Sir Stuart James Etherington (born 26 February 1955) is a British charity executive and former social worker. From 1994 to 2020, he was chief executive of the

National Council for Voluntary Organisations The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no. 225922). It works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an en ...

, with the membership base increasing from 400 to over 14,000. He was previously the chief executive of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. He received a knighthood in 2010 in recognition of his work for the voluntary and community sectors. He is now the Chair of the Oversight Trust, Chair of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. He is also the Honorary Visiting Professor at the Business School in the Centre for Charity Effectiveness. He has more recently become Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass in 2021.

Early life and education

Etherington was born on 26 February 1955 in

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, Surrey, England and brought up in

Mickleham, Surrey Mickleham is a village in South East England, south east England, between the towns of Dorking and Leatherhead in Surrey. The civil parishes in England, civil parish covers and includes the hamlet of Fredley. The larger parish, ecclesiastical ...

. He was educated at Sondes Place School, an all boys

secondary modern A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupils ...

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

, Surrey. Etherington has a number of

university degrees An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

. He studied politics at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1977. He has a Master of Arts (MA) degree in

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

planning from the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

, and a MA degree in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and diplomacy from the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He also has a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) degree from the

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degree, Master's degrees in management and finance, Master of B ...

, University of London. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from both Greenwich and Brunel University. He is currently studying Classics, Philosophy and History of Art with City Lit and the Open University.

Career

Etherington began his career as a social worker. He worked in that field between 1977 and 1979, and was based in

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington Urban Distr ...

. Then, from 1980 to 1983, he was a researcher for a housing trust. From 1983 to 1985, he worked as a policy advisor to the British Association of Social Workers. He spent the next two years as Director of Good Practices in Mental Health, a small

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

charity. In 1987, Etherington joined the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) as its Director of Public Affairs. In 1991, he was appoint Chief executive of the RNID; he was aged 35. On 1 February 1994, he moved to become Chief Executive of the

(NCVO). From 2002 to 2006, Etherington was a member of the University Court of the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. From 2008 to 2013, he was a Pro-Chancellor and the Chair of Court of the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

. Etherington was a member of the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union and the Chair of London United. He was also previously the chair of the trustees of the Patron's Fund and chaired a cross party review looking at the structure of the regulation of fundraising. He has been a trustee of Business in the Community, the chair of the BBC Appeals Advisory Committee, a member of the Community and Social Affairs Committee of Barclays Bank, former chair of Guidestar UK, treasurer of CIVICUS and chair of CIVICUS Europe, council member of the Institute of Employment Studies, an advisory group member for the Policy Centre at the British Academy and for the Lord Mayor's Trust Initiative. His government appointments have included the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit. He has also served on the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit's Advisory Board on the Voluntary Sector and HM Treasury's Cross Cutting Review on the role of the voluntary sector. In 2017, he authored a report, ''Voluntary Action: A Way Forward'', which included an extensive range of recommendations for the future of civil society.

Honours

In the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, Etherington was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

"for services to the Third Sector". He was invested by

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

(on behalf of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

) during a ceremony held at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 25 November 2010. In July 2000, Etherington was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(DSc) degree by

. In 2014, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of the University (DUniv) degree by the

"in recognition of his commitment to higher education and to the work of the university over the past decade". Etherington is an elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(FRSA). He is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Employment Studies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etherington, Stuart 1955 births Living people Alumni of Brunel University London Alumni of London Business School Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of the University of Essex British chief executives British nonprofit chief executives British social workers Knights Bachelor National Council for Voluntary Organisations chief executives People from Epsom