Dame Alison Nimmo
DBE (born 25 May 1964) is a Scottish Chartered Surveyor who was
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...
, (an organisation with a property portfolio estimated at £10 billion) from 2012 to 2019.
Early life
Nimmo was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
but raised in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
where she attended the
Bishop Gore School
The Bishop Gore School ( cy, Ysgol Esgob Gore) is a secondary school in Swansea in Wales, founded on 14 September 1682 by Hugh Gore (1613–1691), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated in Sketty, close to Singleton Park and Swans ...
,
Swansea.
She is a graduate of
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, and of the
College of Estate Management
The University College of Estate Management (abbreviated to UCEM), formerly the College of Estate Management (CEM) is an independent UK-based higher education institution which provides courses by distance learning for people in the real estate dev ...
.
["By royal appointment, I spend my days playing Monopoly for real", Oliver Shah, '']The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'', Business section, 5 April 2015, p. 6. After graduation, Nimmo visited
Australia and worked in Sydney's planning department.
[Projects abound for Alison Nimmo, the town planner in charge of the Queen’s property.]
James Ashton, ''London Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'', 22 February 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
Career
Nimmo's first job in the U.K. was as a planning officer with
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
from 1986, after which she worked for the surveyors
Drivers Jonas
Drivers Jonas was a longstanding private partnership of chartered surveyors in the United Kingdom. In January 2010, Drivers Jonas LLP merged with Deloitte LLP, combining the firm with Deloitte's property staff, creating a business group called Dri ...
followed by
KPMG
KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
and
Manchester City Council (1996) where she was involved in the regeneration of the city after the
IRA bombing of 1996.
[ She worked on the redevelopment of ]Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
town centre for Sheffield One (2000) and was design and regeneration director at the Olympic Delivery Authority
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, responsible for ensuring the delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games ...
from 2006 (interim from 2003).[
She became chief executive of the ]Crown Estate
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...
on 1 January 2012, taking over from Roger Bright.Interview: Alison Nimmo, Crown Estate chief executive.
Julia Kollewe, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 21 June 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2015. The Crown Estate has a portfolio of property and related assets estimated at £10 billion.[
Nimmo is a non-executive director of housebuilders Berkeley Group Holdings and a visiting professor at Sheffield Hallam University. She is a fellow of the ]Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the va ...
[The Board.]
The Crown Estate. Retrieved 5 April 2015. and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...
.
Awards and honours
Nimmo was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gra ...
Gold Medal for services to town planning and sustainability. In 2004 she was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE).[ She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours for public service and services to the Exchequer.
]
Family
Nimmo is divorced with no children.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimmo, Alison
1964 births
Civil servants from Edinburgh
Scottish chief executives
Living people
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Chartered Surveyors
Academics of Sheffield Hallam University
Fellows of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Alumni of University College of Estate Management