Heather Blackman, Bronwyn Hill and Wesley Kerr reappointed as Trustees of The Royal Parks
The Secretary of State has reappointed Heather Blackman and Wesley Kerr as Trustees of The Royal Parks for a term of four years from 14 May 2021 and Bronwyn Hill for a term of four years from 15 June 2021.
Heather Blackman
Heather is an experienced Chief Executive Officer within the retail sector, latterly at the lifestyle clothing, purpose-led brand Finisterre. She has worked in retail at board level for 15 years across a number of premium brands including Hotel Chocolat, Laura Ashley & Fat Face.
She started her career in Buying and Merchandising, then moved into multi-channel retailing, specialising in change management and growth stages of organisations. She brings vast experience of brand, strategy and commercial planning centred around the customer to The Royal Parks. Heather serves on The Royal Parks’ Audit & Risk Committee and is Chair of the Remuneration Committee.
Wesley Kerr
Wesley Kerr is a broadcaster, journalist, historian and horticulturist. He holds an MA from Trinity College, Cambridge. He served on the advisory board of the Royal Parks from 2013 to 2016 when it was a DCMS executive agency, and was a Trustee at the foundation of the Royal Parks charity. He was closely involved in restoring Brompton Cemetery and sits on the Greenwich Park Revealed Programme Board. He is a vice-president of the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association and was a member of the RHS Show Gardens panel. Chaired the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Committee for London 2007-2014. Awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2015 for services to heritage.
He worked on numerous BBC television and radio programmes including Nationwide, Newsnight, Panorama, Holiday, Watchdog, Healthcheck, Value for Money; and all the daily news outlets. Specialist coverage of Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows. Recently he has curated several art exhibitions. He was also a BBC royal correspondent, and appears in many documentaries on ITV, C4, C5 and internationally on this subject. He has worked in 40 countries and continues to write as a freelance for newspapers and journals and to lecture on heritage and horticulture.
Bronwyn Hill
As Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2011-2015), Bronwyn led a complex organisation through transformational change and a series of crises, including the 2012-13 flooding. A CBE for transport services was in recognition of her contribution to national transport strategy, major projects and transport in London. She applies this experience of leadership and learning in challenging times in her non-executive work. Her interest in the environment and the importance of green spaces for people in London led to her joining The Royal Parks Board in 2016. She is now the Lead Non-Executive Trustee.
Bronwyn joined the University of Greenwich as a Governor in 2016, becoming the Chair in 2020. As the first in her family to go to University, Bronwyn is keen to help others benefit from the transformative experience of higher education. Outside work, Bronwyn is a life-long rower and cyclist. She is a Director of the Trafalgar Rowing Centre and former Chair of Globe Rowing Club in Greenwich. She has worked with the Port of London Authority to encourage greater use of the Thames for recreational water sports.
These roles are not remunerated. These reappointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Bronwyn, Heather and Wesley have not declared any activity.