Leading the legacy: our Board

After winning his second term as Mayor of London in the Spring of 2012, Boris Johnson became Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation in September 2012. Previously he was the Member of Parliament for Henley and the Editor of the Spectator magazine. He is a journalist on several national newspapers and the author of many books. He was born in New York in 1964 and brought up in London. As a teenager he won scholarships to Eton College and Oxford University, where he read Classics. He lives in North London with his wife Marina and their four children.

Mayor of London Register of Interests

Neale Coleman is the Mayor’s Advisor for Olympic and Paralympic Legacy and was formerly the Mayor’s Advisor on London 2012, a post he held since the first days of London’s bid in 2003. Neale was a Board Member of London2012, the Olympic Bid company and has been a Board member of the Olympic Delivery Authority from its inception. He has extensive experience in major regeneration projects, chaired the Olympic Masterplan Reference Group that led the work during the bid to deliver the Masterplan and  planning consent for the Olympic Park and co-chaired the Olympic Delivery Group which oversaw all work on the Games immediately after the successful bid.

Sonita Alleyne founded the radio company Somethin’ Else and ran it as Chief Executive from 1991 until 2009, when she joined the board and served as a Non-Executive Director until 2011. Sonita currently holds a number of Non-Executive posts, including with the Archant Media Group and the British Board of Film Classification, and has a wide range of previous board experience, including with the London Skills and Employment Board and as Chair of the Radio Sector Skills Council. Sonita was also a Non-Executive Director of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at the time London’s bid for the 2012 Games was being put together. She was brought up in east London and has chosen it as her professional base since. Sonita won the Carlton Multicultural Achievement Award for TV and Radio in 2002 and is a Fellow of The Royal Society of the Arts and the Radio Academy. She was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting in November 2003.

Nick Bitel is Chief Executive of the London Marathon and one of the country’s leading events experts. A consultant at law firm Kerman & Co LLP, he is a member of the London Community Sports Board and a board member of Sport England and the former Vice Chairman of Wigan Athletic.

Nicky Dunn began her career in venue management when she joined London Arena in 1988. She held various positions during her 12 years at the venue. Nicky moved from London to Belfast in 2000 to oversee the fit-out, pre-opening and launch of the Odyssey Arena. She remained in Belfast as the Arena Chief Executive until 2010. Odyssey Arena became internationally recognised as one of the top 10 busiest Arenas worldwide. Nicky received an Award of Distinction for Contribution to Business in Northern Ireland and another for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism. She is now based in London where she has established IMD Group, consultants to the leisure industry. Nicky remains on two boards in Northern Ireland: Titanic Foundation and the Lyric Theatre. She was a board member of The Princes Trust (NI) from 2007 – 2011.

Keith Edelman was formerly the Managing Director of Arsenal Holdings plc and was instrumental in the development of the Emirates Stadium and the attendant regeneration of the surrounding area including the development of Highbury Square. He is currently the Senior Independent Director of Supergroup plc, Chairman of Beale plc and a Non-Executive Director of Thorntons plc and Safestore Holdings. Prior to Arsenal he held the following positions: Chief Executive Officer of Storehouse plc, Managing Director of Carlton Communications plc, Non Executive Director of Eurotunnel and Chairman of Glenmorangie.

David Edmonds has had extensive experience within the housing, commercial property and regeneration sectors. He is a former civil servant and was in charge of the Government’s Inner Cities programme in England. He is a former Chief Executive of the Housing Corporation, and has been a Board member of English Partnerships, a Non Executive Director of Hammerson plc, and Chairman of Crisis, the charity for the single homeless. He was also the UK’s Telecoms Regulator for five years and the Chairman of NHS Direct for four years. He is currently the Chairman of the Legal Services Board, Chairman of NHS Shared Business Services, Chairman of Hammerson plc Pension Trustees, and is a Non Executive Director of William Hill plc.

David is Chairman of Precise Media Group and a Director of Letts Filofax. He is also Chairman of CRI, a leading national social care charity; Chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association; a senior advisor to Phoenix Equity Partners; and member of the Advisory Boards of both The Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation. David was previously Chairman of the Mayor of London’s Legacy Board of Advisors.

Philip Lewis is a chartered surveyor and Chief Executive of the property division of the Kirsh Group. Previously he was Chief Executive of Lambert Smith Hampton and Milner Estates plc and Executive Chairman of Safestore plc and Hines UK. He is a former Chairman of Sport England, London and past President of the British Council of Shopping Centres. He has held Non Executive roles in a number of companies and is involved in various charitable organisations.

The Mayor’s official observer at board meetings is Sir Edward Lister.

Lord Mawson is one of the UK’s leading social entrepreneurs. Over 25 years he has created a family of projects, in particular the renowned Bromley-by-Bow Centre in East London. Today he is leader, motivator and adviser to major projects including the St Paul’s Way Transformation Project in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Water City, a visionary plan to revitalise east London.

Jayne McGivern is an experienced CEO in the property industry, specialising in the creation and delivery of high value mixed use and regeneration schemes of national importance. Her former roles include CEO (Europe) of Multiplex plc, and managing director of Anschutz Entertainment Group in London, during its acquisition and redevelopment for the O2 (formally the Millennium Dome). She currently runs Red Grouse, her small private property investment vehicle.

Jules Pipe was re-elected as Mayor of Hackney for a third term in May 2010, having become the Borough’s first directly elected Mayor in October 2002. He was also elected as Chair of London Councils in May 2010. Before becoming Mayor, Jules was a newspaper journalist, working for, among others, the Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph, as well as serving as a ward councillor from 1996 to 2002, and Leader of Hackney Borough Council from June 2001 until elected as Mayor in 2002.

Lutfur Rahman is the first directly elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets Council and a solicitor by profession, specialising in family law. He is a member of the Law Society and Law Society Advanced Children’s Law Panel. Lutfur Rahman has been a Councillor for the Spitalfields and Banglatown ward of Tower Hamlets since May 2002. He was appointed Chair of the Development Panel in May 2002 and was the Lead Member for Education and Youth Services, 2003-2005. He has also been the Lead Member for Culture. He was Leader of the Council from May 2008 to May 2010. Lutfur was a founding member of the Phoenix Youth Project and the Bow Community School (1982-86), founding member and first treasurer (1990) of Keen Students School (KSS) and trustee of Tower Hamlets and Canary Wharf Education Trust (2003-05). He was a member and general secretary of Community Alliance for Police Accountability (CAPA) in 1988 and a member and chairman of Tower Hamlets Law Centre from 1996-2001. Lutfur Rahman was a Board member of the Poplar and Leaside Regeneration Project (SRB6) (2001-2002) and since 2001 has been a Non-Executive Director for the Board of Barts & The Royal London NHS Trust.

Chris Robbins has been serving Waltham Forest since 2002, when he was elected as councillor for Grove Green in Leyton. He has been Leader of the Council since 2009, and prior to that acted as Cabinet Member for Children and Young People. Previously, Chris worked in the trade union movement for 27 years, fighting against low pay, workplace injustice and unemployment. Cllr Robbins was born and brought up in Bethnal Green and has spent his entire life living in East London. He lives with his family in Leyton, where he has lived for 37 years. He has been married to his wife Shelley for 34 years and has two daughters, Emma and Victoria and two grandchildren, Anya and Thomas.

Sir Robin Wales is the directly elected Mayor of the London Borough of Newham. He was a Councillor from 1982 to 1986 and then from 1992 to 2002 and leader from 1996 to 2002. He was elected Mayor in 2002. He was re-elected for a third term in 2010. His goals include raising employment and aspiration in the Borough. Sir Robin is involved with a number of organisations that are concerned with staging the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and ensuring the local legacy. He is a local government board member on the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, Chair of the six Olympic Host Boroughs and a member of the Olympic Park Regeneration Steering Group.

David Ross is the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse. He brings considerable business acumen, experience in sport and sport infrastructure projects plus his extensive entrepreneurial skills.

Baroness Grey-Thompson is a member of the boards of Transport for London and the London Marathon and previously the UK Athletics board. She will bring a unique mix of experience which will help inform many aspects of legacy planning and decision making.