Pam Alexander OBE (born April 1954) is a businesswoman and former senior civil servant specialising in housing and economic regeneration in England. She chairs a digital community engagement company, Commonplace, and is a non-executive Director of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and of the

Connected Places Catapult The Connected Places Catapult is the UK government's innovation agency for cities, transport and place leadership. It is one of several Catapult centres. History The organisation was formerly known as the Future Cities Catapult and also the Tra ...

. Until recently she was chair of the

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

Market Authority, a Trustee of the

Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom charity incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instrumental in the prom ...

and Chair of Design Council CABE. She was Chief Executive of the

South East England Development Agency The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), was one of a number of regional development agencies in England. It was set up as a non-departmental public body in 1999 to promote the region and to enable a number of more difficult regeneration ...

(SEEDA) from 2004–2011, and of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

) from 1997 to 2001. She was made OBE in 2012 for her services to urban regeneration in the South East.

Early life

Alexander was born in April 1954. She attended The Lady Eleanor Holles School, Hampton, Middlesex between 1960 and 1971. She took an MA in

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicent ...

between 1972 and 1975. She was subsequently President of the Newnham Roll Committee (the alumnae group) from 2015 to 2018 and is currently an Honorary Associate.

Career

Alexander started her career as a civil servant in the Department of the Environment (now part of

DEFRA DEFRA may refer to: * Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department {{Disambiguation ...

) as an Administration Trainee. Over the course of 20 years from 1975-1995 she rose to become a senior civil servant. During the period she was involved in the development of policies for housing, social housing, regeneration, local government finance, and transport, and was involved in the sale of 10 water companies. She joined the

Housing Corporation The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964. On 1 December 2008, its functions were transferred to two n ...

in 1995 as a Deputy Chief Executive. She left two years later in 1997 when two deputy CEO positions were merged into one, and was appointed as CEO of

some months later. Whilst there she led a significant restructuring, working with the then chairman

Jocelyn Stevens Sir Jocelyn Edward Greville Stevens, (14 February 1932 – 9 October 2014) was the publisher of ''Queen'' magazine and a London newspaper executive. Education and career Stevens attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, and Sandhurs ...

, but left four years later when the incoming chairman

Neil Cossons Sir Neil Cossons FMA (born 15 January 1939) is a British historian and museum administrator. Biography Cossons was born in Beeston and studied at the University of Liverpool. He was the first director of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust fr ...

felt that a further restructuring was needed. She spent the next two years as a consultant to the Cabinet Office reviewing the effectiveness of executive agencies. She was then appointed Chief Executive of the

(SEEDA) in 2003 by the then chair, James Braithwaite, where she was one of the highest paid female quango chiefs in the UK, and was listed in the Telegraph top 100 British business people in the public sector. During this period she also served four years as co-chair of the UK Government Women's Enterprise Task Force (created by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

in December 2006), with Glenda Stone. She left SEEDA in 2011 after nearly 8 years at the helm and has subsequently focussed on a wide range of non-executive positions. Prominent among these are her two terms as chair of the

Covent Garden Market Authority New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, London, is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the United Kingdom. It covers a site of and is home to about 200 fruit, vegetable and flower companies. The market serves 40% of the f ...

, presiding over the redevelopment of the

New Covent Garden Market New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, London, is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the United Kingdom. It covers a site of and is home to about 200 fruit, vegetable and flower companies. The market serves 40% of the f ...

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial bu ...

. She oversaw the opening of a new Flower Market, the Food Exchange, and the start of construction of the new Fruit and Veg Market. She was also Chair of Design Council CABE from 2014 to 2018 and Deputy Chair of the overall

during 2018. She was until recently a non-executive Director of

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...

Ltd. and

Crest Nicholson Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Chertsey, Surrey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1963-2000 The company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Hom ...

Plc. She is currently chair of Commonplace Digital Ltd, and a non-executive director of the

Personal life

Alexander is married, with four stepchildren, seven grandchildren and two nieces. She lives in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

, London. Her interests include choral singing, tennis, and walking.

References

External links

Pam Alexander Linkedin Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Pam 1954 births Living people