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 chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of The Crown Estate, (an organisation with a property portfolio estimated at £10 billion) from 2012 to 2019.

Early life

Nimmo was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

but raised in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

where she attended the Bishop Gore School,

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. She is a graduate of

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, and of the College of Estate Management."By royal appointment, I spend my days playing Monopoly for real", Oliver Shah, ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'', Business section, 5 April 2015, p. 6. After graduation, Nimmo visited

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'', 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. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

from 1986, after which she worked for the surveyors Drivers Jonas followed by

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

and

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

(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, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

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 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 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 The Berkeley Group Holdings plc is a British Real estate development, property developer and Home construction, house-builder based in Cobham, Surrey, Cobham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FT ...

and a visiting professor at

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

. She is a fellow of the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

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 suppl ...

Awards and honours

Nimmo was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute Gold Medal for services to town planning and sustainability. In 2004 she was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). She was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesswomen 21st-century Scottish businesswomen