Natural England Board

Mr Poul Christensen C.B.E. - Chair

Date appointed: 3 December 2009 - Appointed until: 31 December 2012

Poul was appointed Chair of Natural England on 3 December 2009. He was Deputy Chair of Natural England from 2006 and served as Acting Chair following the death of Sir Martin Doughty in March 2009.

He is senior partner of a successful family dairy farming business at Kingston Hill Farm, in Oxfordshire. He has a long track record of integrating conservation with the demands of modern farming.

Throughout his career Poul has taken a prominent role leading the farming sector through changing and challenging times. He is the joint founder of the Tenant Farmers’ Association, established in 1981 to provide a voice for tenant farmers. He was previously Chairman of Milk Marque in the late 1990s, steering the dairy sector through a period of significant change, Chair of the Rural Development Service until 2006, overseeing the launch of modern Environmental Stewardship schemes, and a member of the Defra Management Board before taking up the appointment of Chair at Natural England.

He is currently a Director of Agricultural Central Trading Limited, a farmer supply cooperative; was a member of the Defra Management Board until December 2009; and is a Board member of the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

Poul received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 1991 for services to agriculture and the commercial development of the Agricultural Development Advisory Service (ADAS).

Dr Helen Phillips - Chief Executive

Ex-officio member of the Board

Helen was appointed Chief Executive of Natural England in February 2006. She has 15 years experience in the environment sector gained at the Environment Agency and the National Rivers Authority.

At Natural England, Helen has led a major change programme, transforming the business over the last five years. The focus of her work has been on achieving greater levels of protection and improvement for places and nature by engaging, raising and aligning people’s energy to establish a public body with clear priorities for the natural environment. This was matched only by her determination to increase effectiveness and value for money. England’s premier wildlife sites are now in better condition than at any time since their creation. All achievements delivered alongside improved customer satisfaction, substantial efficiency savings and a significant reduction in staff numbers.

Helen has a degree in zoology and a Ph.D. in freshwater biology from University College Dublin. She is an alumnus of the Cambridge industry programme and a Fellow of the Society of Biology. She was the lead accounting officer for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee 2006-2011.

Helen is married with two children, three step children and homes in Sheffield and London.

Professor David Hill - Deputy Chair

Appointed: 2 May 2006 - Until: 30 September 2012

David was appointment Deputy Chair in February 2011, his responsibilities include: Land Use, Local Authorities and developers, Northumberland and Yorkshire Dales National Park, Natural England’s Science Advisory Committee, Audit and Risk Committee, and Non-executive Arms Length Body sub-group.

David has significant experience in consultancy, nature conservation and company business strategy. He runs an ecological consultancy company, is Chairman of The Environment Bank Ltd and was previously Chief Scientific Adviser to RPS Group plc. Over the past three years he has been actively involved in promoting environmental markets to provide new and innovative ways of mitigating for impacts on ecosystem services arising from development, industry and corporate businesses.

David is a Fellow and past President of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. He has published extensively on ecological issues over the past 25 years.

David is a member of the RSPB, BTO, Norfolk Wildlife Trust and a life member of the National Trust.

William Cockbain

Appointed: 1 October 2011 - Until: 30 September 2014

Responsibilities include: land management, agriculture and the uplands, and the Lake District and Peak District National Parks.

William Cockbain farms a large hill farm in the Lake District as part of a family partnership. He was an NFU County Chairman in 2002 and has been the NFU’s national uplands spokesman since 2004. In 2006 he was appointed as Defra’s North West Sustainable Food and Farming Champion, a position held until the end of March 2011. He currently chairs the grant panel for the North West Livestock programme and has recently been involved in promoting catchment sensitive farming to farmers.

Catherine Graham-Harrison OBE

Appointed: 1 January 2009 - Until: 31 December 2014

Responsibilities include: Protected landscapes, transport and development, and South Downs National Park and New Forest.

Since 1994 Catherine has worked as a Management Consultant, mainly in the not for profit sector, focusing on philanthropy; strategic planning; governance and organisational development.

Prior to that, she was a Vice President of Citibank and then Chief Executive of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. She has held a large number of non executive positions over the past 20 years including being on the board of the Heritage Lottery Fund and a trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Catherine is a member of the National Trust Architecture Panel and has been appointed Chair of the National Forest with effect from 1 April 2011

Dr Joe Horwood - Marine

Appointed: 1 October 2009 - Until: 30 September 2012

Responsibilities include: Lead Board member for marine, Broads Authority, Natural England Science Advisory Committee, Marine Protected Areas sub-group on the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and Non-executive Arms Length Body sub-group.

Joe Horwood has a background in mathematics and zoology applied in marine ecology and resource management. He retired in June as Chief Science Advisor at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), and retains a role as Non-Executive Director and Chair of CEFAS’ Science Advisory Committee. He has been a member of the Board of the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) since 1998 and was President of ICES from 2006 to 2009. He was also on the Board of the Marine Biological Association from 1998 to 2001.

He has served on the science advisory committees of the International Whaling Commission, ICES and the EC, and on the UK’s Marine Science Co-ordination Committee. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and a member of the British Ecological Society, the Challenger Society and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. He has published on a variety of marine issues including whales, fisheries and marine protected areas.

Mr Doug Hulyer - Communications, Learning and Ecotourism

Appointed: 2 May 2006 - Until: 31 May 2014

Responsibilities include: Access, management for biodiversity and climate change adaptation, Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks, and Non-executive Arms Length Body sub-group

Doug is an independent advisor for the heritage and natural environment sector. He was previously the Director of Conservation, Programmes and Developments for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.

Doug is a committed environmentalist, environmental educator and conservationist with over 30 years professional experience. He is a Trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund/Heritage Lottery Fund, a member of HLF’s South West Committee, and Chair of the NHMF Audit Committee.

Doug is currently Vice-President of the Surrey Wildlife Trust, a member of the Learning Panel of the National Trust, a member of The Great Fen Project Foundation, and a Fellow of the Society of Biology.

He also holds memberships in Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, English Heritage, Wildfowl & Wetland Trust, Freshwater Biological Association, Institute of Directors, The Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management and the National Trust.

In June 2008, Doug ceased his position as Chairman of the Wetland Vision project.

Doug was a Council Member for English Nature between 2002-2006, before taking up the appointment of Board Member for Natural England.

Professor David Macdonald - Mammal Biologist

Appointed: 2 May 2006 - Until: 30 September 2014

Responsibilities include: Chair of Natural England’s Science Advisory Committee and biodiversity (land use issues).

David is the Professor of Wildlife Conservation and the Director (and founder) of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Zoology Department at Oxford University. He is also Chairman of the Darwin Advisory Committee, Defra and Chairman of Earthwatch UK.

David was awarded the 2004 Dawkins Prize for contributions to wildlife conservation. In 2006 he was awarded the Merriam Medal for outstanding contributions to mammalian research by the American Society of Mammalogists and in 2007 he was awarded the equivalent medal of Britain’s Mammal Society and in 2010 the Zoological Society of London’s Silver Medal. In 2008, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2010 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire for services to Natural Science.

He is also Senior Research Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, a Board Member of the World Wildlife Fund.

During the year David ceased his position as a Board member of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

David was a Council Member for English Nature from 2003-2006, before taking up the appointment of Board Member for Natural England.

Mr Nigel Reader, CBE

Appointed: 1 June 2011 - Until: 31 May 2014

Responsibilities include: Natural England’s Audit and Risk Committee.

Nigel is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has held a number of senior financial positions, including as Director of Finance for the National Rivers Authority and the Environment Agency. He has been a member of the Financial Reporting and Advisory Board and a member of the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability Advisory Group.

He currently sits on the board of the international development charity WaterAid and is a board member of the Marine Management Organisation.

Andy Wilson

Appointed: 1 January 2009 - Until: 31 December 2014

Responsibilities include: climate change mitigation (renewable forms of energy) and Audit and Risk Committee.

Andy Wilson has been Chief Executive of the North York Moors National Park Authority since March 2000 during which time the Authority has won a series of awards for customer service, training and work on climate change. Prior to that, he worked for seven years at the Northumberland National Park. Earlier in his career he worked for the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Andy is a member of the RSPB, and was a member of the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly Sustainable Development Board until April 2009.