Richard David Arthur Burge (born 5 April 1958) is a British independent adviser on international trade, and organisational management and leadership. He is the founder and co-director of ESG Validation Ltd.

Early life and education

Burge was born in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. His father Arthur Vincent Burge was a serving officer with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, and his mother was Elsie (Rae) Burge (née Kimberley). After primary school in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and north London (where his father was posted), he went in 1969 to

Haberdashers' Adams Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School is a selective state grammar school for high-achieving boys and girls aged 11–18 with boarding for boys, located in Newport, Shropshire, offering day and boarding education. As of 2024, boarding fees are £14, ...

Grammar School in

Newport, Shropshire Newport is a market town and Civil parishes in Shropshire, civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It lies north-east of Telford, west of Stafford, and is near the Shropshire-Staffordshire border. The 2001 Ce ...

. Burge went to Hatfield College,

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

from 1977 to 1980, the first member of his family to go to university.

Career

Burge taught biology at

King Edward's School, Witley King Edward's Witley is a private co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1553 by King Edward VI and Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London and Westminster, in The Palace of Bridewell near Fleet St in the City of London. The School is loca ...

(1980–83) and then went to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

as a Commonwealth Scholar until 1986. Burge joined the British Council in June 1986 where he served in the Overseas Career Service for ten years. He was Assistant Representative in Lagos, Nigeria until March 1990, then had a series of posts in the UK ending up as Head of Africa and Middle East Operations for three years until September 1995.

Senior appointments

Burge was the first Director General of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

from 1995 to 1999. He was noted by journalists and the government of London as being responsible for saving the

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

from bankruptcy during his time as Director General. He then was given the position of chief executive of the

Countryside Alliance The Countryside Alliance (CA) is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as farming, rural services, small businesses and field sports, aiming to "Give Rural Britain a voice". History The Countryside Allian ...

under the chairmanship of John Jackson until 2003. He then spent some time in private business working until being appointed as chief executive of Wilton Park (an FCDO executive agency) from 2009 to 2017. He was then chief executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council until 2019. He was chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 2020 to 2023.

Private sector

From 2003 to 2009, Burge had a portfolio of part-time paid appointments. He was Strategy Director for the

African Parks Foundation African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on biodiversity conservation through protected area management, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and ...

and a Commissioner for Rural Communities. He is the founding partner of ESG Validation.

Non-profit and charity work

Burge has served as a trustee and board member of a number of charities and not-for-profit organizations including the

Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development is an autonomous non-profit institution established by Guyana and the Commonwealth. It "exists to promote the conservation and the sustainable and equitable use of tropi ...

, the Association of Chief Executives in the Voluntary Sector (ACEVO), The Association of Chief Executives (of government executive agencies), the

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...

, the Council of Durham University (including chair of the University Ethics Committee, Vice Chair of Bridewell Royal Hospital (King Edward's School, Witley), a Commissioner for Commonwealth Scholarships, trustee of the Television Trust for the Environment, and chair of the Global Health Assurance Partnership (based in Geneva), and treasurer of St John-at-Hackney in London. He is currently Junior Warden of the

Worshipful Company of World Traders The Worshipful Company of World Traders is one of the 113 Livery Companies of the City of London. The Guild of World Traders was constructed in 1985 and it became a Company in 1993. Its petition for livery status was granted by the Court of ...

, and has been chair of Council at Hatfield College Durham University for 13 years. He is Churchwarden of the Parish of Kirdford with Plaistow and Ifold in West Sussex.

Political career

Burge is a member of the Labour Party. On 24 March 2022 he stood unsuccessfully for election as a Common Councillor for

Vintry Vintry is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London, wards of the City of London. Located within it is the City end of Southwark Bridge and, adjacent to that, the hall of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, the Livery Company, City livery compan ...

ward in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. On 28 May 2024 Burge was one of 120 business leaders who signed a letter expressing support for the Labour Party in the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

Personal life

He has been married to Karen Jayne Burge (née Bush) since 1980, having met when they were at school. They live in West Sussex and have two children.