester. He owns and manages an 800 acre family estate in Devon.

He was formerly President of the Country Land & Business Association (CLA). He is now an English Heritage Commissioner, Chairman of SW Chamber of Rural Enterprise, Chairman of the SW Board for the 2012 Games and SWRDA Board member. He is also the chairman of Governors for Blundell's School, Parish Chairman, Deputy Lieutenant for Devon and a former member of the Government's Affordable Housing Commission. Previously he has been a civil servant, a teacher and an equity partner of a firm of Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors.

Aged 57.

Dipesh Shah OBE, MSc, FRSANon-executive Board member

Appointed to the Board on 1 January 2011.

Dipesh has an extensive background in business, including renewable energy, utilities and infrastructure. Since 2009 he has been a non-executive member of The Crown Estate's offshore energy supervisory committee, and currently holds a number of non-executive appointments with Thames Water, JKX Oil & Gas Plc and the 2020 European Fund for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure (Marguerite Fund). He is a Trustee of the British Youth Opera and a Governor of Merchant Taylor's School.

Dipesh studied economics at Warwick University, gained an MSc with Distinction at London University and later attended the programme for management development at Harvard Business School, and executive education at Templeton College, Oxford. Recent appointments include: Chief Executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Chairman of Viridian Group Plc and of HgCapital Renewable Power Partners LLP, and a Non-executive Director of Lloyds of London and Babcock International Group Plc. Earlier Dipesh was Chief Executive of several businesses in the BP Group, chairman on four occasions of the European Photovoltaics (solar) Industry Association and a member of the Government's Renewable Energy Advisory Committee.

Aged 57.

Dr Anthony White MBENon-executive Board member

Appointed to the Board on 1 January 2011.

Tony has worked in the utility and finance sectors since leaving Oxford University with a Doctorate in Physics in 1977. His professional interests include the valuation of generating assets in liberalised power markets, the evolution of energy markets in a carbon constrained world and the development of network regulation. He left Climate Change Capital, a bank he and four others established in 2003, but continues to provide advice to them, and others, through his company BW Energy Limited.

He is a non-executive director of the National Renewable Energy Centre at Blyth and Green Energy Options. He is a member of the British Government's Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board and its High Level Strategy Group for the Built Environment. He also sits on the Advisory Boards of Jacob & Co., CCC's clean technology fund and Sussex University's Energy Group. He was awarded an MBE in 2004 for services to UK energy policy.

Aged 58.

Jenefer Greenwood BSc, FRICSBoard counsellor

(Non-executive Board member February 2004 - December 2011.)

Appointed to the Board on 19 February 2004.

Jenefer joined Grosvenor in May 2003 as Retail Strategist to give advice on retail positioning across the portfolio. She previously worked for CB Hillier Parker for 25 years, where she was Head of Retail. One notable project during this time included the retail plan and branding of Regent Street.

Within Grosvenor she has recently been appointed Director - Sales & Lettings for Great Britain and Ireland across all retail, commercial and residential estates. Jenefer is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the National Skills Academy for Retail. She is a past President of the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) and member of the ICSC European Advisory Board. She is also a Governor of Westonbirt School.

Aged 53.

Dinah Nichols CBBoard counsellor

(Non-executive Board member January 2003 - December 2010.)

Appointed to the Board in January 2003.

Dinah read history at Bedford College, University of London. She is a non-executive Director of Pennon Group plc (the parent company of South West Water and Viridor Waste) and of Shires Smaller Companies Investment Trust. In 2005 she became Chair of the National Forest Company, a project to regenerate a large area of central England through multi-purpose forestry and major landscape change. Until 2002 she was Director-General Environment in DEFRA, where her responsibilities covered policy for sustainable development, climate change, air and water quality, waste, chemicals and the environmental aspects of farming. In her previous posts in the civil service she dealt with housing, construction, property, regeneration and transport. She is also a Trustee of The Land Trust and Keep Britain Tidy and a member of CPRE's Policy Committee.

Aged 67.

Management

Chris BourchierDirector of rural estate

Christopher Bourchier has overall responsibility for the strategic development and management of 120,000 hectares of land and property with a capital value in excess of £1 billion.

From a strategic management, economic and scientific background, Chris joined The Crown Estate from ADAS, where he was head of agriculture, following previous roles advising the UK Government, the European Commission and international companies.

He is vice president of the Nuffield Farming Trust, chairman of the Frank Parkinson Trust, past chairman of the British Cattle Breeders, past chairman of the (Country Land and Business Association) CLA Institutional Landowners Group and Member of the CLA Executive.

A current priority is to address future national and international food supply challenges through maximising sustainable productivity, in partnership with farming tenants. He is also passionate about working with local people to improve the design of new build developments on the rural estate - to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities.

Valerie BurnsHead of HR

Valerie joined The Crown Estate in 2002.

Valerie is responsible for developing and implementing The Crown Estate's human resources strategy and delivering HR business services. She has previously held senior HR positions in both the commercial and public sectors and studied for her MBA at Henley Management College. She completed the Chartered Institute of Personnel (CIPD) in 1989.

Paul ClarkDirector of investment & asset management

Paul joined The Crown Estate in 2007 and has overall responsibility for investment strategy for The Crown Estate's UK based £7.3 billion portfolio which includes commercial, residential, rural and marine real estate holdings.

Previously he was responsible for the Church Commissioners' £1.7 billion property investment portfolio. Significant recent initiatives have included setting up major retail joint ventures with Land Securities in Exeter and Oxford, commencing the organisation's first development in St James's in partnership with HOOPP, the 18,600 m² (200,000 ft²) Quadrant development off Regent Street and the partnership with Norges on Regent Street.

James CookseyHead of St James’s and the regional portfolio

James Cooksey joined The Crown Estate in March 2009 as Head of St James's and The Regional Portfolio which together comprise assets with a total value of c£3 billion. He previously worked for Norwich Union/Morley Fund Management for over 10 years having held a number of posts, including Fund Manager for The Aviva Staff Pension Fund and Head of European Multi Manager.

Since joining The Crown Estate James has been responsible for overseeing over £750 million of purchases and sales which have resulted in a re-orientation of the Regional portfolio towards dominant prime retail and significant inward investment into the core St James's portfolio.

James holds a 2:1 degree in Land Management, is a member of the IPF and has passed the full IMC.

Philip Everett, LVO, FRICSDeputy Ranger, Windsor Great Park

Philip was appointed Deputy Ranger in July 1998.

Philip is a qualified Rural Surveyor and a partner in the firm of surveyors, Smiths Gore. Philip is effectively on permanent secondment from Smiths Gore, working full time for The Crown Estate in the role of Deputy Ranger, managing the Windsor estate. The Windsor estate extends to nearly 16,000 acres and has 186 permanent Crown Estate employees who cover activities such as property management, horticulture, marketing, grounds maintenance and forestry. Philip reports direct to the chief executive, but also to the Ranger of the Great Park, who is currently HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. He is a member of the Royal Household and, as such, also reports on certain aspects of the estate management to the Privy Purse. These include issues relating to the Royal Farms, the Windsor sporting activities and the Windsor Farm Shop.

As Deputy Ranger, Philip sits on a number of committees including being a Governor of the Royal School, a committee member of the Royal Chapel Committee, The York Club, the Royal Windsor Horse show, Windsor Park Equestrian Club and the Royal Forest Agricultural Association. Philip is also a committee member of the Berkshire branch of the Country Land Owners Association, the Berkshire Game Consultancy and is a member of the Thames Valley Resident Land Agents group and the Land Surveyors Club.

Dermot GrimsonHead of external relations, policy and planning

Dermot Grimson joined The Crown Estate as head of external relations, policy and planning in the marine estate, in 2008. An urban planner by training, Dermot worked for 12 years in Royal Dutch Shell in their exploration and production business and in corporate roles.

Dermot supports colleagues in managing relationships with the UK Government and the devolved administrations and is a member of the Edinburgh Corporate Leadership Team and business leadership team.

Nick Harper MRICS, FAAVHead of asset management and development (rural estate)

Nick is a chartered surveyor who, before joining The Crown Estate in 2005, was a partner in an East Anglian firm of property consultants, advising clients on asset performance, development and restructuring.

Nick is now head of the rural estate's asset management performance, planning and development. He has strategic responsibility for major planning applications for new homes and is currently working on proposed urban extensions at Bingham, Taunton and Thetford.

Other recent projects that he has led include the development at Burnhill Green, Staffordshire, which has won national and local awards for design, sustainability and community involvement. Nick also advised on the acquisition of the very diverse 3,600 acre Tabley Estate, close to Knutsford.

Nick has over 20 years' property industry experience.

David HarrisDeputy head of legal

David joined The Crown Estate in 1994 after over 20 years in private legal practice. David manages the legal function and supervises the majority of the legal work generated by the estate businesses, including overseeing relationships with the external panel of solicitors.

David is a graduate of Oxford University and qualified solicitor.

Rob HastingsDirector of marine estate

Rob Hastings joined The Crown Estate in 2006 as the director of the marine estate.

Rob qualified as an aeronautical engineer in 1985 and after a short spell in aerospace industry completed an MBA at Manchester Business School. He spent the next 15 years in the energy sector in a range of enterprises from small to very large, all at executive director level, including roles as business development director, general manager, managing director and chairman.

His penultimate role was a director and chairman of Shell Wind Energy Limited. He has also served as a director of the British Wind Energy Association (now Renewable UK), as a member of the UK Government's Renewable Advisory Board and Offshore Wind Developers Forum chaired by the Minister of Energy and served on the Office of Science and Technology Private Sector Research Group.

Vivienne King BSoc SciDirector of legal

Vivienne King is a qualified solicitor who joined The Crown Estate in 1994 from Magic Circle law firm, Herbert Smith.

Vivienne has been the Legal Director and Company Secretary of The Crown Estate since 2007. She has responsibility for the entire legal service across the portfolio and for delivery of the business to the most robust standards of corporate governance and health and safety. As a member of the Management Board, she is responsible for the successful operation of the business at its most senior executive level and she is also the Director who has overall accountability for driving sustainability.

A member of the City of London Solicitors Company and Chief Legal Office Network, Vivienne was awarded 'Hot100' lawyer status in 2008 by The Lawyer magazine.

Alan Laidlaw BSc (Hons) MRICSHead of new business development – rural estate

Alan Laidlaw joined The Crown Estate in 2005 as head of new business development responsible for new business projects, The Crown Estate's rural customer service programme and co-investment with tenant farming partners as well as the implementation of renewable energy investment programme across the rural estate. Alan Laidlaw is a chartered surveyor and has previously worked for a clearing bank offering support and business lending to the agricultural and rural based industries across the north of England and Scotland.

Alan is a member of the RICS Rural Professional Board in Scotland and the Scottish Agricultural College's Consultative Committee. Alan is a member of the senior management team and is the rural lead within the Edinburgh corporate leadership team, responsible for the delivery of the Scottish strategy.

John Lelliott FCCAFinance director

John joined The Crown Estate in 1985 and became finance director in 2001. He has responsibility for finance, information services and internal audit. He also leads a key component of our sustainability strategy, the 'working together' sustainability pillar.

John is a trustee of Asthma UK and a member of the ACCA Social and Environmental Committee.

David McKnightHead of sustainability

David joined The Crown Estate in 2009 and has been implementing the sustainability strategy across the business. Reporting to the board sustainability committee, he has been working to set priorities and drive progress across four sustainability 'pillars' and a number of key projects including the integration of sustainability into investment decisions, carbon reduction programme and community investment strategy.

David joined from Edelman, a global PR company, where he led their sustainability consulting business. Previously he worked for Ernst & Young in their sustainability consulting practice working with a diverse range of companies from ExxonMobil to Orange France Telecom on projects around the world. David is originally from New Zealand where he studied chemical engineering and worked for New Zealand's environment agency.

Alan MeakinHead of the investment strategy

Alan joined The Crown Estate in 1986 and has been the head of the investment strategy team since its inception in 2004.

The team is responsible for organising the valuation of The Crown Estate, measuring its performance, assessing individual investment proposals, forecasting portfolio performance and advising on the estate's investment strategy.

Alan has a broad knowledge of The Crown Estate which began when he worked on the marine portfolio in 1986 through to becoming head of the regional portfolio and then head of Regent Street asset management.

Achievements include the development of Cambridge Business Park, the introduction of Regent Street Direct and entry of The Crown Estate into the IPD Quarterly Index. He holds a postgraduate diploma in Property Investment and is a member of the RICS.

David ShawHead of Regent Street portfolio

David joined The Crown Estate in 2002.

A chartered surveyor and member of BCSC and IPF, David is responsible for the £2 billion Regent Street portfolio. Since 2002 Regent Street has undergone a major redevelopment, and David has overseen this £1 billion investment and development programme including the investment partnership for Regent Street with Norges Bank Investment Management.

Prior to The Crown Estate David was property director of a Nomura subsidiary focused on real estate partnerships, a management board director of retailer the Burton Group responsible for retail planning and property and director of Rosehaugh subsidiary Shearwater.

David also sits as a director of the New West End Company, working to secure London's wider West End as the premier shopping and leisure destination.

Martin SimpsonHead of energy & technology

Martin joined The Crown Estate in 2008.

Martin is responsible for delivery of a diverse marine energy & technology programmes for the marine estate including offshore wind, wave and tidal, CO₂ storage, natural gas storage, technology and transmission. Martin previously worked in Shell for 22 years mainly on project managing the development and delivery of oil and gas projects in environments such as the North Sea. During this time, Martin spent four years in Shell Renewables, a project developing offshore wind.

Martin represents The Crown Estate in a number of national programme groups including DECCS marine energy programme board and CCS development forum.

Martin has a PGD in Offshore Engineering and a BSC in Electrical Engineering.

Alastair SmartHead of development and project management

Alastair Smart joined The Crown Estate in May 2009 and is head of development and project management.

Alastair leads a specialist team responsible for the planning and construction phases of the strategic development activity within The Crown Estate. Major redevelopment projects include 229-247 Regent Street (the Apple building), One Vine Street W1, Quadrant 3 (the former Regent Palace Hotel), Block W4 Regent Street and St James's Gateway; all mixed use schemes.

Prior to joining The Crown Estate, Alastair worked for Lend Lease as director of new business and development director within the retail division. He was part of their executive management team in the UK business and responsible for the delivery of regeneration projects.

He has 16 years' experience in the property industry specialising in large scale development projects, with a BSc (Hons) Degree in Estate Management, Kingston University, is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the British Council of Shopping Centres.

Alastair has recently joined the National Heritage Protection Plan Advisory Board and the London First Planning & Development Advisory Group.

Nigel SpencerHead of information services

Nigel Spencer joined The Crown Estate in 2006.

Nigel is an IT professional with a history of working in the property, construction, civil engineering and outsourced services industries. He was formerly the IT director at M J Gleeson Group plc and has been the chairman/director of more than 20 property management companies. Nigel has also held the post of part-time lecturer at South Thames College.

Leading the information services team, Nigel has overall responsibility for IT support and development, business systems change management, spatial data and knowledge management, business support activities and procurement within The Crown Estate.

Anne Thomas, ACAFinancial controller

Anne Thomas joined The Crown Estate in February 2008.

Anne is a qualified chartered accountant with considerable experience within the property industry. Prior to joining The Crown Estate she worked for British Land as head of fund accounting and before that for Pillar Property PLC as chief accountant. Previously, Anne worked at Arlington Securities and qualified with Pannell Kerr Forster.

Anne reports directly to John Lelliott, finance director. Her main responsibility is managing the integrity and reliability of all aspects of financial reporting both internally and externally.

Emma TwymanHead of communications

Emma is responsible for managing corporate reputation and the marketing of our UK property assets to the external public and stakeholders within the UK and internationally.

The role of the communications department is to engage with tenants, government and Parliament both at Westminster and in the devolved administrations, with other opinion formers, and the general public and staff to promote a better understanding of The Crown Estate. The department supports all of The Crown Estate's business and property development through media relations, public affairs, publications, digital media and events.

Emma is a member of the New West End Company's Operational Board, the Regent Street Association Committee and the Jermyn Street Association. She draws on nearly 30 years of agency and in-house corporate communications experience with UK and international B2B and B2C blue chip companies which include: British Salt, Milk Marque (MMB), Alliance Boots, Kingfisher plc, Salter Weigh-Tronix, Integral, Rolfe & Nolan plc, Tullett Prebon (Nomura Intl) and Kingfisher plc.

Expenditure