Alistair Hardaker | Image: Tony Hales CBE, new English Heritage Chair
Appointment succeeds Lord Lemos who stepped down following appointment as Lord in Waiting last July.
English Heritage has announced Tony Hales CBE as its new chair.
The new appointment succeeds Lord Lemos CMG CBE, who stepped down last July following his appointment as Lord in Waiting (Government Whip).
Hales is currently chair of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
Hales has previously served as a non-executive director of Welsh National Opera, and Aston Villa. Prior to those roles, Hales was chief executive of the global food and drink company Allied Domecq. In 2008, he was awarded a CBE for services to the armed forces.
More recently, he served as chair of the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College.
Dr Chris Michaels, English Heritage’s deputy chair and chair of its nominations committee, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Tony to English Heritage. He has a wealth of experience which will serve the charity extremely well.”
On his appointment, the new chair said: “English Heritage is one of this country’s great national institutions, one that looks after and shares with us all a remarkable collection of historic sites. I grew up visiting the castles, abbeys, and houses in its care and I am both honoured and excited to be its Chair.”
Last financial year, 2024/25, English Heritage welcomed more than 5.5m visitors to its manned sites.
