Sir Stuart Hampson, Keynote business speaker, to become new Chairman of the Crown Estate

Sir Stuart Hampson, Former chairman of John Lewis, Keynote Business and Motivational Speaker is to be appointed Chairman of The Crown Estate on the retirement of Ian Grant CBE on 31 December 2009. Sir Stuart's appointment will take effect from 1 January 2010 for a term of four years.

Commenting on the appointment Crown Estate Chairman Ian Grant, said: "I am delighted that Sir Stuart is to be my successor to lead this diverse and highly successful organisation. As former Chairman of John Lewis he had a huge impact, both as a moderniser and in developing its reputation as an outstanding business operating to the highest standards and values."

"I believe Sir Stuart will sustain the key principles of commercialism, integrity and stewardship embodied by The Crown Estate and lead the organisation to further success when he takes the helm at the beginning of next year."

For a number of years, Sir Stuart has been a valued member of the keynote speaking fraternity and he will continue to be available to talk on topics such as leadership, marketing & branding, employee retention, motivation & satisfaction, CSR, climate change, customer service, corporate turnaround, motivational speakers and retailing.

The Crown Estate is valued at over £6 billion, including over 400 commercial properties in London and elsewhere, almost 146,000 hectares of agricultural land, forests, residential and commercial property in England, Scotland and Wales, over half of the UK's foreshore, together with the seabed out to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit.

All of The Crown Estate's revenue surplus is paid directly to the Exchequer for the benefit of all UK taxpayers, and in 2008/09 this amounted to £226.5 million.

As owners, managers and guardians of one of the world's most important and diverse urban, rural and marine property portfolios, The Crown estate's work is underpinned by the three core values of commercialism, integrity and stewardship.

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