English Partnerships chair heads Olympic legacy
Former English Partnerships chair Margaret Ford has been appointed as the new Olympics legacy chief.
Ford will chair the 2012 legacy delivery company which is responsible for the use of the Olympic park after the Games.
She is currently a senior advisor to the Royal Bank of Canada’s Global Infrastructure Group and holds a chair in real estate financing at Glasgow University. She resigned from the bank with effect from 1 May to concentrate on her new role. She will be paid £95,000 for three to four days of work per week.
The company will take over the responsibilities for the Mayor’s Legacy Advisory Board, as well as lead in the implementation of legacy delivery at the Olympic Park.
David Gregson has been the interim non-executive chair of the advisory board since January 2009 and will continue until the legacy delivery company is created. She will also move toe the cross benches in the House of Lords because of the political nature of her new role.
Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell said: “Success in creating a vibrant, commercial, cultural and sporting park in the years after the Olympics with the strong engagement of local communities will be one of the most important tests of success in meeting our big ambitions for the Games.
“Margaret Ford has a very strong record of achievement and will, I’m sure, bring strong leadership in meeting these challenges.”
