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 ...

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