Chris Grigg

For another person, see Chris Grigg (ice hockey).

Chris Grigg CBE
Born	Christopher Montague Grigg (1959-07-06) 6 July 1959 (age 65) near Southampton, Hampshire, England[1]
Education	King Edward VI School, Southampton
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge
Occupation	Businessman
Years active	1981–present
Title	Chairman, Evelyn Partners
Term	2022–present
Predecessor	Will Samuel
Successor	Incumbent
Spouse	married
Children	5[1]

Christopher Montague Grigg CBE (born 6 July 1959[1]) is a British businessman. He was formerly the chief executive of The British Land Company plc, a British property development and investment company.[2]

Early life

Grigg was educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton (where he was in Lawrence House),[1] and graduated from Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge with a first in Economics.[3]

Career

Grigg joined Morgan Grenfell as a graduate trainee in 1981.[1] He joined Goldman Sachs in 1985, rising to partner, before he left in 2005 to become Treasurer of Barclays Bank, and chief executive of Barclays Commercial Bank from 1 February 2007 to November 2008.[3]

In January 2009, Grigg joined British Land as chief executive.[3]

Although there has been some criticism of his decision to sell 50% of British Land's City of London Broadgate development to Blackstone Group, as well as 50% of the Meadowhall Centre, Sheffield, Grigg has stated his belief that this was the right decision in the long term: "We aspire to outperform the market. It's kind of hard to do that if your two largest assets have been underperformers."[4]

In January 2012, he said that the City of London's skyline needs to become more like Manhattan to attract companies to the capital, and that office spaces need to be larger and more flexible.[5]

In September 2020, Grigg announced he was stepping down as chief executive of British Land from December 2020.[2][6]

Grigg was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to business, particularly during the COVID-19 response.[7]

In April 2021, it was announced Grigg has been appointed as the chairman of the new UK Infrastructure Bank.[8]

Grigg was a non-executive director of BAE Systems until December 2023. He is the Chairman of Evelyn Partners since February 2022 having joined as a non-executive director in August 2021.[9][10]

In June 2024, he was appointed to the board of Melrose Industries and will take over the chairmanship role from October 2024.[11]

Personal life

Grigg is married and lives in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with his wife and five children.[1]

References

1. "Christal clear". Building.co.uk. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
2. "Chris Grigg to step down as Chief Executive Officer; Simon Carter appointed as his successor". British Land. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
3. "Executive Profile: Christopher Grigg". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
4. "Chris Grigg: No regrets for the man who sold part of Broadgate". The Telegraph. 24 January 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
5. "Meccano-set towers: how London offices are evolving". City A.M. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
6. Pooley, Cat Rutter (10 September 2020). "Chris Grigg's exit from British Land is a sign of the cycle change". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
7. "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N8.
8. Aldrick, Philip. "Ex-British Land chief Chris Grigg to head UK Infrastructure Bank". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
9. "Chris Grigg, CBE". Evelyn Partners | International. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
10. "Chris Grigg, CBE". BAE Systems | International. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
11. Beech, Adam (16 June 2024). "Melrose Industries names its next chair". Insider Media.